Electric Winch or Minn Kota i-pilot

[ant1971]

Hi, I was just wondering if anyone has experience in either of the above?

A mate told me about the i-pilot.....it looks good, but after chatting to a guy in BCF, he thinks id need the 80lb thrust model, which is expensive.

The guy who sold me the boat will sell me a free fall winch at a good price, which i think will be cheaper than the i-pilot.

When i go fishing, its only to the Reef.....my boat is a 5.45m half cabin fibreglass

Any advice is appreciated

Ant

[scorpo92]

A lot of blokes I know have an ipilot. You never need your anchor again unless you want to anchord over night. Anchor winch ia good but just not as handy

[stevej]

2k for a whinch installation
ipilot plus two deep cycle batteries t get 24v plus specialised charger

[Camhawk88]

I'd go the I pilot plus an anchor ball for when you do want to anchor.
Then again that is a deckies job and as skipper you should not concern yourself with such trivial matters as anchor pulling.
Unless your wife is the regular deckie of coarse!

[Still_Dreamin]

I went down that track but couldn't get a shaft long enough to reach the water continuously. Ie as the boat goes over waves the Minn would come out of water. At least that is what I as told. Let me know how you go. There was one available that goes on the horizontal cavitation plate above prop.
99826

[hazza80]

Just put a 55lb 54" on lay-by. BCF have Club discount (20% off ) - $1839

[rayken1938]

Just be aw2are that your boat will swing in an aprox 30 foot radius depending on wind and tide
cheers
ray

[perko]

Bow mount I Pilot would be a pain on a half cab, but they are brilliant on open/console boats.

[LittleSkipper]

Bow mount I Pilot would be a pain on a half cab, but they are brilliant on open/console boats.

Why would an iPilot be a pain on a cabin boat? Would you have to feed it Nurofen or Panadol?


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[Lovey80]

Imagine having to go forward every time you pulled up to drop the leccy down? Bugger that. Great on a centre console or similar but a cabin boat you'd sure want a stern mount?

[LittleSkipper]

Imagine having to go forward every time you pulled up to drop the leccy down? Bugger that. Great on a centre console or similar but a cabin boat you'd sure want a stern mount?

Imagine! I can imagine some being too lazy, that's what I can imagine. Geez! If that's one of the hardest things someone has to do then imagine someone having to do something easy?


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[perko]

LittleSkipper, it is very hard to mount them up there for starters, they would be a nightmare trying to put them up and down standing up the front on an uneven cabin section especially when rough. You would find most would not have a long enough shaft to keep the motor in the water. I am yet to see one on any half cab (seen a few on little runabouts). But seeing you are such a clever person, go and put one on your boat and prove us wrong.

[LittleSkipper]

LittleSkipper, it is very hard to mount them up there for starters, they would be a nightmare trying to put them up and down standing up the front on an uneven cabin section especially when rough. You would find most would not have a long enough shaft to keep the motor in the water. I am yet to see one on any half cab (seen a few on little runabouts). But seeing you are such a clever person, go and put one on your boat and prove us wrong.

I'd be up for the challenge! Now I just need to save my coin.


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[Still_Dreamin]

As I said and now perko has said you won't find a shaft long enough. As for going forward I reckon it would be easier than pulling in an anchor and heaps quieter than dropping all that chain especially when chasing snapper in the bay. Watched a few YouTube video of the electric on the cavitation plate and would be the way to go for a half cabin.

[Force3]

Hi Ant, For a 5.4m FG half cab you would need the 80lb thrust minn kota system, as recommended by BCF, which means 24V - 2 X 12V batteries.

[PeterKroll]

I can't see the problem. A piling drilling rig, big hole through the floor, drop the leccy straight in. Apart from sinking, no worries.

[ant1971]

Thanks for all the replies, id have to price up the 80lb thrust model, still need to do more research, and i will speak to the guy who makes the boat ive got just to see what he thinks.

Ant

[Sweetlip]

Would definitely get the 80 lb thrust, 60" shaft model for that size of boat.

That will require two 12V deep cycle batteries. A couple of 130 AH Trojans will do the job very well but will cost a bit over $600 in total for the two batteries from a competitive supplier. Add to that a 60 A circuit breaker at around $60 from a competitive supplier and the cost of a couple of battery boxes @ $48 for the two and whatever length of extra cabling that you will need from wherever in the boat you intend housing the batteries @ $10 per metre plus perhaps the quick release bracket at $150 (cheaper from Amazon) and you can get an idea of what the leccy will actually cost you.

Nonetheless, highly recommended.

[dadstinny]

Someone mentioned if you use the Ipilot for anchor lock it can move up to 30ft is that correct?

[Force3]

Plus the cost of a decent charger. If you fish regularly and on consecutive days you will need 2 chargers for 24V. I have my minn kota set up with an Anderson plug, just unplug the motor and plug in the charger, will charge the 120Ah AGM overnight.

[Sweetlip]

Plus the cost of a decent charger. If you fish regularly and on consecutive days you will need 2 chargers for 24V. I have my minn kota set up with an Anderson plug, just unplug the motor and plug in the charger, will charge the 120Ah AGM overnight.

Ah yes - forgot the charger.

Add $300 for something like a 15A CTEK charger from a competitive retailer. (Highly recommended.)

[LittleSkipper]

Sweetlip! You sound just like a BCF salesman? I'll bet money on it you are?

[Sweetlip]

Sweetlip! You sound just like a BCF salesman? I'll bet money on it you are?


I would take your money on that bet because I am not such an animal.

It is just that I installed an 80 lb 60" shaft iPilot recently and everything is fresh in my memory. Seeing how an 80 lb Minn Kota performs in a fast flowing current on my 15 ft Quinnie suggests to me that I would not want anything smaller than that size and I assume a similar conclusion must be reached for the boat mentioned above.


Actually I bought nothing from BCF for the job...

iPilot Minn Kota and quick release bracket from Whitworths (September boat show sale);
Batteries, circuit breaker, battery boxes and cable from Springers Solar at Tingalpa (Manager was very competitive when pressed and very courteous);
CTEK Battery charger from RVTEK.com.au (Great price, very quick delivery);
Genuine Andersen plugs from eBay (very cheap compared with, say, Whitworths. Very quick delivery.)

See! There is no BCF in there at all. :)

[BLOOEY]

Someone mentioned if you use the Ipilot for anchor lock it can move up to 30ft is that correct?
Yes 100% correct actually pretty disapointed at the acuracy in wind and current of the anchorlock. It chews through the batteries because it is hard on the power to get back to where it was also. Auto pilot is the go for accuracy and battery life once you work it out. I wouldn't be without a leccy for throwing lures around though having said all that. Ben

[dadstinny]

Yes 100% correct actually pretty disapointed at the acuracy in wind and current of the anchorlock. It chews through the batteries because it is hard on the power to get back to where it was also. Auto pilot is the go for accuracy and battery life once you work it out. I wouldn't be without a leccy for throwing lures around though having said all that. Ben

30FT Is pretty big when near rocks / structure / boats or similiar and trying to stay put :)!

[Sweetlip]

Yes 100% correct actually pretty disapointed at the acuracy in wind and current of the anchorlock. It chews through the batteries because it is hard on the power to get back to where it was also. Auto pilot is the go for accuracy and battery life once you work it out. I wouldn't be without a leccy for throwing lures around though having said all that. Ben

That does not seem right to me. I have actually been quite impressed at how well Spot Lock holds my boat in a quick current at a working distance close to beacons. I thought that the stated tolerance was about a 5 ft radius and my impression has been that that seemed about right in my experience. My experience is a bit limited at this stage but I have used Spot Lock close to beacons in big outgoing tides such as at the fiveways on Tiger Mullet Channel at the 'Pin and the boat stayed well in position.

Is your experience with an 80 lb unit or a 55 lb unit?

Certainly, it is because of that sort of an issue that I chose to go with an 80 lb thrust unit when I might have gotten away with a 55 lb unit for much of my usage. The costs of equipping an 80 lb unit are considerably higher than a 55 lb unit because of the extra battery plus that a 60 A circuit breaker, as needed for an 80 lb unit, will cost $60+ versus $24 for a 50 A circuit breaker as is readily available at Whitworths, Bias etc.

[BLOOEY]

Sweetlip my experience is with a 55lbi pilot unit as the old RT55ap did a great job for me for many years. The issue is the time it takes for it to realise it is going in the wrong direction on spotlock, sometimes it gives up completely and you have to try again in strong wind. As stated it can be very dangerous if near structure. Also the wireless connection can become to weak and this also can stop the motor at a most inopportune time. Be smart when using it and try to position yourself stationary in the wind and current before hitting spotlock and it usually gets somewhere near where you hit the button give or take some distance. Ben

[Mer-Sea]

Hi, Ant1971,, I'm coming in hear a bit late. I have fitted one to my Signature 520 half cabin and couldn't be more happy. In soming up fishing for reds it's a weapon!!!

[Mike Delisser]

Someone mentioned if you use the Ipilot for anchor lock it can move up to 30ft is that correct?

From my experience it depends on how you've set the speed, if you have it set low and only slightly more powerful that the prevailing conditions it will kick in and correct at about 5 feet off your mark. The higher you have the speed set the further you can drift off the mark before it corrects. I think it's all in the instructions.
Cheers

[whereswoody]

Could you fit this to say a 6.5 plate boat??