Talons?

[MI17Explorer]

Any one using Talons care to share your honest opinions? Any issues? Pros/cons?

[nikldac]

John, I had Jr. at Sportsman Center install dual Talons on my 721. I have not had any issues with the Talons that "I" didn't cause (forgot to retract one before pulling the boat up the ramp. I had to remove 3 of the bolts and loosen the 4th...once I did that, I was able to align the Talon with the rod and it retracted once I took the pressure off....Like I said....my fault. It's worked good ever since.

Jr used Power Pole brackets because the new Minn Kota brackets weren't available at the time. Only he can tell you if he feels the new brackets are as good as, or equal to the PP jackplate bracket

Pros: I can easily remove both Talons in 5 minutes for storage, travel, or to prevent theft. I can also switch them to my john boat for the cost of an additional bracket and the quick disconnects.

They are self contained and do not require additional pumps/hoses, etc.

I use two remotes. The one up by the bow is designed to operate each Talon separately. I also have one on the console that will operate both Talons when I hit a single button.

Cons: Talons cannot be easily lowered to go under a low bridge...tree limb, etc. They can be lowered; but it will take some effort. The Power Poles can be. For me...the odds of that actually coming into play is between slim and none. But, one of the guys on here has said "he wanted the PP to be able to get to one area he fishes".

I wish they made a 12 footer.



Best non-biased answer I can give you.

Ernie

[MI17Explorer]

Thanks for the insight. How much have you used yours? How did you run your electrical cable into the bilge?
I've heard about retracting and clutch problems, so that is a concern. Looking into both Talons and Power Poles at the moment. I'd rather not clutter up the bilge area, but I also want something that is reliable.

[Up North Kitty]

I also have dule tallons on my 721 and as long as you take care of them they will take care of you. I run lake st clair every weekend and as long as you go through and keep everything tight you will have no issues. I had lake drive marine here in michigan install mine. If you need any pics of how they are mounted will be glad to send em your way

[nikldac]

Jr had one hull insert fitting and he ran both Talon wires thru the one hole. I highly recommend the quick disconnects.

Here's a pic of how the wires are ran into the back of the hull. You can see the Talon wire running to the hull just to the right of the handrail.

Once the wires are inside the boat, I open the battery compartment and connect them.

Easy, simple and fast.

[MI17Explorer]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by big water phoenix &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote"> I had lake drive marine here in michigan install mine. If you need any pics of how they are mounted will be glad to send em your way</td></tr></table>

If you can post/send pics, that would be awesome. Detail area would also be helpful. What bracket did you use?

Thanks!

[nikldac]

Jr used Power Pole jackplate brackets. I'll take some better pics of the setup tomorrow. Minn Kota was coming out with their new mounts...but they weren't available back in June. I have no opinion regarding MK's new brackets.

Here's another site I check out; and I noticed they had an article comparing PP and Talon. You may find it informative.

http://www.probass.net/protips...s.php

If you go with the Talons; this pic is of the plate that slides into the channel track of the Talons. I took a grinder and knocked off the edges (see right side of plate). It made a world of difference on how easy and fast they are to reattach - I can put both on in 5 minutes, without assistance.



I contacted the sales mgr at MK and sent him a pic of the plate...he said he would give it to engineering.

[revinkevin]

nikldac what are you doing setting your console directly on the concrete floor

[nikldac]

Yep...afraid so. That pic was months ago. Had the guys put up a shelf for my junk. One of these days; I'll get back there and put it on the shelf.

I used it one time when my wife went out with me. She didn't like it; and when I sat down on the cooler to change baits....I didn't like it. Because of the color of my rig; I ordered it to make sure it was available for whoever I sold the rig to, when that time is at hand.

Maybe it's because all of the other boats before this one, was a single console, and I like the extra room - or my fat butt doesn't fit on only a small edge of the cooler.

Nothing against anyone who likes it...but, just not my thing.

[Phnx#22]

I have a buddy that runs into the same issue over and over here on Lake Conroe. When he deploys and it is a muddy or soft clay bottom the clay sticks to the rods and then when retracted the mud compacts and wont allow the rod to extend on the next deploy.

[nikldac]

I had that happen 1 time since I had them put on. I didn't check the spikes, and had a wad of mud on one of them and it dried as hard as a mud-dobbers nest. I used a socket wrench and manually deployed the spike; cleaned the mud off and when I hit the button, it worked. I started giving them a quick once over as I'm strapping the boat down at the ramp. Only takes a couple seconds to hit the down button and if there is a chunk of mud on it; wipe it off. Never had it happen again.

Noticed a post here on BBC of a guy complaining about a leak in one of his PP hoses.

Guess you can say; we anglers have a little mess to clean up every now and then.

Both are good units and it becomes whatever your personal preference is to which unit you put on your rig. If I thought either unit had a lot to be desired; I would have no hesitation in stating; since neither Minn Kota nor Power Pole are one of my customers.

[MI17Explorer]

Thanks for the good info Ernie, and others too!!!

[nikldac]

Here's the pics i promised you:

Only one hole drilled into the boat for the Talon cables. I had the cables wire-tied down, but after removing them to take the Talons off...just left the wire ties off.



The quick disconnect. One for each unit.



Right side bracket pic:



Remote at console:


Remote at bow:

[MI17Explorer]

Thanks for the pics. Looks like the wires run through the tm electric port?