Minn Kota or Motorguide

[Cy]

Hey Guys.

It has been a bit of a trying day for me.  I was the receiver of bad news today.  My boat was backed into by a straight truck.    A friend of mine stored my boat all winter at his greenhouse.  Well a couple weeks ago he needed room so he moved it to another house that he leases from some guys.  Yesterday he pulled my boat out of the house and parked it outside because I was coming to get it today.  He called me this morning to tell that it has been hit by a truck and the trolling motor and the tongue jack broke.  Aparently a guy that works for another company swung a big ol' truck into my boat.  This afternoon I drove to Kzoo to check it out and it is beat up!  The trolling motor is completely destroyed.  My cover looks like a mountain lion sharped his claws on it and the port side top cap fiberglass is chipped, scratched and gouged up in several spots.  Well I dropped the boat at D&R for an estimate on the entire thing.  I should know more Monday.

Anyway, I am going to need a new trolling motor and I wanted to know what you guys liked.  I don't know what manufacturer to buy?  Other then a couple different features they both are very similar.  Please let me know your opinions and perhaps personal experiences if you have any.

Thanks,

Cy

[Revtro]

Cy, so sorry to hear about the crash.  That totally stinks.  I hope they get your boat fixed up real quick.  A lot of guys will have strong opinions about which trolling motor brand to go with.  Personally I run a Motorguide, but if I had unlimited cash, I'd probably get a new Minn Kota.  They're both great motors with very similar technology.  They both use similar cables, etc.  But I prefer the more substantial foot pedal of the Minn Kota and the Lift Assist feature on their mount.  Just my humble opinion.

Don't get me wrong.  I like my Motorguide.  It's a solid motor and I haven't had a ton of problems other than the rope breaking and a cable tension issue, but that'll happen with both brands.  Same goes for broken cables.  I've heard of just as many guys breaking cables on Minns as on Motorguides.  Gee, I guess this post doesn't really help all that much.  Sorry.  If you live on the East side, you might want to go with a Minn because there's a warranty guy out this way.  If you live West, there is a Motorguide guy at Wonderland in Howell who also does Minn Kota.

Edited:  I see that you're in the Grand Rapids area.  Scratch the stuff about warranty centers then.  I'm not sure what you have available on your side of town.  But you should look into that before making a decision. 

[Bulletproof]

You couldn't give me a Motor Guide....

[Skip Johnson]

what a bummer about your boat and bad timing too, hope it gets fixed quick.
I would recomend minn kota especialy since our lakes are soo weedy, I have never owned a motor guide but I have had friends switch back to minn kota after buying boats with motor guide, I hear the minn kota is way better in dense weeds, I can tell you that no weed stops my maxxum 101 and I have had no problems with them.

[fish hound]

I would own nothing but a Minn Kota.  I have used both (luckily the motorguides were on other peoples rigs) and as was stated earlier, didn't like foot pedal and lack of tension on the motorguide.  Minn kota's are way better in the weeds, and there is a warranty guy in G.R.  he's at Great Lakes Communications on West River Drive.

[BryanP]

I vote Minn Kota, but I'm a little bias! 

The Lift Assist (on the Maxxum Pro) and the ability to cut through dense weeds without clogging up is worth it alone, not to mention the increased run time you get with the Digital Maximizer technology.

While you're at D&R, ask Miles, Jim H, Ken V, what they would pick!

As for warranty centers, D&R (Kalamazoo), Great Lakes Communication (GR), KD Outdoors (Highland), Wonderland (Howell) are all MK ASC's.

Don't worry on the glass work, they have a great glass guy there, and Don Stevens at Cooper Boat repair is one of the best on the planet.

[MBell]

If your going 36 volts, the digital motorguide tour is sweet with the aluminum props.  Toughest trolling motor out there.  With the digital you don't have to worry about circuit boards anymore.  I'm going on year 3 with my current one.
-Matt

[Dan]

I have had both and for my money the minn k has it all over he motorguide. I have also had work done out at Great Lakes Communication and they are quick. Had a similar experience with my first new boat. Bought it in the fall and they stored it over the winter. When they brought it out for me from storage... crunch.

[fishstick]

I love my motorguide digital tour edition...sorry to hear about your boat good luck!

[thedude]

i have 2 minn kotas and 1 motor guide... when the time comes... there will be 3 minn kotas.

[Revtro]

These results are very interesting.  More lopsided than I would have thought.  I had my MG Tour Edition converted to a Tour Digital this off season.  Looking forward to seeing what the Digitals are like. 

[djkimmel]

I have a pretty old MotorGuide 24/36 that has been great - can't even remember which year I bought it now. I always hate to change what ain't broken. I did stick it into the bottom hard on Kent Lake last fall so we'll see how it lasts this year... that would definitely fall under user error...

Both have a lot of new and interesting features making them attractive. I have very little experience first hand with the Minn Kota, but do seem to see that they are popular in the North Country.

Cy - I forget so be patient - did you join TBF? Do you presently own a MotorGuide? Dennis (TBF of MI president) Beltz has a number of Minn Kota motors 'on hold' for TBF members who switch from MotorGuide to Minn Kota at a significant discount.

[Waterfoul]

Just bought a Tracker with a 43 lb Motorguide.  Not really sure how old it is... but it seemed to work well when I test drove the boat a couple weeks ago.  Time will tell on it I guess.  If/when it goes bad I'll probably upgrade to a more powerful Minn Kota though...

[LGMOUTH]

I would vote for Minn Kota. I had two previous motorguides and they both burnt up the curcuit board. I know that they have fixed that problem but still puts a bad taste in your mouth. I have owned two Minn Kotas since then and have had no problems with them.

[Cy]

Thank You all for you input.  I told the guy a D&R to quote me Minn Kota.  I am surprised by the results I really thought this would a Ford vs Chevy kinda thing.  I also did some other research and Minn Kota is suggested over MotorGuide a lot.

Thanks for letting me know about the TBF thing Dan but I am not a member.  I am not paying for the trolling motor anyway.  Their business insurance should cover it.  If not then they will have to pay for it.

Cy

[BASS FISHERMAN]

i go fur a minnie koda aswell fur me troll motur 
i run thems motur gides fur yeers an i thinks thays weer the berries butt aftur runnin me minnie koda fur a cooploe of yeers i nevur goin bak to the othur 
i reelilly likes them weedless wedege propellurs in the weed an othur junk out thar 
minnie kota troll motur all the ways   

MINNIE KOTA TROLL MOTOR RULE 
RANGERS BOAT RULE 

[djkimmel]

Yeah, I wasn't fully thinking things through... happens with me several times a week oh well, the offer is available to any interested TBF members.