Pro Angler 17t with Motorguide Xi5 1st Review

[wiredantz]

I wanted to give a short review on my new XI5 Motorguide.

There is very little information on what it actually does on the PA17T HObie Canoe boat barge 3000.


Overall, i had a very frustrating experience at the end with it.

Let me start with the short synopsis:

Pros:

Anchor GPS mode is awesome
Ability to connect to Lowrance GPS UNIT and control from GPS including waypoints.

Cons:
Ability to connect to Lowrance will cost $300 extra...
XI5 Motorguide is heavy
Max speed is 2.5 for PA17T
Control eats up batteries like some people eat yesterdays chocolate cake
No warning of when control battery is low.
Surf Launching is out of the question except at la jolla
Makes Bow Heavy, but not too bad
To replace batteries on Control, you need to unscrew 4 screws to have direct access to the motherboard of the control itself.




So longer review....

The way i hooked it up:

I bought the motor mount PA17T:


the Nylon motorguide quick disconnect:



two the minnkota quick disconnect plugs :



I connect the the minn kota plugs using 8 gauge wire from the bow to the stern.

I also replaced the batteries on the control unit with brand new AAA Lithium Energezer batteries. To replace the AAA batteries on the control you literally have to unscrew all four sides to have direct access to the motherboard!!!! WTH!
(come on guys) direct access to the mother board!!!! this is a water unit!!!!




Next,

THe unit is heavy there is no way in the world you can transport this on the kayak on a trailer... So you need to put it in the car....

Ok so on the water....

If you want to fish a certain GPS Mark a certain rock, etc the ANCHOR mode will hold....


IF you program it , to go from point a to b at max speed it only goes 2.5 mph.





also when the batteries run low.....the control does not communicate with the motor.... so you will crash to whatever thing your heading too with no way of stopping this pieace of CRAP and bang up your new motor on a pieace of wood that could of easily be PREVENTED...

RAGE QUIT


So in conclusion....
stick to torqeedo





Before i went out to Lake Barrett, i replaced the control batteries with two new lithium aaa from Energizer.










https://youtu.be/HrL3J6K3KLg


[IMG][/IMG]





OVERALL SCORE ON OKFD SCALE

4 out of 10

Torqeedo vs Motorguide
There are not too many motors out there for Kayaks, for speed you are going to go with a Torqeedo Ultralight.
For anchor mode, torqeedo does not have that option... so motorguide takes the cake on this one.
For portability Torqeedo wins.
For Price point, they are pretty much the same at the end of the day....
Torqeedo Ultralight is sold as an all inclusive package, the motor guide you need to buy everything separate.

on a sidenote: I hope the the nmea connector 2000 does not have to rely on the stupid control....
I don't have faith on the control... as i scratched my new motor already because of control failure.... grrrr



Also it seems if you have a torqeedo motor and a XI5 motor spinning at the same speed.... seems counter productive...

i seem to go slower, so ill use one at a time..