Does anyone here have MotorGuide Xi3 on their kayak and use it in salt wtr?

[oceanAddict]

I'm playing with idea to get bow mounted motor with spot lock on my Predator. I watched probably few dozen of videos on yT made my influencers/ pro-Tubers etc. Wondering is someone here personally have in. Especially interested if you use it on open water.  I live near bay and this where I want to use it. All these yT videos where kayak makes 360 in glass-like conditions don't do it for me as I probably never going to experience it.. 

[wasabi_VA]

I have had one for about 2 months. It has definitely helped extend my range and he spotlock has been great even if it jumps around a bit. My limited understanding of GPS is your signal is +/- 6 or 10 feet so makes a little sense the unit will shift around a bit. It moving water/current it has been less of an issue but in still water like a lake it can change the orientation of the kayak around which can drag my bottom baits around and hang them up if snags are down there.

 

It has some other features besides spotlock. One is 'heading lock' where it is supposed to hold a particular direction if you click that button but my keeps seeking back and forth - more than it should, and it can swing the kayak back and forth a good bit. It's really annoying and half the time I turn it off and just make adjustments as needed. I'm in a Facebook group for Motorguide motors and lots of folks are really down on the Xi5 and Xi3. Not sure if that is because the bellyachers all congregate there or if there are a tons of problems. It's an expensive unit and I would expect it to do something simple like go in a straight damn line which it struggles to do. For example - yesterday I was slowly bumping some baits and gave it a particular heading lock of a large house about 3/4 mile away, on a heading I knew would cover the depth I wanted. Kayak was aligned to the house, motor head was aligned on the house, but the stupid thing quickly turns about 15 to 20 degrees off center and sets a new course. I reset it, turn the heading lock on again and it just keeps wanting to walk off-center like a hard headed dog. Some folks say it's because it's on a kayak and a large boat would minimize those changes but the friggin thing is designed or at least marketed directly at kayak users so they should make any adjustments to it's responses to adjust for the intended use. Bah.

 

I've had it go bonkers a time or two on the water and go unresponsive with weird beeping but a power off and back on fixed it.  It's still helpful for my style fishing so I'm happy to have it, just disappointed it has those issues for what seems like basic functions in this day and age. I don't know why but I never even bothered to see if Minnkota offered a similar model - and I recommend you at least check and research it to know your options before you buy.

 

On the positive side - unrelated to the motor - I did buy my first lithium trolling battery and love that thing. I won't even say the brand since to many love to bicker over brand but it is half the weight of a lead-acid and the run time is so much better. Expensive as **** but you only cry once, right? Every time I pick it up and feel that light weight I instantly am reminded how happy I am with my purchase.

 

Regarding salt water - I don't know what they say and I primarily fish fresh. The motor head itself would be easy to wash off each trip, I just don't know if incidental waves or splashing over the box might cause issues with the electronics.

[wasabi_VA]

Oh yeah - thinking about your use in open water.... On my Old Town PDL106 I am still getting a little intermittent cavitation on high. The kayak version of the Xi3 is short-shaft, and I think by the time you add in my OneObjective bow mount and the quick-release mount bolted on top of that that maybe my motor head isn't as deep as it could be. I don't know what mounting might be for yours, I wish my motor head was a couple inches lower. I haven't heard others complain of this, and in truth I can't lean down and see if it is cavitating when I'm going full speed, so maybe it isn't doing it. I'm hearing some noise sometimes that sounds like cavitating. Could just be worrying about it and thats a normal sound of the prop spinning and I'm closer to it in the kayak. All that said....I feel like the 36" shaft is the bare minimum for a kayak and wish it was 42" instead.

 

So back to your use....if you have some rolling waves moving your bow up and down more than a couple inches you could have the prop coming in and out of the water. If you suspect this is how you will be operating then maybe see if Minnkota offers a longer shaft option. Or I guess Motorguide too.

Edited May 7 by wasabi_VA

[oceanAddict]

Very insightful reply, thank you! These are details I was looking for. I might have to indeed look into different models with longer shaft as I think Predator has a higher bow. 

I also realized that motor (same for MK) would not work with my Garmin  FF - apparently they are not compatible. Somewhow I envisioned that I could enter coordinated on my FF/navi unit and trolling motow would auto-magically know that and bring me there, hehe. One can dream, right?
 Another question - does the bow-mounted  motor affect the fish founder's readings? I think I read somewhere about it.

 

Edited May 8 by oceanAddict

[Accebere]

I have 55lbs minn Kota riptide for my Nucanoe for over 8 years and love it. I only fish for stripers and the thing was a game changer for me. The spot lock on reefs, open water, structure or fish on the fish finder is great. In heavy current and wind the 55 struggles a bit so if you have the cash, I would recommend the 70. I could get the pedal drive for my yak but loosing the spot lock is always the deal breaker for me.

[monstahfish]

I built a universal mount for Pro Anglers and tried a number of motors on it. I will say the xi3 was my favorite for responsiveness. If you're looking for speed get the 3 blade prop. I believe it comes standard on the saltwater kayak(short shaft) one that should be out now, it makes a big difference.

[Vintagefishing]

I thought about it, but that’s a lot of weight on the bow.  I have Water Snake T24, minted in drive hole. I had waves coming over bow last time out.  It wasn’t rough seas either. After wind died down, no issue with waves coming in. 

[summms]

I dont have a kayak, but I run an xi3 on a 17 aluminum boat and soon on a 21' aluminum. It was worth every penny. Was not a lot of reviews when I was considering it. 

Spot lock works best in current or wind. Flat calm still water the head likes to spin around trying to hold position. But a small amount of current is all you need. The hand held remote is great, but it can not jog on spot lock. So you have to exit spot lock, move 10 ft and then re spot lock. Ive had no problems with bouncing around. Love sitting over rock piles with it. The heading feature seems to wander a bit, but nothing where it couldnt correct soon enough. I cant imagine a 42 or 45" on a kayak, I have a 52" on my boat and easily could have went 45", but I got a way better deal on the 52" and will need it for my new boat. So it worked out well. 

 

On max power, I do over 3mph, I can only imagine 10mph possible with the kayak. 

 

Also, salt water trolling motors are useless. You're paying extra for white paint. The EPA banned sacrificial zinc anodes from trolling motors, so there's literally nothing different to prevent electrolysis or rust, just give it a rise after saltwater. 

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Edited June 7 by TimS
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