Congrats on the trolling motor, you're gonna love it...As far as installation goes, I'd just let Ryan (the rig) do it since he did mine he knows the ins and outs of it...Good luck...

 

I did mine quick and easy. I went with the aluminum mount because I could use the same holes as the previous motor guide wireless that I had.

I tried selling my new plastic one on here with no luck. It got dropped in the drive way and rolled over so it has scratches in it now. So I think I will just throw it away, unless anyone wants it.

I know I think it was one of the best upgrades on my boat.

 

Do you still have that quick release by chance?

 

The holes for my Xi5 mount did not come even close to matching the holes for my old Motorguide so we had to drill new holes...Measure 10x cut once...

 

with both quick release and sliding bracket how much height is that going to add to the TM? wondering what kind of torque that will put on multiple brackets?

 

Thanks, I appreciate the feedback. I am hoping to only lose one weekend on this project. I am hoping the sliding bracket will be long enough to utilize the existing holes. I know I will have to modify the brackets from what I have read on BBC. I have access to a machine shop so doing the Mods will be easy. I don't think either of the bracket are very tall but I couldn't find any dimensions on-line so at this point I am guessing, but if it looks like it is going to cause torque problems I might make a plate to put on the inside of the hull (if I can get my arms in there) to stiffen things up a bit.

I have a recessed tray in my boat for my foot peddle and I know that ain't gonna work. I couldn't find any dimensions for the foot peddle either. I was thinking about making a block to fill the tray and attaching it to the block ??? but I saw that it just runs on batteries. Did you attach it in some way or is it just supposed to sit there? It don't look very heavy either. Any thing that isn't tied down usually ends up flying out?

 

I'm pretty mechanically inclined but I had Ryan "the rig" install my Xi5 on my old boat and he did a great job. Gonna have him put it on the new Skeeter also.

 

You won't use the foot control after using the fob remote...I have yet to even try my foot control, it's still sitting in a zip lock bag in one of storage compartments...

 

That is what I have heard, But do you take your hands off the rod to push a button when one of those 7 lb er's grabs your swim bait next to the boat out there at Canyon? (I love the pictures by the way) I might want to use it, is it just supposed to sit on the deck? Or do you screw it down?

 

To be honest, I never really looked at the foot control that much but I do believe there are holes to mount it...The only issue with that is when the batteries go dead in the foot remote, you would have to unscrew from the deck to change out the batteries...

The pushing buttons on the hand fob has become second nature for me now...I basically set the boat in the direction I want to go and hit the cruise control button...When I need to make adjustments then I do...I love it...When I hook a fish and have time I quickly hit the anchor lock button (if I remember) and fight the fish...If not, I net the fish or flip it in the boat then hit anchor lock and just deal with the things I need to and not have to worry about the boat...

 

never used the pedal. Looks like an improvement over the one on my wireless.

 

+1 on you won't use the foot control. My boat has a recessed spot for the foot control so I did put it in. There is a hole in the pedal to screw it down. I have never turned it on, and hear its a bit of PIA to use anyhow.

When you catch a fish its easy enough to just hit the anchor button and not give a shit about the boat.

I have noticed in a bit of wind on heading mode at a very low speed, when the thing gets too far off course it all of a sudden kicks into over drive to get back on. Not sure if anyone else has experienced this. But its happened to me a couple times. I could see it possible if you were not expecting it and a bit off balance that you could go for a swim.

Are you connecting the NMEA 2000? I tucked the plug up under the face of the motor so the plug wasn't on the deck.

 

I really like the foot control now. I usually use the Fob and set a course then use the peddle to make adjustments while I fish. When I hook a fish I just step on the foot peddle buttons to either stop the prop or spot lock. If I am traveling a pretty good clip I stop the motor first to let it slow down a bit before hitting the spot lock so it doesn't knock me out of the boat. My boat had a tray for the old foot peddle, I took it out and covered the hole with a aluminum sheet with holes that match the holes in the foot peddle. I use 2 ball lock pins to hold the peddle in place. That makes it easy to remove to change the batteries or put away.

I haven't had this very long but I can't believe that anyone would want to struggle with a cable trolling motor now that these are available. This thing is great.

 

Xi5

A buddy of mine was looking at these as well but the details are a little confusing on them. If I understand it correctly the come with or without the GPS function and they don't come with the foot controlled remote. I was told they don't even make a foot controlled remote.

Can anyone please clarify.

 

A buddy of mine was looking at these as well but the details are a little confusing on them. If I understand it correctly the come with or without the GPS function and they don't come with the foot controlled remote. I was told they don't even make a foot controlled remote.

Can anyone please clarify.

I bought a gps model yesterday and it included the foot pedal.

 

No, it got run over, all scratched up. No one wanted it so I put it in the landfill.

 

Mine from universal mania came with foot control and fob.

 

I still have yet to try the foot pedal, maybe one day I'll pull it out of the storage locker and give it a try...I'm still loving this motor every time I take it out...

 

I think this is the best addition I ever made to my boat. It is worth having the foot pedal on the deck just to be able to spot lock or stop the prop with out taking one have off your rod. The thing is touchy but it is easy to learn to make course adjustments with it while you keep casting. I don't try to use it like a cable trolling motor foot pedal, I use them both together.

 

Been out twice with the xi5 and man.... what took me so long to buy this thing? Install went fairly simple once I got the quick release plate. Still waiting on a transducer extension cable to use the internal transducer. I do have to call motorguide in the morning though. My NMEA network is working but getting a no autopilot computer error on my HDS.

 

Have you updated your HDS software? Forget what version you have to be at for autopilot to work.

If I recall I had to switch a toggle somewhere in network setting for it to all work right too.

 

Yes. I have the latest HDS update and autopilot is turned on.

 

i thinking of buying this weekend as well, i got 25% off at tackle warehouse, can someone post the part numbers for the brackets and slides to get this thing mounted correctly, i assumed for the price it came with everything. thank you

 

There are two mounts, plastic and metal both quick release. I used the metal one because I could use the same bolt holes as with my motorguide wireless.
I thought that I thru the plastic one away but found it in my shed. Free to anyone who wants it.

 

I bought 2 brackets because I wanted to be able to slide it back beyond the bumper rail but also be able to remove it easily. Having both also allowed me to get it a little higher to clear the bumper rail so I can slide it farther back. The motor guide 8M0092064 works really well for removal, it is solid and locks down tight. The Minn Kota slide, MKA-47, 1854040 slides a long way and but it was looser than I expected so I epoxied some Teflon strips in it to tighten it up. I adapted them to work together by adding holes to the Minn Kota bracket. I also bought a bicycle part (a handle bar neck) and screwed it to the shaft below the head for a handle because it is awkward to get a grip on it to pull it up out of the water. I got most of these ideas for the BBC forums. There are some good posts with pictures on there. The whole installation thing went smoothly. I am happy with it accept that because of the position of my front graph I have to push the release lever with my hand to pull it up. That is not real difficult but I might change that if I could come up with a good solution.