i pilot on a bass boat

[danh124]

Hey guys any one run an i pilot on a bass boat.
I have a maxxum currently but it is comming to the end of its life and im sick of the corrosion so im looking at the salt water range of bow mounts.
Im certaly sold on the concept of i pilot but how good is it.
How do the servo driven leccys perform, i love the dirrect instant response of the cable steer.
I would love the spot lock and the track log thing but im just worried that the servo steer wont be direct enough.
Also how do the 80 lb ipilots fit on a bass boat there appears to be only a 56 inch shaft tha i fear will be to long.
Any advice or thoughts would be appreciated.

[danh124]

Any advice in general on these motors then gents.

[forsterfisho]

I got the 55lb I pilot and I love it, it is a fantstic piece of kit!

I've been in a few bass boats with the Ipilot fitted, doesn't seem to be any issues with them.

[danh124]

Excelent, do you ever feel that the steering is not fine enough in its adjustment.

[forsterfisho]

Can't really comment, as i've always owned servo steer motors, never had a cable steer.
I fish racks a fair bit and sometimes its a bit tricky, but I put that down to fishing in a boat with high sides and an unco skipper...

[danh124]

Haha nice one, thanks for your advice, how good is the spot lock.

[forsterfisho]

No worries. Spotlock is great, its worth its weight in gold when your fishing solo, no more stuffing around trying to re-rig or unhook a fish whilst keeping an eye on where the boat is going and steering around obsticles.
Perfect for holding off a school of fish on structure such as a rock wall or bridge pylon. Just watch out for the circle, its 5 foot which is pretty big...i've nearly had the boat hit a pylon when first testing it out.

[danh124]

Thanks mate looks like ill have to start saving my bickies

[max]

I also have the 55 i pilot but havnt used cable steer ,the track feature is great just do a run along a bank etc. & if its productive hit return & you can fish from anywhere in the boat & just concentrate on fishing,used it in the NT for trolling long runs on rock bars up & back ,sitting on casting deck jig trolling drinking tinnies (legal up there) & spot lock is brilliant as stated especially if youve got your head down re rigging or whatever

[danh124]

It does sound the bussiness, just worried that i wont have the same leval of control im used to round moored boats etc. Going to have to bite tue bullet and just buy one i think.

[Wario]

danh124

The RIptide ST iPilot I have is BY FAR THE BEST piece of fishing equipment I have EVER bought! They are brilliant.

It takes a while to learn the remote control functions but once learnt you should be able to manouver it around anything - boats, moarings etc.

The spot lock & track functions make you sooooo much more productive when fishing alone or with two up.

Even if you're halfway through running a recorded path/track & you get hit with bites or find a patch you can easily spot lock it there & then re-hit traqck to start or end & off she goes.

Just buy one!

A BIG HINT thouigh, make sure you have a VERY good battery running it & make sure your battery management system (charging, connection between the two batteries - front & rear) is very good. They chew up the power & I have flattened both batteries & been stuck before I got my charging system working perfectly.

[dpack]

Dan,

I fished from Dean Gambles Legend fitted with I pilot over two days.

It was good.

I have an 80pd Terrova and am happy with it. If you want to have a go of it I'll take you out sometime.

I've used both cable and servo. I'd say at first you wont like servo but then you will get used to it and you will be happy.

The servo ones are excellent when fishing in heavy current and when moving very slowly across flats. I use auto pilot a lot. Just point in the direction you want to go, set auto pilot and speed and forget about it.

Auto pilot does not like rough water though, but probably not an issue for your boat.

Dave
(Umina)

[oldbarboy]

They r good I like mine but it isn't as responsive as cable but that's it's only drawback. The other features far out way everything else. As mentioned spot lock is fantastic on snags if u r on your own. I havnt done much rack work but it would just take a bit of getting ust to

[Frithy]

Hey mate, having used cable steer you will notice the delay with the i-pilot but you'l adapt after a bit. The only criticism i have is with the spot lock (i'm starting to think mine might be a bit dodgy) as it claims to keep you within 5 feet of your chosen spot, however, at times when there is a breeze I can be up to 15-20+ feet from the spot, and the prop is only working on speed 2 to try and get me back to the spot rather than going up to 5 or 6 and actually holding me where it should be. However, the rest of the features are great, especially auto-pilot when working a bank.

[danh124]

Thanks guys for all your responses, Dave i might take you up on that offer one day ill drop you pm.
So far all feedback is positive so pending a trial i think i will get one. Just need to save my bickies.