What trolling motor

[bigbuck]

I'm looking at a minnekota auto pilot for a 1700 lund fisherman what length shaft should I by and how powerful? Is the auto pilot worth it?

[john warren]

what boat? size , transome depth? where will it be mounted? stern? bow?
auto pilate is nice if you have the money. but i sort of need to do something while waiting for fish , steering seems a good thing.

[bigbuck]

Lund 1700 fisherman, plan on a bow mount

[barryl]

AUTO PILOT - I resisted many years because of the price but once you have one you'll never be without one, especially when it's windy, or you are messing with a fish. I bought a 99 19' Fishmaster last year that had a regular (I think Minn Kota Co Pilot) trolling motor on it and after a week at Burt Lake I can home and got a Terrova auto pilot. Yea, their expensive, but also priceless. Get the longest shaft (regardless of auto or not) because when you are headed into the wind the bow will pick the motor right out of the water and you lose speed and control. :yikes:

[spendit]

I have the 1800 fisherman - put on a 80lb, 24v terrova - autopilot and even co-pilot off the bow deck. In 2 footers, directly at them, the 60inch shaft still pops out of the water. Auto pilot for trolling and back slipping the current is great - co pilot so others in boat can take control should you get busy doing something else.

Caution about the mounting - need to get it outside pretty far for the shaft bend adn if mounting on a plate (removeable) need to space up the plate to the TM itself - will not clear the carpet otherwise.

[Matt V]

I had a MinnKota PD 55# with a 54" shaft on my 1700 Fisherman. The 55# does ok, for just moving the boat around. If you are going to use it for trolling into the wave's, I would go with at least 65#. The 54" shaft will pop out of the water in bigger wave's, so I would recommend a 60".

[QuakrTrakr]

I'm looking at a minnekota auto pilot for a 1700 lund fisherman what length shaft should I by and how powerful? Is the auto pilot worth it?

Buy the most powerful one you can afford. Battery storage usually dictates that. The longer shaft the better. I have an old 865AutoPilot with a 42" shaft and it's fine on my 16 1/2' Lowe. Waves bigger than 3' or so, the prop pops out of the water. The AutoPilot is absolutely awesome. It's like having another person onboard driving for you. I'll never have another fishing boat without one.