Using a trolling motor as auto pilot

[jth21usa]

I know this can be done, I'm just not sure how. I have a 19 foot tracker with s 82lb trolling motor, no kicker. Anyone got any tricks or tips?

 

Justin

[Yellow Fever]

How good are you batteries? I use this combination on my setup (22 foot Ranger with Lowrance Ghost) but i use in in tandem with my kicker. At the end of an 8 hour day my 3 grp 31 batteries are down to 25 percent. It does help to have a larger steering keel on the trolling motor ( They are commercially available)

[jth21usa]

Thanks, is it as simple as getting the boat the speed you want and pressing auto pilot on the trolling motor?

 

[Yellow Fever]

Pretty much,or you can set the auto pilot and adjust the speed. You didn't mention which motor you have but you can make adjustments while trolling. My concern will be the amount of running time on a 24 volt system

[Roys Boys]

Best thing to do is it use it while getting set up and while fighting fish or changing lines.. you’ll be lucky to get 2-3hrs of fishing time trolling 

[strik]

Without taking away from the original poster.... if one does have a kicker how much better/different  does the set up work.

 

 

[ifishy]

I'm still trying to dial it in but using the kicker to push and the electric just to steer I can get most of the day on a 24 volt set up I run an 18 foot lund with a terrova 80lb electric.  It struggles against any real waves and gotta have the right angle In the current but that's true no matter what with the waves it proving to be a game changer and as I gain trust (I'm old and stubborn) I use it more and more I set speed with the kicker and set trolling motor at speed of 4 to 6 just to steer I adjust speed with kicker and any turns I do manually 

[tedc54]

To get my boat to 2.2, I get my speed up to 1.8 with my kicker.

 

Then I run my trolling motor on "follow the contour" at about 4 and I get it up to the 2.2 I want. Anything over 1 footers, you pretty much need someone at the wheel to run the boat on a steady line, at least with my boat. (Skeeter MX 1825, multi=species boat)

 

My kicker is wired to my trolling motor batteries, so running the batteries down is not a problem.

 

It works well. Makes it a lot easier to fish solo.

 

 

[13owhunter]

24v Terrova (newest iPilot) here on a 18.5 foot aluminum with 2 lithium batteries.  I have a kicker with throttle control and this setup works amazing for me.  I can run all day if im careful to use the TM on lowest i can get away with. Trolling for browns in the spring on a calm day I can get 6 hours just using the TM (going slow)  Pretty sure I got more bites because of a little more stealth on a few occasions. (less than 10 FOW)

 

I am really impressed with how well itll steer in some wind and chop.  If its so choppy it pulls the motor out of the water its too rough for me anyways. (get the longest shaft you can)  I do all my steering with the remote with the ipilot set to "point it and forget it" mode.  Whatever way you point it, itll continue to correct and go that direction indefinitely.  This has saved many arguments with my dad and wife when i complain they arent keeping it straight when im setting gear. Really a game changer for me.  I get to sit and relax a bit when Im fishing and not constantly worry about boat control.

 

If you have a Minn Kota with iPilot and the auto pilot seems to be correcting too aggressively, you probably have it in the wrong mode.  You have to put it in the "dumb" mode which will correct itself more gradually.  I think the advanced mode is more for following contours in smaller waters.

 

I run garmin electronics so I dont have the follow the countour option.  Would be nice to have even though i dont think id use it too much.

[sherman brown]

the only thing I can add is to go with the wind whenever possible. I don't have or use a tolling motor. I used my main motor for years but finally got a 9.9 4-stroke kicker. either way going with the wind makes it so much easier to control the boat and speed. I probably troll with the wind 90% of the time.

 

you won't run your trolling motor nearly as hard giving you more time on the water. the waves and wind do most of the work so you can get away with running the motor on a lower setting saving your battery.

[ifishy]

On 12/30/2023 at 3:32 PM, 13owhunter said:

f you have a Minn Kota with iPilot and the auto pilot seems to be correcting too aggressively, you probably have it in the wrong mode.  You have to put it in the "dumb" mode which will correct itself more gradually.  I think the advanced mode is more for following contours in smaller waters.

It took me a few tense incidents and a Google search before I learned this. The advance mode is the bad one for this use you want the auto pilot on "traditional" mode for sure. Good call out here its valuable lession for sure

[dhhurlburt]

I have a 17.5 with 56 pound 12v terrova and I use Ipilot. I troll with the main engine basically in gear and use the trolling motor as my auto pilot for easily 8 hours on a single 12v battery. I'll use the trolling motor to fine tune my speed. I've done this for rhe last 4 years without any issues at all.

[JJBat150]

Run a Lund 1650 Rebel, it's got a Merc 4 HP kicker that I use for trolling.

 

Have a 24V Terrova with a minnow fin rudder.  Run it on auto pilot all day, and the rudder keeps it on course, hardly ever have to spin the propeller.

https://unclenormsmarineproducts.com/products/minnow-fin-for-outboard-trolling-motors

[Yankee Troller]

On 12/29/2023 at 1:14 PM, jth21usa said:

I know this can be done, I'm just not sure how. I have a 19 foot tracker with s 82lb trolling motor, no kicker. Anyone got any tricks or tips?

 

Justin

 

I do it all the time in my Lund, but without a kicker or using your main engine to propel the boat the battery will last a couple of hours at most. I use the kicker to get me close to the speed I want and then put my Minn Kota prop speed at 4-4.5 to give me good steerage.

[chowder]

I agree with Rich. For the 1st couple of years I ran my outboard boat without a kicker but my bowmount is a 36 volt Terrova 110 lb thrust. I could get 5 hours of walleye or winter trout  trolling out of it but musky trolling really took it down. Eventually I added a 9.9 kicker for added security and ease of operation. Now I typically get lines rigged with just the bowmount ( because it is my autopilot too) then once boards are out &  lines set I add in the kicker’s input. Depending on sea conditions you’ll need to run the bowmount at 3-4 to maintain its capacity as the autopilot. Sometimes on a relatively calm day running with the waves trolling for walleye I have to shut off kicker and just run the bowmount because otherwise the bowmount is running too slow to be effective at steering. All of this becomes 2nd nature pretty quickly 

Edited January 4 by chowder

[Crestliner]

I just get my wife to steer the boat. No batteries to recharge.

[chowder]

On 1/17/2024 at 6:27 PM, Crestliner said:

I just get my wife to steer the boat. No batteries to recharge.

If I expected my wife to go with me especially so she would steer the boat I wouldn’t have done much fishing over the past 20 years