Electric Motors (Minkota Genises)

[fishfinder]

Is this motor worth the money? I have been looking at the Auto-Pilot.
fishfinder
fishfinder

[ryan the poor college kid]

the aouto pilots have alwas dissapointed me. they head doesn't seem to turn as fast as the cable driven models. i can't speak of the 24V system, but only the 12V. i will never buy another.

[Keith Kavajecz]

I posted this reply before, but may help you with your questions about the Genesis

I have fished the Genesis since it first came out (in fact a couple of motors were pro-types). Like any sophisticated piece of equipment, it had it's growing pains. Last year (2001) was the first year I ran it for the entire season on the PWT. At first I was skeptical enough about it's durability that I carried along a spare Maxxum 74. I happy to report I never used the Maxxum.
The biggest problem I encountered (and you will too) is that there is a long belt that goes up the entire shaft of the motor. This belt is used to stow and deploy the motor. As you use it, this belt can stretch - you can tell this because all of a sudden the motor starts making a ratcheting noise when it goes up or down. The solution is simple, as there is a phillips screw located on the bottom of the head to easily tighten this belt. After the first time you'll have to use it a long time before it needs tightening again.

Some features you will really like (beyond the back saving stow and deploy) are that the pedal runs just like a cable driven pedal. That is you can steer the motor after a while by "feel" - your brain learns what position your foot has to be in to turn left, right, go forward or back. Also because there are no cables - everything runs with a power drive motor - there is no feedback in the pedal.

Lots of people who fish rivers and vertical jig have asked if the motor drive is fast enough to respond to changing wind conditions - answer is yes. Just a hair slower than cable drive, but plenty fast to expertly control the boat.

The unit comes with a gauge that tells you how much battery time you have left based the current speed you are using. I have wore that right down to .1 hours (25 mph holding on the tip of NE 8 mile on Mil Lacs for 6 hours), and it still stowed for me.

I don't know if the is a manual override (I never needed it). I do know the motor comes with a quick disconnect bracket, so if worst came to worst you could disconnect it and lay it on the floor. Again, I've never had to do that.

The unit has autopilot - which because of bracket strength concerns in the past I never got run. For those of you who haven't used it it's great!!! The nicest thing is that, if I for some reason have to get off the motor (re-bait, net, re-tie...), I can turn on the autopilot, and walk away. The boat will stay pointing in the same direction - that's really great on a windy day.

Enough said. I like it, I'll be running one next year, and I won't be carrying a spare.

Good Walleye Fishing

Keith

[Fish-on]

Like any new product that hits the market there was a few problems right away. I love the Genesis AP, I used it all year last year with minimal problems, other than a couple belt tightenings. I have never liked cable foot controls and have been an autoiplot lover since their beginning. The problem with cable controls is that the motor swings wildly back and forth while you are trying to keep your foot on the pedal in waves. They are terribly hard to control compared to an autopilot. The Genesis gives you the best of all worlds because you have different ways to steer. I too wondered about the durability of this big thing on long runs in rough water, but I have had no trouble at all. I do have the head anchored with a ram-mount which I attach in rough water. Good luck if you get one, I would say they are definitely worth the money.

[whitetips]

I too recommend the Genesis, I used it also on the PWT east and guiding. great way to troll bottom boucers with precision.
One thing about the autopilot, adjust the tension screw on the pedal to so autopilot a freedom to turn and move the pedal on auto.
And a 54" is plenty big on the shaft, unless its a tyee than go bigger.

[perchjerker]

With all this talk about how fast the motor head turns on the AP, I took my new AP65 and set it up on the boat yesterday temporarily to fire up the motor and see for myself.

I can tell you the motor turns as fast as you would want it to.

[RonandReel]

Hay fishfinder read plost #2 from Keith. He is right on. You will love
the AP Genises. I have had mine now for two years and no complaints.

[ggg]

One year on the Genesis AP and so far so good. Love the power!

[Brown]

If your looking to save some money on a Genesis, my 1 year old one is for sale. There is absoulutley nothing wrong with, and I love it. The new models have got the built in universal transducer. I'm looking to buy the new model. THe one I've got now has a transducer for a lowrance x85 installed. When I had the transducer installed, Minnkota also replaced the computer board in it because the hour meter didn't work. Thats the only problem I ever had with mine. If someone's intrested, E-mail me at Brown_e@hotmail.com
Save ya some bucks