Minn Kota Edge 70Lb Bow-Mount

[Bass2124]

Just purchased a Minn Kota  edge 70 lb thrust bow mount 24v trolling motor today to replace my 55lb powerdrive.  Just stopped running on my last bass fishing trip in November but it is 10 years old (i have only had it for 2...came with my starcraft starfire 190).  Probably would have cost me over $100 or more to repair if it were the lower unit so I said frig it and went with a new one.  Not sure what the life expectancy are on those but 10 years seems pretty old??? I am hoping this edge is more user friendly than the powerdrive.  I hated the foot pedal on that thing and fighting to get in and out of the water I certainly will not miss.  They said it is cable driven rather than electric.  The guy seemed like he preferred the electric over the cable.  Not sure why?  Not a high end trolling motor I know but for $500 I hope it does the job.  Anyone have one?

[tdown1207]

I run a Minn Kota Edge 55 now and I love it, in my opinion every foot pedal takes adjusting to.  Just play with it in the yard for an hour and I am sure you will like yours just as much.

[WIGuide]

You'll like your new trolling motor. Cable drive is the way to go for bass fishing. Not only is it more durable and more reliable, it also gives your more maneuverability vs. the electric steer. With a cable drive you never have to guess the direction you're going or look down at the head to see the direction it's facing, you'll just know by the position of your foot. It will literally take you about 10 minutes to get used to a cable drive, and that's given that you've never run one before. Electric steer tm's have their applications, especially the new I pilot with Link, but for bass fishing cable drive rules. If you need more proof just watch FLW or Bass Masters. They all run cable drives.

[KevO]

You will like it over your old one for sure.  I had one but I hated it.  The 5 speed control was garbage, 1 and 2 were useless, 3 was ok in a little wind, 4 would only be able to keep you one spot in a strong wind, 5 was unusable because it would throw you out of the boat.  I upgraded to a maxxum with variable speed and never looked back.

[cbass12]

I bought the exact same one last April after the cable snapped in our '93 evinrude trolling motor for about the fifth time. It is a very solid motor and has plenty of power. You should like it. And yes, cable steering is SO much better than electric. I've only used one electric steer trolling motor so not that much experience with it, but I'll tell you that after a few minutes I wanted to rip it off the bow of the boat.

[Bass2124]

Thanks guys for the responses.  Sounds like I made a sound purchase!

[tnriverluver]

Make sure to hold on to something before going from #4 speed to #5.  Like posted above it will throw you out of the boat.  On all MK's now with 5 speeds it is a huge jump from #4 to #5.  Kinda like hitting Turbo boost mode!

[st041986]

The Edge will treat you well. I had a 12v #55 for three years until I upgraded to a Maxxum 24v 70# last year. Having the variable speed adjustment is nice but I managed just fine with the 5 speeds before. The only way the electric motors are better is that you can get addons such as Ipilot. For open water fishing, it's hard to beat a Minnkota Powerdrive or Terrova with Ipilot but in area's with lots of obstacles, I'll take my cable steer everytime. If I could afford it, I'd have one of each!

[Fishes in trees]

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't the 55 power drive a 12 volt system?  I know the Edge 70 is a 24 volt system.  Hope you upgraded your batteries.  Were you running 2 batteries in parallel for your peer drive 55?  Sometimes things make me say "huh?"  Don't worry about the Edge being a 5 speed system,you'll get along fine until one of your buddies gets a variable speed trolling motor and then you'll want one too.  If you're buying new, that feature adds $150 - that being the difference between a 70 lb thrust Edge and a 70 lb thrust Maxxum (2014 BPS Master Catalog, I keep one right next to my computer)

[cbass12]

You will like it over your old one for sure.  I had one but I hated it.  The 5 speed control was garbage, 1 and 2 were useless, 3 was ok in a little wind, 4 would only be able to keep you one spot in a strong wind, 5 was unusable because it would throw you out of the boat.  I upgraded to a maxxum with variable speed and never looked back.

I wish I would have just sucked it up and got the maxxum in the first place. One of the bolts that holds the motor down to the mounting bracket got stripped and fell out yesterday, I'm assuming due to the motor flexing when I tried to turn it under power. This is the first time I've had it out in really high winds and the speed control was a nightmare. Had to have it on 5 becuase 4 would barely hold us in place. I'm either going to sell the edge or see if minn kota will do an exchange due to the bolt getting stripped out. I'm not sure what their policy is but they claim they have a 2 year warranty, and we've had it exactly 1 year this week. Getting no less than the 70 maxxum with variable speeds.