Getting a 22 ft pontoon for family fun and crappie fishing. Can anyone with a pontoon recommend a type and ant thrust u need for holding a position over brush. I am looking at the terrova and xi5 but haven't seen any on a pontoon.
Thanks

i have had a minn kota 80lb on my 22ft and it worked great. i am picking up my new 23ft this week with my xi5 80....will let you know how it works..

LOVE my Xi5....best thing i ever bought for my boat! i got the #80 24v 54" holds my 21 ' boat good up to 12 mph wind but beyond that it just works it too hard..

I have a 20' pontoon. I first put a 80# Xi5 on it worked great but wind was a problem at times. Changed to a 105# Xi5, problem solved.

Better to have too much power than too little. Buy the 36V. I have used both Minnkota and Motor Guide. I much prefer the Xi5 Motor Guide.

I had a 112 lb terrova (60") on my 22 ft toon and that worked great with spotlock. I have a friend with similar boat with an 80lb xi5. It works well most all the time but when the wind is really blowing he has some trouble staying put. They catch a lot of wind.

I have the Ulterra 80 lb thrust 24 volts. If the wind is too much for it. I'm at home. The Spotlock is awesome.

I personally don't have a pontoon but watched my fianc�e's family deal with a few issues on theirs so here are my recommendations.

1. get at least an 80lb thrust 24V and if you can do it space wise go with 105lb 36V!!
2. get a shaft length of at least 52"! or more if they have the option. the 46" didn't cut it at all with the pontoon sitting so high(they mounted it straight on the bow).

Thanks so much for all the input. It's my first boat so all of this is new to me. In my research i found that the motairguide spot luck was better than minnkota but maybe that was the older version. I don't want to have it on spot lock and slam into bridge pilings. I'll look into the 36 volt then based on what I'm hearing. Just need to decide btw motor guide and minnkota now

another thing.DO NOT run your TM wires and your front fish finder wires through same hole to batteries .keep them some distance apart as the TM will distort your FF big time! had to change mine about 12" apart,works fine now. i went to the starting battery with the FF. i also installed a kill switch on the TM just in case your line gets wrapped around the prop.also you will have to re-set the TM sometimes by disconnecting the power source and reconnecting if it cant pick up the satellite as mine did 1 time also i added a lift handle made from a bike handle bar post .much better than grabbing the TM head to deploy!

One thing here you have to have a good signal for either to work. I don't have much luck under a bridge, unless its tall. but I do like my XI5...

Motor guide made sure you couldn't get a good signal under the bridge just to keep "jig Man" from catching ALL the fish.....

Look up Greg Finn of Camo River Guide Service as he Crappie guides weekly out of a pontoon. I think he has a ultera. He may have a YouTube video on his as well.

This guy says the XI5 has a delay before it corrects the position. It will blow 5 ft off and then come back. This is unacceptable to me when crappie fishing a brush pile. I'm seeing mixed reviews though when searching. Some are saying the motorguides have like a 10ft play with spot lock. I'm looking at either the Terrova or XI5. Any input is much appreciated. Sorry for all the questions but i dont want to buy a 2000 dollar tm and it not do what I want. Thanks.

https://youtu.be/PCngxefYUXs

I have the Ulterra on a 24' toon. Spotlock works great but isn't perfect, it sure beats having to fight a foot pedal all day though. If I notice I drifted back a bit, I just use remote to go back forward till I see brush on the graph (transducer is in TM) and hit anchor again. Best thing I have added to my boat by a long shot.

I have an XI5 on a 20' Skeeter and it is great in the wind .... when the wind is real, real light, it seems to get confused and the motor runs continuous left, right, left, right ..... so I usually just turn it off and ease back up if I drift.