Thoughts on MotorGuide X3 70lb thrust?

[Kjruiz]

Looking for a Father’s Day gift (buying, not receiving). Would be for a 22’ foot fishing barge. Anyone have a opinion/thoughts on the MotorGuide X3 Bow-Mount X3-70FW? The old man currently has a hand operated trolling motor but really wants a foot operated one. I know next to nothing about motors.  

[Scott F]

Does Dad know what you are planning? This is something you should discuss him. A 70lb thrust motor will be 24 volts. Is his current motor 12 or 24 volt? If it's a 12, he'd need another battery, space for it and possibly some wiring changes. I don't know what a "fishing barge" is exactly. How easily will the X3 mount on his boat? The foot controlled motor is a great upgrade IF he is ready for the work and money needed to make the change.

[tcbass]

If he's an older gentleman an auto stow/deploy would be good as would auto trim and safer for him too.

 

Not sure if Motorguide makes that but the Minn Kota Ulterra has auto stow/deploy, auto trim, constant on, autopilot, and spot lock. All of these features can be utilized via the foot pedal or remote which is nice. 

 

The Motorguide also seems to have a high foot pedal like cable steer TM which can be hard on your legs to use, especially if your short or older. And more dangerous. The Minn Kota electric steer Ulterra has a low profile foot pedal. 

[Scott F]

The Ulterra is also nearly 4 times the price of the X3.

[Bluebasser86]

I have a 45lb X3 on my johnboat. It's a pretty decent motor for the money, but the directional arrow on top is only pointed the right direction for about the first 5 minutes it comes out of the box, just kind of wanders around after that. I know a few other guys who have X3 motors and none of their arrows are pointed where the motor is going. You can point it back, but it will just go back to wandering around again. I mostly drive by feel anyways, so it's not a huge issue to me, but I know some people like to use the arrow so it's something to consider. 

[3dees]

I would get the X5 70lb. instead although I had the same trouble with mine two years ago. directional arrow broke on the first trip. no fix for it. because if this I would go for a MinnKota  Maxxim instead.

[Further North]

Seems to me that a 22' "Fishing Barge" (pontoon?) is gonna get batted around in the wind a lot...is a 70# motor enough to keep it under control?

[Kjruiz]

Sorry, i must have written 3 replies but it seems i never submitted them. By fishing barge i mean a pontoon, but one that has live wells and a compartment for a trolling motor battery. But that is now my problem, since that compartment can only hold one battery (I'll have to measure it). I'm gonna shift the burden on this one and have him pick one out since so much of this will come down to his own preference, thanks for the help everyone!    

[Trox]

I bought a MotorGuide X3 about 3-4 months ago and am not really impressed, other than the fact that it works and was only $600.

 

Here's the short:

I bought an X3 from Bass Pro, used it once, everything was fine... Then as I was driving down I-35 to Austin, stuck in bumper to bumper traffic, I noticed in my rear view that my trolling motor was running with the prop pointed in (I know, my fault for not unplugging it altoghter, but sometimes I forget. Also a bonehead move to face the prop that way). Unfortunately, I couldn't do much else but watch in horror as it shredded my bow until I was able to get to the shoulder, get out, and turn it off... There ended up being some type of mechanical failure with the X3 that now, unless I hit the kill switch every time, it would consistently run regardless of what you were doing on the foot pedal. All I could do was switch speeds. Anyways, bows shredded, but lesson learned. Luckily, I was still "kind of" inside of Bass Pros return policy. They gave me headache stating that once it goes into the water, the store warranty is voided. Anyways, I argued that until my face turned blue like "how am I suppose to know if it works unless I use the dang thing! And the issue didn't even start in the water!" but that's besides the point...

 

So now I'm onto X3 #2... This one has been working for me great since I installed it around three months ago, except for one, very annoying thing... After using it 2-3 times, something happened with the boat mount whenever the motor is deployed. Now, although it does lock into place, there is a good 1/4in gap on both sides (where the boat mount hits the motor mount... if that makes sense) giving the motor shaft some play. So now, whenever I turn left or right, the motor mount will rock a bit, making quite a bit of noise. When the motor stops, the motor will settle back down but it will rock a bit before hand. It's pretty loud, metal rocking on metal, and my biggest concern is that I know that noise must transfer into the water...

 

My solution? This weekend I plan to place two small foam pads on the boat mount where the trolling motor locks when deployed... no more metal on metal, hopefully it will be much quieter... but other than that, the motor works great! XD

 

OH! and I have to re-adjust the directional arrow every now and again...

 

Note: I have it installed on a 21' fiberglass bass boat, moves it around just fine but ever since I purchased it I've been wishing that I got just a bit more thrust. If your boat is much heavier than the average bass boat you will definately want the get your dad more than 70lbs. Or not, I'm sure he will still love you either way lol.

 

Hope this helps...