Minn Kota v's Jarvis Walker

[birko]

Bear
Just put this in another post then came across yours
I had a problem with my 54lb water snake up at teemburra on the weekend. The problem being it would go but wouldnt stop. I pulled the foot control apart while I was up there and the internal micro switch for the main go pedal would stick on and not release and hence it was on all the time. Probably could have gone to dick smiths and bought another micro switch and replaced it but since I only bought it August last year it should be under warranty so I have taken it back to place of purchase yesterday and am waiting to hear if they are going to fix or replace. If you are going to buy a snake I would at least recommend you buy it from a local guy and not a major chain, that way if you do have any issues you get a bit more personalised attention to the issue as opposed the the standard line of we have to send it back to the manufacturer.
Apart from this incident it has gone well for me and is mounted on a 3.9m hornet trophy. I can really see how the auto pilot would a great thing and that will factor highly when I buy another electric one day
Cheers
Birko

[Mike Delisser]

i have a 44lb watersnake on mine and my boat is a 385 explorer and it goes well on it no problems at all plenty of power in windy condtions just remeber the big the motor the more power they suck i have a 105amp calcium sealed battery and it last all day the water snakes have a power flow function which helps conserve power i know motorguide and minn kota have the same sort of thing in there motors as well i also did heaps of research and feel for value for money i couldnt go past the watersnake which cost me $499 with foot control and its salt water as well

Sorry but I can't agree, a larger motor uses less amps to get from A to B.
Sure both running at 100% the smaller motor will will use less amps over a set time but the bigger motor would've covered a hell of a lot more ground.
If you wish to troll or work along a bank casting lures at say 2kph the smaller motor will be running a lot harder and be using a lot more power from the bat to achieve the same result. Working harder it will also run a little hotter and that also uses more amps. Throw in an adverse wind or current and the difference in the amount of amps used is magnified again. In all brands of elec motor the larger sizes are also technically more economical to run.

In saying all that I'm sure you would be very pleased with a 55 or abouts and just get the biggest battery you can fit in your boat, 130 amphr is good and will go for a couple of days without running flat, running flat will f##k up your battery.
OH and the auto-pilot function is fantastic.
Starting to see quite a lot of Snakes with probs about 6 to 12 months out of warranty, some have taken over 2 months for parts. I would pay more for the Minn kota myself cause if I was away somewhere like Awoonga and I had a prob, I could get the part overnighted and and be fishing again later the next day.(It happened)
Salt or fresh? If you're only fishing the saltonce or twice a year I'd go with the freshwater model and use some Inox before and after each trip in the salt.
Cheers
Mike

[NAGG]

Sorry but I can't agree, a larger motor uses less amps to get from A to B.
Sure both runSning at 100% the smaller motor will will use less amps over a set time but the bigger motor would've covered a hell of a lot more ground.
If you wish to troll or work along a bank casting lures at say 2kph the smaller motor will be running a lot harder and be using a lot more power from the bat to achieve the same result. Working harder it will also run a little hotter and that also uses more amps. Throw in an adverse wind or current and the difference in the amount of amps used is magnified again. In all brands of elec motor the larger sizes are also technically more economical to run.

In saying all that I'm sure you would be very pleased with a 55 or abouts and just get the biggest battery you can fit in your boat, 130 amphr is good and will go for a couple of days without running flat, running flat will f##k up your battery.
OH and the auto-pilot function is fantastic.
Starting to see quite a lot of Snakes with probs about 6 to 12 months out of warranty, some have taken over 2 months for parts. I would pay more for the Minn kota myself cause if I was away somewhere like Awoonga and I had a prob, I could get the part overnighted and and be fishing again later the next day.(It happened)
Salt or fresh? If you're only fishing the saltonce or twice a year I'd go with the freshwater model and use some Inox before and after each trip in the salt.
Cheers
Mike

Actually my 74lb Kota draws less power than a 54lber ...... 42amp/h Vs 50amp/h ( maximum draw)
Nagg

[nipsta]

sound like you blokes have owned a watersnake the way yous talk about them so ill leave it up to yous to convince him what to buy as minnkota the only to have right well i hate to say it there all as good as each other if ya ask me if you asked each bloke im sure there is the bees knees of electric the boats the best there outboard uses the least amount of fuel. the bottom line is if watersnake are all you can afford the go that way if you can afford a minn kota go that way but i will say this take a freshwater into the salt and take it for warranty opps null inviod you think you have removed all the corrision off untill they pull it apart and see a slight bit of corrision in there and thenwarranty gone if there is a way for them to get out fixing it im sure they will

i did all the research under the sun on them before i bought mine and i belive i made the right decision for me i also belive if i tryied to keep up with all the pro i would be divorced and broke . i was also told you dont need the biggest electric out the i ahev a mate who has a 17foot boat with a 40lb minn kota on the front on a gator mount and he get along just as quick as my 13foot with the 44lb so he was the one that convinced me to go the way i didi and i tend to agree with him you can go as big as you want but if all your trying to achieve is to sneak around snag and weed edge then 44lb ish will do thats my thoughs on it anyway best of luck i hope you enjoy what ever you get.


just a little bit from me

[nipsta]

Actually my 74lb Kota draws less power than a 54lber ...... 42amp/h Vs 50amp/h ( maximum draw)
Nagg

my watersnake does 3knotts top speed and uses 30amps and hour at full power uses less the slow you go but when im working in the stick chasing barra it just ticks over moving me round when needed and i got it to troll at 1.9knot into se wind at monduran and did really well so what would a bigger motor give you

[reelemin1974]

I have a freshwater version and have used it 98% in salt, it is 3 years old now and still going. It is past it's used by date , and is about to be replaced, but I am suprised it lasted this long, all I have done is dunked it in hot water after each use and run it forwards and backwards for a minuite or so.

Now I know warranty and blah blah blah, but the fact is, it has lasted 3 years, only cost about $250 (transom mount) and even if it was going at 100% I would still be upgrading as new technology is hard to walk past.

Something to think about I guess. Minn Kota by the way.

One other thing, a few things have stuffed up on it but NOTHING to do with Salt water. The tightening screw to hold the shaft in place was only screwing into nylon and subsequently got stripped in about 2.3 mins. The teeth that hold the motor up or down have both broken off (plastic) so now a drill bit is used.Ha Ha

[davez104]

Actually my 74lb Kota draws less power than a 54lber ...... 42amp/h Vs 50amp/h ( maximum draw)
Nagg

But isn't your 74lb a 24V and the 54 a 12V? If thats right your motor is acctually using a lot more power than the small motor. 1008 Watts for yours compared to 600 Watts for the 54.

Dave.

[StevenM]

But isn't your 74lb a 24V and the 54 a 12V? If thats right your motor is acctually using a lot more power than the small motor. 1008 Watts for yours compared to 600 Watts for the 54.

Dave.

Correct , you beat me too that one.

[NAGG]

But isn't your 74lb a 24V and the 54 a 12V? If thats right your motor is acctually using a lot more power than the small motor. 1008 Watts for yours compared to 600 Watts for the 54.

Dave.

I'm not talking power used ! ... I'm talking draw on the batteries or battery( & battery life)

So I can run for longer on 2x100amp batteries .... compared to a 54lber running 1 x 100amp

Nagg

[davez104]

I'm not talking power used ! ... I'm talking draw on the batteries or battery( & battery life)

So I can run for longer on 2x100amp batteries .... compared to a 54lber running 1 x 100amp

Nagg

Battery drain and power used is the same thing. Not trying to pick an argument, but ya gotta compare apples with apples. I bet the smaller motor would still be chugging along, long after yours had died if he had the same two batteries you've got. It's sorta like saying my V8 Landcruiser has a 200 L tank and I get 1200 km out of a tank, but your Barina has a 30L tank and only gets 600km so I must get better economy. Doesn't quite work like that. As far as your 74lb electric goes, your "fuel tank" is twice as big as the 54lbers.

Dave.

[DJ77]

I have a 54lb bow mount water snake on a 4m ally cat works great picked it up for $599 and a quick release bracket$165 no problems yet half the price of a MK
looks like good value to me just wish i got 1 sooner

[plaztix]

I've got a 50lb Transom mount minn kota riptide on a 4.15 Sea Jay SP and it pushes it along nicely.

Personally i thought the peace of mind (and warranty) was worth it with Minn Kota. Would love a bow mount with AP but couldn't justify the dollars at the time.

[two fold]

I think nagg has got his wires crossd a bit.
As dave says you have to compare same or similar and cant compare 12 volt and 24 volt.
For my two bobs in the minn kota is a better propersition and have been around longer
Purcho

[angler1]

i've had my watersnake 54lb for 18 months and not a drama,i cant see why you would spend a crap load of money when the less expensive model does the job for half price.

[Mike Delisser]

i've had my watersnake 54lb for 18 months and not a drama,i cant see why you would spend a crap load of money when the less expensive model does the job for half price.

Watersnakes only have a fraction of the market but I seem to be repairing them more than MK or MG.