Xi5 trolling motor on a 209

[CCGambler206]

Has anyone put an xi5 motorguide on a 209 thinking of doing this pretty soon. What shaft length? I’m gonna stay 24 volt system. Likes dislikes etc thanks

[yupitsme]

Had one for a little over 3 years. Ordered it with the 45” shaft and that was”ok”. Recently had motor failure due to water intrusion. Opted to just get an entire lower unit. In any case the shaft is one time use as they’re destroyed on removing the lower unit/motor. I opted to replace the 45” shaft with a 54” shaft. Years ago I centered the trolling motor on the bow. Because of tha the 54” shaft was as long as I could go w/o hitting the front pedestal seat post. Were that not the case I would have opted for the 60” shaft. I fish Toledo Bend - a lot. I fish off shore - a lot. Toledo Bend can get really rough hence the reason I’m getting the longer shaft. The 45” worked for 3 years. It would still be working had the motor not failed.

The Xi5 is not an Ultrex. It does not cost what an Ultrex does. If you remove the differences in the foot steering the Xi5 is as good or better than any GPS capable trolling motor on the market. Do not fail to pony up for the Xi5 gateway solution. Me and a guy with an Ultrex met on the lake one day. We put both trolling motors on spot lock/anchor lock with the boats close enough you could step out of one boat and into the other. We set there talking for over an hour - the boats never touched and never got so far apart that it wasn’t possible to go from one to the other. Pretty neat display of technology.

All of that said... At iCast in July all the major players: MotorGuide, Lowrance, Garmin will be releasing new trolling motors. Word is PowerPole will also enter the market with a trolling motor of their own - we’ll see. But... ya’ may wanna wait a month before pulling the trigger on a new trolling motor.

[CCGambler206]

Can you send some set up pics 513-214-8562. Also planning to use a 3n1 transducer will there be any problems with that?

[yupitsme]

Not sure what you mean by "set-up" I'm guessing "install". There are a couple of "got'cha's" put the Xi5 on a Gambler. Over-hang being the largest hurdle. I utilized both a 1/2" plate of 7075 Aluminum and the quick release bracket. Out of something like 10 bolt locations on the quick release bracket only 6 ended up in the bow mount location. With the addition of the 1/2" plate I added 4 more bolting locations. Where you see the tape with "CS" those are the holes I added.





The 6 factory holes were used to clamp the quick release bracket to the plate/top cap. The 4 'CS" holes only bolted the plate the the bow/top cap.

Clearance is an issue.....



Laying out the bolt holes for the 7075 plate / quick release bracket...



I am not fond of wires/cable laying all over the place. So for me adding a separate transducer is a no-go. I've seem some add on transducer solutions. I've seen no "good" transducer add on solutions.

If your trolling motor is not on the centerline you won't have one problem I encountered the bump up @ the bow panel had to be cleared. That was one reason for adding the 1/2" plate the other reason for adding it was strength - not enough bolt holes reached the bolting surface using only the quick release bracket.

Like I said.... I don't like wires/cables running everywhere.... Where you see the scupper the cables coming out of the base included: Sonar, NMEA2000 and power for the bow lights.

[CCGambler206]

So your saying if I mount on the side like a traditional motor I won’t have any clearance issues? Also how do you feel about the stow and deploy? I seen some people added a handle to the shaft.

[yupitsme]

Nope... didn't say you wouldn't have issues. Said you wouldn't have to worry about the bump up at the bow panel. You may or may not have problems with sufficient number of mounting holes that contact the top cap. I'd be willing to bet you will absolutely need the extra mounting footprint gained by using the quick release btacket/plate.

[yupitsme]

I seen some people added a handle to the shaft.

I’ll be 70 in 6 months. I have no issue with stow/deploy even on Toledo Bend when it’s rough. Just get over the idea of using your foot on the release bar. Bend over grab the head with one hand press the release bar with the other. Nuttin’ to it.