hey todd, how secure is that quick release? i went ahead and bolted mine straight to the hull but kinda thought about the quick release. i had one a couple of years ago that got torn and i almost lost my TM when it jumped off the boat

I see they came out with a new style quick release that cabelas carries. I am also curious to the durability of these. I heard a guy a couple weeks ago say his released and now his Terrova is on the bottom of Texoma. For those that have them feedback would be greatly appreciated, also if you have any thoughts on how to modify to make more secure.

Thanks for the tip. I've been shopping around and hadn't heard of these guys....

Bombay Paul, my previous TM fell in the water because the quickRelease bracket was not installed correctly by a shop in Marble Falls. They did not use nuts because they couldnt reach but instead they drilled 4 holes big enought to slide the four screws down and all screws were held in place by expandable rubber plugs. That works fine for my older 24v TM, but I upgraded to the 36v 101#, the TM did a summersault into the lake. Thank God my insurance paid for another TM and I came out ahead.

The second install around I cut a 4" circle near the TM where I have easy access and instead of using washers, I used a metal plate under the hull with four pre-cut holes, aligned to the screw holes. Now the hull has to rip apart for the TM to come off, lol. I use a deckplate to cover the 4" access hole and it actually looks nice. Wave me over the next time and I can show it to you.

Now, for the quickRelease bracket, I think mine is the white RTA-17 Quick Release Bracket, because my TM is a ripTide (ie saltwater) white. Its about 3 yrs old. MinnKota website says the material is "High-yield composite construction is super strong and impervious to corrosion." But for added security I still secure the TM by tying it to the hull with a small rope.

As far as self deploying, that happend to me twice. Both times I did not stow/slide the TM all the way in. You have to hear a "click" sound when its "lock" all the way in, instead of being partially in. The bounces from the moving boat wil cause it to unwantedly self deploy.

Hope that helps

Thanks, Todd. Sounds like more trouble that's it's worth when u can just bolt 4 screws through the hull and know it's NEVER coming off.

What is the best price so far you guys found and where ?

I wrote all that down when I got home that one Saturday when we fished! Will 24 volt be enough for a 20 foot boat? If I don't have to go 36 will save me a lot of trouble. My buddy Aaron is an electrician and is going to help me put in a 50AMP plug... He put that plug in that Fish Master boat we were in Sunday. Keeps it from arching or tripping. I saw that quick release and plan to order that also!

I think 80# thrust will work for a 20 footer, Frank! Several buddies got the 80# on same size boats. The quick release will make it much easier to install and to remove the TM when you need to.

I have a 22ft pathfinder with the 80 lb short shaft riptide (saltwater version). Greatest thing since sliced bread! Some comments regarding the above questions:

80 lb thrust works fine for me on my 22ft. I fish from the back of the boat so that I can see the GPS & fish finder on the center consol & have not had much of a problem with the short shaft coming out of th water. On my pathy, it would have been hard to arrange the tm on the bow without the longer shaft "hanging over" the outside profile of the boat & making it easier to "rub off" on a dock, etc. If the weather is bad enough that the tm is coming out of the water, it might be time to find calmer water. Having said that, the longer shaft tm would not hurt!

for pricing, check:

http://mk.factoryoutletstore.com/cat/20863/Minn-Kota-Riptide-ST-Trolling-Motors.html

The new quick mount works great! (as long as the boat half of the mount is thru-bolted to the deck)! It is great knowing that if I have a lot of people on the boat for a non fishing day, I can get the TM off the boat & out of the way!

As far as the self deploy: When you stow the tm, make sure it LOCK into position! If the power light goes out, you should be good to go. If the power light on the tm does not go out, it is not locked down.

And BTW, after seeing me fight with my old tm in the wind on Baffin bay back in June, my wife is the one that said "go order the ipilot, I am the only one fishing in this wind, you keep working the tm all the time" Gotta love a fishing fanatic wife!!!

after the HDS-7, it is the best piece of equipment on my boat!

Thanks Todd!

Thanks! All this is good information. I always trust those that have been there done that....

When mine self deployed it was latched and the light was out.I now slide the depth adjustment bracket against it and tighten it against the stowed trolling motor as an extra caution.

If you look on page 5 of your owners manual under transportaion it says to move the depth drive collar snug against the steering motor and tighten in high levels of shock or vibration.With the winds we usaully have my troller is stowed this way every time.

I bought a Ram mount stabalizer, I dont have the Terrova yet..LOL..but when I do it should hold it nice and secure

jsplinter, just an FYI . . . .

On the ram mounts for ipilots . .. I was worried about vibration & movement, and I had heard horror stories of tm heads hitting the deck in heavy wave action so I looked at the ram mount also. The tm height above deck on my boat and the shaft configuration of the ipilot was such that I wanted some "advice" as to the length/height of the ram unit . . . . so I called Minn Kota, and talked to a tech rep there. He said that because there was very minimal weight in the head unit of the tm, that Minn Kota did not see a need for or recommend the use of a stabilizer unit! So after a moment of stunned silence, I decided that I would watch the unit for a while. So far, there has been absolutely NO problems with head or shaft movement on my ipilot. At this time, i have to agree with MK, I don't see a need for a stabilizer. I tend to keep a pretty close eye on it, cause I sure don't want any issues, but so far I haven't had to drill any extra holes for the ram mount!