Minn Kota or Motorguide

[Dave Stewart]

Both are good trolling motors. One piece of advice....if you are going to be in rough water with it, make sure you put a tie down on it and a bounce buster, rough water is what breaks more trolling motors than anything. Having said all that, the Motor Guide 82 lb/24volt on my boat has been there for 5 years now....only repairs I have had to do are replacing the steering cables about once a year...but considering I put an average of 400 hours a year on my big engine, the hours I put on the trolling motor are astronomical and I basically wear out the steering cables...but it is an easy and cheap fix.

Forgot to mention that I have replaced the prop a number of times on mine, but that is because I am digging bottom with it at certain times of the year to get back to the fish....they are not made to plow bottom...LOL.

[hairball]

I had to have one of mine worked on a couple of years ago and really thought I'd wind up buying a new one. I couldn't decide which one was better, so I asked the mechanic working on it which one he would buy if he had to put a new one on his boat that day. I figured somebody who works on them every day and sees all of their faults and shortcomings would be a good source to ask. He said as far as he was concerned, their quality was pretty much equal. I pressed him for an answer and he said he would go with Motor Guide only because that is what he has always had on his boat.

Right now I have two Evinrudes, but when I can no longer find parts for them it'll probably be Motor Guide for me, primarily because I had a 1984 34# Brute that was indestructible.

[00SKEETER]

Both good motors. I think you should be more concerned with volt/thrust that your going to get. I would go with 80lb thrust on an 18 ft boat. You may not need that much but it's nice to know it's there if you do. I've had both MotorGuide and MinnKota. Never had problems out of either one.