I'm looking for a slide mount for a MotorGuide Xi5. My boat cover won't fit with the trolling motor attached so I use a Quick Release mount to remove the motor prior to covering. Kind of a pain. I found the Slide Maxx, but looks like it only works with MinnKotas. Does anyone know of something similar for the Xi5?

Do not believe you can utilize a slide back bracket on the xi5 as the front nose of the motor drops down.

Can you weld? I have something in design that I am trying but have not come up with a completed proto-type yet. Once it's done, I'll let Philip (Slidemaxx) make and market it.

Always thinking aren't ya Ron...

Thought I'd post an update... Received my MotorGuide Xi5 last week and decided to pick up a MotorGuide Quick-Release Composite bracket to use until I got the slide bracket figured out. The trolling motor I'm replacing is a MinnKota PowerDrive V2 with iPilot mounted on a MinnKota Quick Release bracket MKA-21. When I pulled the MinnKota I noticed that the MotorGuide bracket and the MKA-21 were about the same size. The only difference is the size of the puck that gets mounted to the boat. The bolt pattern is identical! I currently have the Xi5 installed on my boat using the MKA-21.

As for the slide mount... I got in touch with Philip and he actually came by with a SlideMaxx. After about an hour we had mocked up what it will take to make an adapter to mount the Xi5 on the SlideMaxx. It is essentially stacking two MKA-21 brackets between the SlideMaxx and the Xi5. You need 2" to clear the Xi5 overhang. At $85 per MKA-21, I'll instead order a couple of 6.75" x 12.5" x 1" pieces of black StarBoard (~$53) and drill the mount holes myself. I'll also need get some longer stainless steel screws to account for the extra 2".

The Xi5 integration with the Lowrance HDS is incredible. Took it out Saturday and was able to locate a brush pile on the map using side scan/structure map, put the cursor on it and engage auto-pilot. The Xi5 took me right to it and anchored directly over it. The Xi5 anchor function is much more accurate than the MinnKota. The MinnKota would keep me in the area (+- about 15 feet). I was unable to detect any drift with the Xi5.

Could you post some pictures of you're installation?

Finished my installation. I'm pleased with the outcome so far. With the motor in the stowed position, my cover fits and the motor clears the roller when loading and unloading! With a few mods I was able to get 11 inches of movement stop-to-stop.

Material List...
1 - SlideMaxx
2 - 6.75"x12.5"x1" Black StarBoard
6 - 1/4-20 x 3" 18-8 Stainless Steel Phillips Flat Head Machine Screw (Fastenal part #2172724)

The pictures below show the motor mounted with the MKA-21, my "prototype" adapter and then the final installation. Hope these are visable and useful.


MKA-21 mount...


Prototype adapter made from three 3/4" plywood spacers...


Final installation...

















I also added a Cannondale Lefty one piece bicycle stem for a deployment handle as suggested by JkWho. Works great!

Love my Cannondale handle as well it was a good idea whoever thought of it!!

Ranger1965,
Thank you for doing the legwork of this installation for me. I'm about to install a Xi5 on my Skeeter 21i and and I appreciate you sharing your work.
Where did you purchase the Starboard?
Mike

I got the Starboard from Boat Outfitters. 2 peices, 1" thick, 6 3/4" x 12 1/2", $53.63 shipped. The cuts were spot on. Ordered on Tuesday morning and received Friday afternoon via UPS standard shipping.

http://www.boatoutfitters.com/cut-to-size-black-king-starboard

While not necessary, I epoxied the two boards together before drilling the holes. I clamped the MKA-21 to my prototype boards to use as a template. I found that the MKA-21 was a very tight fit on the Xi5 so I made the gap between sides just a bit wider by bumping the template out about 1/32". Then I refitted the template for the other side and drilled the other 3 holes. Once I was satisfied with the fit, I used a prototype board as a template on the Starboard block.

One other tip... be sure to clean up any cuts or holes you drill into the SlideMaxx. Metal fragments or debris is bad for sliding aluminum surfaces. I used a file to round all surfaces. I ended up using the file to basically polish all sliding surfaces until smooth. Then I sprayed the rails with a little white lithium grease and all was good!

Interesting. I am trying to figure out how to mount an Xi5 on my duck boat.

Wonder of this could be done and still be quickly removable?
How long is that slidemaxx?

Also, how wide is it?

The SlideMaxx is 24" long by 6" wide. Removing the rear stop bolt with an allen wrench allows the trolling motor to be removed. Takes about 30 seconds from start to finish most if which is spent unpluging the power, sonar and enet cables.

Is that 24" with it extended?

The base of the SlideMaxx is 24" long. When the Xi5 is in the deployed position (picture #3 above), it extends 6" beyond the base. The Xi5 slides back 10.5" to lock into the stowed position (picture #4). Keep in mind, to get the 10.5" slide range I needed, I had to shorten the rails and move the rear stop bolt. Both easy modifications. I believe the delivered slide range is 7".