I've had some inquiries about my installation of the Xi5 on my Ranger z521 so I thought I would start a new thread instead of tacking on others.
Just a little background, my boat had a MG tour 36v cable steer trolling motor since I purchased it three years ago. In 2013 I fished on Falcon with a guide (Jay Grieshaw) who had a Terrova. I was immediately sold on the idea of a GPS trolling motor and the fact that I spend most of my time ledge fishing made this a must do. I also have three small children that I take out and being able to anchor while dealing with them is a godsend.
I did not like how noisy the Terrova was and I didn't think it was as stable on anchor as I would like. So I waited. In 2013 I heard that MG was coming out with their own model and that it would eventually integrate with Lowrance electronics (which I have - 2 hds12s) and the wait was on. Once I saw that the Xi5 was quieter and more accurate on anchor I was sold but wanted to wait til the Lowrance gateway was out.
I purchased my 36v Xi5 in November of last year and began the process of installation. The installation on a bass boat presents a couple issues. First and foremost is that the mounting requires the unit to be extended well over the front of the boat so that the shaft on deployment clears the rub rail. This 'can' create problems loading and unloading on the trailer as the bracket can interfere with the roller on the trailer. With this, I had the option of the various removable mounts. Motorguide has the "pin on" removable mount which I did not like for several reasons and Minn Kota had a couple slide on mounts. I chose to go with the Minn Kota MKA-47 and have been very pleased with this bracket.
I did have to modify the mount slightly to work in my application. First, the threaded mounting holes on the bracket don't perfectly line up with the Xi5 as they are just slightly too narrow. I was able to re-drill them on one side and use bolts and nuts on that side to make. The next issue is difficult to describe. I wanted the curved front of the bracket to "key" into the gunwale of the 521 and have about 1/8" of clearance. I also wanted the shaft to clear the rubrail by 1/4" or so when extended. The difference between these mounting position is about 5". This required me to drill the top plate to create a new locking point for the thumbscrew that locks the upper to lower plates of the mount and slot the hex screw slot on the top plate about 1/2". So for my application the bracket stops short of full extension on both ends of travel by about 1/2".
Base Plate mounting:
IMG_2821.jpg
Stowed position:
IMG_3112.jpg
Deployed position:
IMG_3114.jpg
The next issue was with the installation of the Lowrance HDI transducer to allow for downscan imaging from the trolling motor. Rant: Given the relatively low cost of the HDI transducer, it is beyond me why Lowrance and Motorguide do not include downscan capability in the built in unit. The challenge with the transducer install is dealing with the cable. MG does not have a slot like the Terrova to route a cable up the shaft so it must be coiled around the shaft. For this I borrowed the idea of using a 1/2" rigid water hose to provide a permanent coil and to protect the HDI cable. This has proved to be a manageable solution but does make stowing the unit a little more challenging due to the buildup between the motor and steering block.
Stowed:
IMG_3118.jpg
Deployed:
IMG_3122.jpg
The last issue I had with install was the lack of a handle to help with deploy/stow. Rant: it is beyond me why MotorGuide doesn't have something for this. The good news is that the shaft is 1.25" in diameter which happens to be a common size for bicycle stems. After a lot of investigation I found a Cannondale Lefty one piece stem (ebay $40) that is AWESOME, installs in 1 minute and makes a dramatic difference in ease of deploy/stow. Here is a picture of it installed:
IMG_3125.jpgIMG_3127.jpg
Having fished a week or so with this setup I can say that it is one awesome setup. The ability to anchor on a spot is something I could never give up. I love the heading lock and use it for running banks. This past weekend I did a lot of bank shakeyhead fishing and it is so nice to set the heading and speed (in this case .3 mph) and not have to stand on the trolling motor or start and stop. It really does make fishing easier and makes me a better fisherman.
I have played some with the gateway and lowrance integration and think it is well implemented but not as important as the base features of the Xi5. The route following is very neat but as a primary bass fisherman it is not mandatory.
For me this product gets pretty close to the holy grail of trolling motors. I wish for a couple things:
One - the previously mentioned integration of downscan IN the motor. If that can't happen for noise issues, then give me a suitable slot or channel up the shaft to run the cable.
Two - power deploy and stow like the new Minn Kota. Awesome feature.
Three - a proportional foot control. The technology is there to build a foot control that links to the unit that allows for proportional steering based on position of the foot pedal. The 'on-off' left right foot control is a joke. A proportional foot control would make the unit behave just like what we are used to and speed the demise of the cable steer trolling motor.
Paul Bird
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by scj
