Friday, September 20, 2013

MinnKota RipTide 55 S Transom Mount Trolling Motor with Tilt Twist Tiller and Digital Maximizer (55lbs Thrust, 42" Inch Shaft)


If the speed matters to you, get an outboard gas motor
Good motor, convenient to use with the smooth speed accelerator and quite efficient thanks to the digital maximizer. Moreover the maximizer definitely saves on battery when run at lower power setting, and the lower you go in power the more distance you will cover. I will give more details on this. I had a 4 hour trip with it and an Intex Mariner inflatable boat, me and my 2 year old (60 pound battery). The distance covered was about 10-12 miles, estimate based on google maps. The battery I am using is a 115 mAh Costco marine battery. At the end of the trip there was still some juice in it. By the way even when the build in battery meter shows that the battery is drained (none of the four lights is lit), the motor still works, just does so slower. Using 50load with drained battery will give you probably another hour at 2 mph (this is an approximation and depends on your battery). For that 10-12 mile trip I had the motor at about 60% throttle (50-70, 100 occasionally)...
The digital maximizer works wonders!

excellent performance and easy to use
Minn-Kota has been making trolling motors for more than 70 years and it shows. The details are well thought out by people who actually have experience on the water which is not always the case with marine products. An example is how easy it is to lift the motor a half inch and flip it into the water to start trolling and to do so again when coming into a boat ramp or using another motor. Another is the ease in adjusting the trolling depth for conditions with a simple quick release. The shaft is made from a composite material that give on impact so if you hit a submerged rock the shaft is not likely to be damaged.

You will need to replace the zinc anode every 18 months or 2000 hours of operation or if it breaks. The one on my motor was already broken in half when I pulled the motor out of its box. It is the one part of the trolling motor's design that is flawed and I now have a couple spares and a wrench that I always have in the truck.

The motor requires the use...
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