06-22-2007, 08:57 PM
I've had both, but only Minn Kotas for the last decade or so. The foot pedals that come with them are junk. I used to go through them on a monthly basis. I've been using custom made hand controls for many years now, and only go through one or two a year. (I keep about 6 on hand!) They are no longer available.
Every tolling motor on the market is junk in my opinion. If they weren't they'd cost a couple of thousand dollars, and nobody but me would buy them. The Minn Kotas are the easiest to fix and work on. There's 3 main parts, all easily replaceable and interchangeable. You have the shaft and lower unit, which are nearly bomb-proof. The circut board, which seems to last me 3-5 seasons, and the steering motor, which lasts me about 3-4 seasons. A season for me is 200 days roughly on my trolling motors.
The hand controls I have learned to repair when needed. I'd suggest you look into investing $150 in a co-pilot system rather than using those aweful "foot pedals" that come with the power drives. If you need to use your foot to run the motor, I'd avoid power drives all together and get a cable-steer motor, or maybe one of the new, fancy-schmancy digitals.
Also, I think the newer power drives also have a new pedal design, which might be better. (Though I wouldn't hold your breath when it comes to Minn Kota.)
So, for those reasons, Minn Kota is the lesser of all the evils. But, I've never had an electric I like in terms of durability. The simple power drive is best, least expensive, and easy to fix or have fixed.
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Every tolling motor on the market is junk in my opinion. If they weren't they'd cost a couple of thousand dollars, and nobody but me would buy them. The Minn Kotas are the easiest to fix and work on. There's 3 main parts, all easily replaceable and interchangeable. You have the shaft and lower unit, which are nearly bomb-proof. The circut board, which seems to last me 3-5 seasons, and the steering motor, which lasts me about 3-4 seasons. A season for me is 200 days roughly on my trolling motors.
The hand controls I have learned to repair when needed. I'd suggest you look into investing $150 in a co-pilot system rather than using those aweful "foot pedals" that come with the power drives. If you need to use your foot to run the motor, I'd avoid power drives all together and get a cable-steer motor, or maybe one of the new, fancy-schmancy digitals.
Also, I think the newer power drives also have a new pedal design, which might be better. (Though I wouldn't hold your breath when it comes to Minn Kota.)
So, for those reasons, Minn Kota is the lesser of all the evils. But, I've never had an electric I like in terms of durability. The simple power drive is best, least expensive, and easy to fix or have fixed.
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