is iPilot all that?

[fishinpox]

wish i had one today while i was fishing some rigs , it ould be nice to pull up and not have to throw a rig hook untill you find out if the fish are there or not

[Dougie]

I have the auto-pilot version...the older one without the GPS.

I cut about 3 one-inch thick rings from a grey PVC pipe and slit them. I slipped them OVER the upper shaft as a spacer. So, the collar that locks the shaft to the motor cannot engage because of the 3 slip rings.

The whole head can be turned like a hand-control motor, which is done quite often when just moving around a spot. To convert it to a hand-type, I added a swivel trolling motor handle. So, it became a manual motor in this configuration.

While one may think this causes the auto-pilot not to operate because the shaft is not 'locked' into the geared motor, one would be wrong. The WEIGHT of the motor pulling down on the three rings is sufficient enough so that, perhaps 90% of the time, the motor will operate by friction alone and follow it's auto-pilot path and electric turning features. On occasion, it will slip and just not turn.

The rings can be snapped off of the shaft in a few seconds if you want it to be locked.

[Dayam!]

worth every penny, had mine for 6 months and cant say enough good about it, you can beet that 1800.00 price easily though! interweb!

[Robert Haynes]

Absolutely worth every penny. Like others have said I also keep a foot control that I can use just in case of remote failure. I also keep spare remote batteries in case my battery goes out. I have never had to use my foot control. I have a 24 V 80 pound thrust and it works good for my 21 foot center console boat. If I had to do it over again though I would invest the extra money for 36 V 101 pound thrust just give me that extra when it's super windy. Like the others have said being able to control it from the rear of the boat so that your grandkids can fish the front is an added advantage

[wishin i was fishin]

Originally Posted by speck-addict

Then it must be mine. Spot lock wouldn't work on mine offshore. It kept making 3 beeps. It was aggravating me.

You have to wait for the GPS to lock (icon on the keypad). That could possibly been your issue.

[meaux fishing]

Ive used mine 20 miles offshore before... and yes its worth it

[jopheso]

thanks for all the info guys. looks like I found a used one from another site for a good price. I will test it out and if it runs as expected Ill be mounting it on the boat this weekend. if it sucks I blame you all for forcing me to buy it

That's what Ill tell the wife anyway