You tell me

I have a 1995 Motor Guide 41# thrust on a 17' tracker that is just plain wore out. Am thinking: Motor guide FW75FB ($575) or Minn Kota Edge 70 (530) ? OR better suggestion.

I have a 17'6 tracker deep-v and I put on a 24v 71# motorguide /5 speed. I hated that thing; even at the lowest speed it was just too fast. The key problem here wasn't the 24v but the 5 speeds. I believe both of these motors are fixed speed motors. I sold that thing after a year and a half and put on a 12v digital motorguide tour. I still run 2 batteries and for me the 12v is a better choice. Spend a few more dollars and get a variable speed, you'll be much happier. Brand doesn't matter if it's MG or MK is a personal choice. I personally like a cable steer so I wnt MG, some guys like the power drives but as long as it goes where you want it doesn't matter, it's a personal choice.
Do a search here, lots of guys trying to slow down 70# fixed speed TM's. They suck on light boats.

Very GOOD point crappiemax!!!!! Thanks! I'm thinking about going to a 70lb 24vand I've got a Tracker175!

Never considered that point of view. Thanks

Just a few more thoughts.....

Generally I'm not into trolling but at times it's what seems to put fish in the boat so I do it. It was almost impossible to slow the boat down enought to get my baits down deep enough to be effective. Any of the infinate variable speeds will be easier on the batteries than any straight 5 speed from my understanding.
My current TM is a MG Tour 55# 12v. Could I use more thrust somedays? Sure I guess so but I have to say if I had to do it all over again, I would go back to the same set up. I tried my 70# TM at full speed once...I thought it was going to rip itself off the front of the boat and it was super hard to controll. I did have to put bolts with fender washers on them as the regular TM expansion type plugs simply pulled out of the alum. I also asked my self, if it were that windy would I even stay and fight it or would I move to look for calmer waters anyway. Most times I would move. If I had a really really heavy glass boat, I could see it. As far as aluminums go, no way. Bigger ain't always better.
One thing I like about my 12v with 2 batteries is if my starting battery gives up the ghost from running all the electronics, livewell, bilge and lights, I can pull one of my TM batteries and use it as the main battery and keep on fishing. I've never had a problem with going all day on my set up. My set up re charges fully over night so no problems there.

Glad I could be of some help.

i have a motor guide pro series 75# 5 speed im going to sell its ben in the water twice. going to a variable speed also

My next one will be a variable speed....However, I am still using my 5 year old Minn Kota RipTide 55# Thrust 12volt. Pushes my 16' X 52" Jon Boat pretty good.

why wait for variable speed when you can have it now. check out speed controller's at motion dynamics. pretty slick unit as a add on for variable speed. can be used from 12 to 48 volt

I would get a Minn Kota Maxxum. I had one on my last boat and my current boat has the MK Edge on it. The Maxxum is hands down a better motor IMO. It has the variable speed control and a much better mounting bracket and shaft. I will say that my Edge is slow enough on settings "1" and "2" to troll with though. IIRC setting "1" gets me about 0.4 to 0.5 mph and setting "2" get me about 0.7 to 0.9 mph by my GPS readings. I don't like Motorguide and don't use them so I can't speak on their current offerings.

I have a 175 bass tracker ,it came with 46 lb thrush, that was enough ,but wanted variable so I change to 24 volts MK maxxum 70,love it .To me cable is the only way to go. I do a lot of dock shooting and a lot of jigging over brush which can not be done well with grear motors,too slow to steer

Forgot to mention,on these heavy motors like Maxxum 70 ,it will not flop back and forth at high speeds like the smaller 46 lb thrust,making it easier to control in heavy winds

OK From all this input I'm now thinking MK maxxum. Now 55 or 70? How much increase will I notice between my now 41# and the 55#? And the differense in 55# and 70#?

Well a 55# is about 30% more power and a 70# is 75% more power than your 41#. The 75# is about 30% more than the 55#.

Wat you mean by "increase"?

Variable speed is the way to go. A 70lb would be awesome on that rig. Better to have more than you need vs. not enough. If you want to be able to get out in the wind and maintain a position, variable will do it.

I have a tiller steer 55lb maxxum on a Lowe 170. It pushes the boat well and as most everyone else has said variable speed is the only way to go. Good luck

MK PDv2 or Terrova min 70lb thrust-24v. You will never need anything else:)

Thanks to everyone for the input. I'm learning alot

I now own my second pd motor. The first was a 40 on a 16'Sea Nymph, this one is a 70lb riptide MK with auto pilot on a 178 bass boat. There are trade offs with these to cable steer but I like what I can do that they cant. I like to set the motor to where the blade is barely turning over and set it to run parallel to the shore and forget it, other that an occasional bump left or right. I cover a lot of water like this. the 40lb sent me home for lack of power, the 70lb wants for nothing powerwise. The riptide is saltwater sealed so few circuit board problems ever arise. Variable speed is a definite. I can set the motor and walk around the boat, like trolling alone. Some of the cable drives won't hold direction after removing the foot, keeping you glued to the front seat. The pd's aren't as quick to steer but not so slow as to cause fish to be lost. Deploy on a Terrova is better than my PD V2 but mine isn't terrible. The auto and I-pilot additions are super, the Auto pilot works off compass heading and the I-pilot works off of gps coordinates. Both are great additions. Fishawk has a Fortrexx on a high sided Ranger and for his style of fishing , he loves it. He spends a lot of time vertical jigging. Double tough and very well built. I can't speak about the MG motors so I'll leave that to those with first hand exp

One thing to think about when going to the variable speed motors is the possibility of interference on your electronics. It can really make you pull your hair out when you spend thousands of dollars on stuff and it not perform up to snuff. If you do any kind of trolling the variable is almost the only way to go and the geared motor will give you more freedom to roam. If you shoot docks or dip brush the variable speed probably will not matter as much and the cable steer is more responsive. It really boils down to how you plan on using it mostly. I started with a 40 lb pdv1 on my 16 ft deep vee. It was ok but did not have enough get up and go when I was fully loaded. I replaced it with a 70 lb mg fixed speed cable steer. That motor treated me well for years. In the last year I got sucked into trolling for crappie and stripers and did not like being confined to the tm the whole time. I now have a 80 lb terrova with ipilot. It fits the bill for me. My only trouble with it is when trying to stay on brush when the wind gets up. I spent too much time tinkering with the motor. Going to fix that by putting the anchor back on the boat. That's my 2 cents.

If you fish in stumps, I would definitely get a MinnKota with a carbon shaft. I bent the shaft on every Motor Guide I have ever owned.