JW watersnake electric bowmount motors any good? or peices of junk?

[burleygu]

hey guys bit of a question here never had an electric motor before but am looking at putting one onto my bluefin 4.75 viking basically for throwin plastics for flattys. i dont even know anybody with an electric motor so im asking you guys your opinion obviously you get what you pay for these days but i was looking at a 54lb watersnake bowmount? and am wondering if anybody has these and if they are happy with them? or should i just spend twice as much and get a minnkota? im guna mainly use it in saltwater . so any opinion apreciated guys. id much prefer the cheaper option as i might use it maybe twice a month . but if its not worth it its simply not worth it
thanks Tim

[oldboot]

there have been a few electric motor threads in toe past.

seems the water snakes are not bad, the waranty and parts service seemed to be good.

AND

they seemed no less reliable than the min cota's

There have been some posts complaining about the servive for min cota.

someone may have better information.

cheers

[kinrosed]

I'm happy with mine on a 4.39 stacer, and the price is right.

[lethal098]

put one on a mates boat last week, $550 plus the quick release bracket which was $90, have heard good and bad reports on both the JW and the Minn Kota

cheers Lee

[johno r]

Mine is 2 years old done a lot of work trolling and no complaints at all , good value

[Lancair]

Mine was going great before I sold it(and boat).

No complaints here.

[sooty_mad]

I have owned both a WS and MK bow mount. There is no doubt the quality of the MK but I have had problems with the foot control. In fact I have had the foot control repaired three times at my cost.
I broke a shaft on the WS (my own fault) and it has since been repaired. Even though this was repaired at my cost the service and communication from Jarvis Walker was very good.
I also believe the WS is a bit heavier on battery use than the MK. I have no data to back this up, just a gut feeling.
In a perfect world I would choose a MK with a WS foot control and WS service.
Overall I would say that the WS is not as good quality but from a value for money point of view I reckon it beats MK hands down.
Kind regards... David

[Apollo]

Had mine for 18mths and had no issues. Unbeatable value for money.

Steve

[mookyandlumpy]

i have a 54 WS its been fine for about 10 months , the only thing is that if you have to lower the shaft all the way to the braket it has a hard time turning when at full speed ,this is my first leccy so i dont know if that is common,
but anything undr 80% it fine

[perko]

how do the motorguide's compare to both of them?