I posted this in the Striper Section but thought some of you might have the same issues if you have the I-Pilot.

I love my I-Pilot but I have always hated how the Minn-Kota Terrova/Power Drives mounted to the boat and stuck out on my bass boat. Every time I passed by my boat in my garage, I would bump into the skeg or prop. Worse yet, when I would load/unload from my trailer the unit would hit the spare tire and I was worried it would eventually break the skeg off or mess up the drive unit. Plus coming into the dock it was just hanging out there ready to get damaged. I looked everywhere for a product but was not finding anything that would resolve these issues. So I worked with Philip from RSR Lures and we came up with a great solution to the overhang problems. He has extensive experience designing and machining products through his other business so I knew we would.

First off, Philip/RSR had previously made a plate for me to mount the trolling motor to the boat because I wanted to use the existing holes as well as distribute the torque over a larger area of the bow. I had heard/read stories of problems because of the small mounting area. Using this plate, we attached a rail system that now allows me to retract the entire unit back 11 �� so when I launch/load the boat it is out of harm�s way. When I am ready to fish, I pull a pin to slide the unit back into place for fishing. And it is rock solid and I can see this unit holding up for many years of service. An additional plus is now I can detach the entire unit for secure storage when I need to.

I believe Philip is also working on a design for another friend who has a center console and detachable mount that has been having the same issues with the overhang. If you are having similar issues or want a better way to mount these units, I would strongly recommend that you get in touch with him. He is a great person to do business with at a reasonable price. His number is 214-448-9019 or you can click on the RSR Lures link in my signature (you can get some great lures too).

Here is a picture of the plate that is permanently mounted to the boat and a quick video of the entire unit (click on 2nd pic for vid).

Nice Fix ! that should work Great !

That's going to work great !
My riptide ipilot on the Sea Fox hits the front roller as its sliding off the trailer .. The steeper the ramp the worse the problem , to be able to easily slide it back and keep it from bangin on the front trailer roller will be awesome . I never thought about the guys that keep a boat slip , that would be a great solution as well .. And to be able to quickly remove it from the boat for storage or repairs as needed is perfect !
Good job Philip ! Looks great !

Needs to be something made for MinnKota for this very reason, maybe he should contact them and sell this item to them.

Looks like a lot of work went into the design and seems like a good solution that might work well for some. Not to nit pick but the fit and finish could use a little work I just sold my boat and my Terrova hopefully before too long I'll be shopping for a newer one and I imagine I'll go with the option I used before. I had Minn Kota's quick release mount so if necessary I could just move the entire Terrova off the bow for easier launching or storage. Your solution does look easier than the quick release since it uses a rail system so it might be quicker but for me the rails look a little rough. Hopefully Minn Kota can come up with a similar system that would look better. Again, I hope I don't sound to crtitical, I'm all for anything that improves the Terrova there will probably come a day when all TM's will have similar functions to the Terrova but until the mount system and toughness is improved that won't happen, this definitely gets things moving in the right direction.

This is the very first proto-type. Fit, finish, and polish to follow. We haven't made the final decision on the exact materials for the slide mechanism. We will probably use a combination of aluminum and either Delron or nylon.

Thanks for your input.

Got it, I'll be very interested to see the final design. I'm probably at least a year from my next boat and would love to consider this option down the road for my Terrova. Thanks!

We'll keep you posted as we progress. Thanks again.

Do that! The biggest complaint about my Terrova is the weakness of the mount system and overhang, looking forward to seeing a fix to this problem.

so the Beauty in this Design is I wont have to buy a Quick Release from Minn Kota.. your Slide will be the Quick release !

Very Kewl"

Beat idea! When a friend bought the Terrarova when it first came out, he got it with the 60" start. How we mounted to his Aluminum hull Triton, we ran into this problem, but at the other end. The head unit sticks out the side of the bout about 18inches making it a concern while driving and backing up. This was three years ago and he hasn't as of yet hit anything with it, but he is also more observant than the average boater. It really looks ackward sticking out the side like that but really was no other way.

I like you idea of a rail system so that he might be able to secure it in a more forward position. As for sharing your idea with Minnkota, I wouldn't. You just might have an aftermarket plan that could produce you some coin.

So as you are still refining the design, please think about the ability to shift in either direction. I'm sure he would be interested as I know that shaft sticking out the side is just an accident waiting to happen.

If we give the rail system a wider footprint, you could also change the angle the unit sits on the boat.

There are so many variables....

When you get this thing out of the planning stage and into the selling stage, post it in the "general equipment" section. Too much stuff is posted on the bass fishing page and it gets lost in the many pages. In other words, I'll never find it again...

Good Idea !

Looks awesome. If I could offer something constructive, make sure that pin is wired to the mount or make sure it's sturdy. The front of a boat takes some pretty wicked jarring in waves and it would end a persons day without that pin. I like it!

BigLeslie - I had to grind the bolt heads down because even the countersink heads that I bought from Lowes stuck up over the plate affecting the slide rails. I also cleaned up the slide stop. Once I got it all put together the way I wanted it, I spent a little time to make the finish a lot better than the picture shows. It does look like an off the shelf product now. And knowing Philip as I do, the finished product will look great. He is all about the quality of the products he produces. Take a look at his lures compared to others.

grout-scout - I once saw a picture in the white section where a Terrova had completely ripped off the front of a boat and ended up in the lake. Sure tore up the fiberglass (I'll try to find the picture). I never liked the small mounting footprint.

CoAngler - As far as keeping the head inside of the boat, I shifted the plate over close to an inch to keep the head within the boat. If you look at the plate picture, you can see the odd angle and bolt heads that are not in-line because I wanted to use the original holes from the original tm mount. Now even when fully retracted, the head remains within the boat. I'm sure Philip can adapt to resolve any issues on each individual boat.

Ba$$fan - I have the pin tethered to the motor, there is a stop on the front of the plate to keep the TM from sliding too far forward and possibly taking a swim and I have a spare pin in the dry storage box JIC.

Thank you for all you input because I'm sure Philip can make it a better product based on your feedback. It works 1000x better than anything that I could find out there.