Rhodan offshore trolling motor review on the Sea Hunt Gamefish 25

Today I show you the Rhodan trolling motor offshore while in the Sea Hunt Gamefish 25. I think the Rhodan is a MUST for anyone doing offshore bottom fishing that requires anchoring. Since installing the Rhodan we haven't touched our windlass on the Gamefish 25, and this review of the Rhodan will show you why!
0:00-Intro
0:45-Overview
2:30-Walkthrough
4:30-Pros
6:30-Remote Overview
7:20-Cons
8:30-Final Thoughts

[@NickeeGee]

If you guys have any specific questions about the Rhodan let me know and I'll do a more in depth review!!!

[@jesusoftheapes]

is this a real product as no one has them for sale?

[@NickeeGee]

@@jesusoftheapes it is indeed real! Use it every time we go out haha. The marine industry sucks right now for any products.

[@mattkarwoski6210]

Do you still have to set up a drift or just track over a structure and hit anchor? I have a 84 inch rhodan.

[@NickeeGee]

@@mattkarwoski6210 we still set up a drift as the transducer is at our bow so depending on current and wind if you just go to a spot and hit anchor you could get turned around off the structure

[@bobbisplinghoff582]

Hey Nick. Have a GW 236 in Sarasota. Who do you recommend to install? How do you measure if I need a 72” or 84”? Just measure from bow to water line and give another 12” for seas? Thanks and great video

[@TheAthleticCoach]

*This makes my old motor look like a toy **enjoyable.fishing** recommend it's well built. I haven't had it on the water yet, but I'm very sure it will perform just fine.*

[@NickeeGee]

They are some incredible machines!

[@naturallysalty]

Your first minute and a half was really good! I feel like this is the most common point when people change or fast forward, first time watching your videos and got pulled in and watched all the way through, exactly what I was looking for! Subscribed!

[@NickeeGee]

Thank you for the feedback! I really appreciate that and will work to emulate this on future videos!

[@danielgeorge2397]

I’m having a 96” installed on my 26’ Pursuit right now. Can Not Wait!

[@NickeeGee]

You are going to love it! It's a game changer for sure !!!

[@gcogs2296]

Another great, and timely video Nick! My GF25 was just delivered this weekend and the trolling motor is the highest priority on my list of upgrades.

[@NickeeGee]

Definitely had you in mind when making this one! So glad you got yours you have to let me know how your maiden voyage goes! I got some more Gamefish content on the way!!!

[@gcogs2296]

@@NickeeGee Ha, thanks Nick. Wind was blowing to 50 MPH gusts when it was delivered to my marina on Friday, so it didn't get into the water till Sat. Still windy as he'll, but did get some break in time on the engines today. More updates to come!

[@NickeeGee]

@@gcogs2296 whew that sounds like a heck of a way to break it in! Can't wait to see how you enjoy it!!!!

[@UrbanFisherman]

Great info captain 👍🏾

[@NickeeGee]

I appreciate that!!!

[@jackwarren1334]

Great info ,was just looking at one at nj show ,thanks

[@NickeeGee]

They're great!

[@tmise50]

Just ordered the 24 volt 60” model. I’m keeping my fingers crossed as I’ve had terrible luck with my last two Minn Kotas!

[@NickeeGee]

Best of luck ! Let me know how it goes!

[@darrellbice5551]

nice overview

[@NickeeGee]

Appreciate it Darrell!!!!

[@saltyseatv5904]

Waiting on mine. 8 week backorder. I am less than 2 weeks away!!!

[@NickeeGee]

You will be so pleased. We were out this past weekend in 2-3 footers and it held us steady as can be!!!!

[@larryjohnson9007]

Hi Nick, I enjoyed your video it was very informative. I’m new to saltwater fishing and have a lot still to learn. I recently purchased a 2021 Sea Born 22 LX added two 10 ft power poles and now I want to add a trolling motor. My question is what type of set would you prefer for my boat such as amount of thrust and length of the shaft ?

[@NickeeGee]

What type of fishing do you do most? Seems like with the power poles I imagine inshore or near shore ? If that's the case I'd probably go with the Minn Kota Terrova 72" 36v 112lb thrust. I have a Minn Kota on my Hewes and love it!

[@kevinprice5195]

I have the min Kota ulterra 80 lb 24 v It self deploys and stows with a touch of a button.

[@NickeeGee]

That's awesome! I've heard horror stories of them breaking so hopefully it works for you!

[@tgbowl]

Awesome man! I just got the same one on my Sportsman. One question though, does your base move in the rough waves like it’s wobbling? Mine moves and sways a tiny bit, almost like it needs a stronger longer mounting bracket.

[@NickeeGee]

We haven't had that issue as far as the base moving, however in rough water we have had an issue where the motor itself will come out of the locking mechanism which is annoying. I just saw a new Rhodan on Facebook and it appears they may have switched up the engineering a bit from when we got ours?

[@joebloe2574]

Great info! Thanks. I am looking into one for my Albemarle 28 express. I can’t find any installation vids for a boat similar to mine. Any advice on the shaft length I need? I am 43 “ from deck of bow to waterline. Boat is 13,000 lbs. Also any advice on how I would know whether or not I would need to cut and adapt the bow railing ?

[@NickeeGee]

Thanks for leaving the comment! Let me take a peek at this and see what advice I may have! We got ours installed by a professional so didn't do too much dirty work but I think I could still help.

[@rickeysingley8774]

Great video. But need someone to do a start to end calibration of the rhodan trolling motor.

[@NickeeGee]

I may be able to do that in the future!

[@iriefishermonccc7401]

Hey brother I just had mine installed I noticed it takes a little time to spot lock and an alarm goes off sometimes also the lights on the GPS part is green red green

[@NickeeGee]

It does take a little bit to get synced up when initially plugged in. And normally the flashing green red green on the GPS is bad lol. Have you contacted Rhodan about that? They suggest cycling the power and seeing if that works ?

[@firreal]

If you were going to buy lithium batteries. I heard buy the lithium iron not lithium ion. Would you get one 36v - 100 amp or (3) 12v -80 amps. What are the pros and cons. Great video. Thanks

[@NickeeGee]

Thanks for leaving that comment!!! Let me do a little more research on that question for you since we ended up not doing lithium. I want to make sure I get you the right answer!!!!

[@randallmock9273]

I have the Seahunt ultra 22.5 foot and ready to buy minn Kota . Want to put batteries in center console but am finding it difficult getting power wires to front anchor compartment. How did you do yours

[@NickeeGee]

I am not 100% sure to be honest, we had it installed by a guy who does a lot of Sea Hunts. He put the batteries in our forward storage box in between the bow seating and then ran the wires through the hull to the plug in the anchor locker.

[@cristy1735]

Great explanation of features and pros vs cons. Mine arrived today! I will be picking it up Monday. Any recommendations on where to get it installed? I am in Bradenton, Fl. Thanks!

[@NickeeGee]

I appreciate that comment ! What kind of boat do you have? I'll see what I can find for you!

[@cristy1735]

@@NickeeGee I have the Robalo R222. Thanks for your quick response!

[@NickeeGee]

@@cristy1735 reach out to Ryan Hein with facebook.com/theresheglowslighting/ installed our Rhodan and he travels to you which is awesome.

[@cristy1735]

@@NickeeGee thank you! I will look him up. I cannot wait to try this thing out! TC

[@saltyazn6560]

I have a 36v 84" on my 21' and I'm on my 3rd steering unit. Hope you guys have better luck than I have.

[@NickeeGee]

Man I'm sorry to hear that. I won't say ours hasn't been without problems either so I feel your pain 😕 Thankfully Rhodan stands behind their product and their customer service has been excellent to deal with. Hope you've had that same experience.

[@saltyazn6560]

@@NickeeGee they've been pretty good about customer service so far. Having experienced with MinnKota and Rhodan I will say this, if it weren't for their customer service Minn Kota would put them out of business. For the price you pay for Rhodan you can get a MinnKota with far more features. It's a difference between buying a base model Chevy versus a fully-loaded Cadillac. The only reason I chose Rhodan was people were raving about the reliability but from my own experience there is no difference. They all have their quirks

[@NickeeGee]

@@saltyazn6560 I completely agree with you on that. I bought a Terrova for my flats boat and it has a lot more features than I would ever need! I wish they had some more integration with different units other than Humminbird because being able to pick a spot on your GPS unit and say "I want to anchor there" is absolutely incredible

[@saltyseatv5904]

@@NickeeGee That is coming on Simrads here soon with the Rhodan. Also from videos I have seen the Rhodan actually keeps you a lot closer the the mark when you hit anchor, Minn Kota and others could be 10-15 feet off. When bottom fishing that makes a difference.

[@NickeeGee]

@@saltyseatv5904 I sure hope so! That is the type of innovation I love!!!! Do you have simrad ??

[@joebloe2574]

Does the outlet come with it ? Also, why the third wire hanging where its plugged in ? Thanks.

[@NickeeGee]

The outlet actually is a separate thing you would have to buy in addition to the trolling motor itself. The third wire is a NMEA connection that COULD connect to another peripheral such as a GPS unit. As of right now, I'm not sure what third party accessories work with the Rhodan but that's what its for. If you have any other questions please let me know!

[@gonzoclk500]

I know this has been a while but can you post pics of your batteries in the compartment? I am about to install one on my Gamefish and just curious how you bolted down the batteries in the floor compartment, thanks

[@NickeeGee]

Hi there! I'll see if I can get a picture ASAP!

[@scottlauraosborn2615]

Love the video, how long of shaft? In bigger waves does it come out of the water anytime? Thank you

[@NickeeGee]

Thank you! We have an 84" shaft, and for any of the waves we'd actually go out in it holds perfectly. For anything that it would come out of the water with it all the way down we wouldn't be out there haha

[@scottlauraosborn2615]

Appreciate it! Makes great sense 🙂

[@NickeeGee]

Thanks for leaving the comments I super appreciate it! Good luck if you end up getting one, you won't regret it! We use ours every time we go out.

[@cjharrin]

Get a 96

[@reelblondeoutdoorsfishingc4549]

Has anyone had many issues with their rhodan 120lb 96 in shaft. I’ve had to replace the gps transponder, the steering box and it caught on fire in the circuit board. As well as many other random times it just wouldn’t work. Then it got lost by fed ex when sending it back to the shop. They sent me a brand new one. I’m contemplating just selling the new one

[@NickeeGee]

Honestly, since this video we've had a few issues with ours too. It works great when it works but seems to mess up at the wrong times. I may make an update video because I want people to know the issues we have had although we do kind of abuse ours so it's hard to tell if it's our fault or the machines...

[@joshuamunoz5036]

Hello what size shaft is yours,I just a 2005 23ft sea hunt,and I’m very interested in this troll,just looking for a shaft size ?

[@NickeeGee]

84 inches !

[@dallinlambert3484]

How fast does this thing push your boat? I just have one engine and am wondering how fast this will push me back into shore in moderate weather

[@NickeeGee]

It will push it around 2-4 mph depending on conditions but I wouldn't rely on it to get home if your engine goes out. Really just depends on what type of boat you have haha

[@dallinlambert3484]

@@NickeeGee just got a 21ft carolina skiff so I'm thinking it should push that OK.. I'll just have to try haha, thanks for the response

[@NickeeGee]

@@dallinlambert3484 yeah then this thing should push it pretty good haha

[@Evan721sxm]

How much power % does the motor use in spot lock for an average day? 15mph 3 foot seas. 50% or greater? Trying to put together my battery bank and guesstimate my current usage. Lol. Thanks

[@NickeeGee]

For reference we have 3 12v batteries for the trolling motor and can get a full days worth of bottom fishing 8+ hours a day in normal conditions. If it's calm we could probably spot lock for a full 24 hours lol. The thing is strong and pretty efficient

[@Evan721sxm]

@@NickeeGee i just ordered 120 AH. What AH have you got keeping you going so long?

[@NickeeGee]

@@Evan721sxm I believe ours is either 110 or 120. If you got the 120 you should have plenty!

[@nopatience1417]

Can you show a pic of your batteries and what charger did you use

[@NickeeGee]

Unfortunately we store the boat at a marina so it's not easily accessible to take a picture however the first chance I get I'll grab a picture for you!

[@serkancgr1523]

hi axopar 37 de rhodan has 84 inches 36 volt hangs on rhodan cable I think the boat is too heavy I haven't had such issues in minnkota even though the lbs are low. It is surprising that it entered the program while downloading, the sea is not always calm. Too bad it doesn't have an on/off switch. who do you think is wrong? thank you

[@NickeeGee]

Hello Serkan, what exactly is the question?

[@serkancgr1523]

@@NickeeGee Also do you have cable problem and program problem?

[@NickeeGee]

@@serkancgr1523 The only problem we've had is some steering issues but no programming or anything.

[@nopatience1417]

What size batteries do you have and the brand

[@NickeeGee]

We have three 12v 31 size AGM and they are just from West Marine.

[@dtice6191]

How does it perform on a 27’ gamefish?

[@NickeeGee]

These things are pretty incredible no matter what the fishing machine is. I'd probably go up to the 96" on the 27 just for some extra wavy days. Buddy has a 96 on a 34 Yellowfin and works like a charm

[@keonos1]

Hey Nick, Did you install your TM yourself?

[@NickeeGee]

We did not, we had a guy who specializes in Sea Hunt installs do it for us. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have to the best of my ability though!

[@keonos1]

@@NickeeGee I am about to close on a seahunt 25 and plan to get a TM on it fast as it is as you said a game changer. I am in the Ft Lauderdale area and lo9king for a good installer. How much did it set you back? Did he have chagr your nav light location? It seems you have 2 where I only have 1 centered on the bow tip.

[@NickeeGee]

@@keonos1 The guy we used has a business called "There she glows" and his name is Ryan. He travels all over Florida so he can come to you. The total cost was 5k for installation, and that included the Rhodan 84 inch 36v trolling motor. He did relocate the front nav lights.

[@keonos1]

@@NickeeGee 5k total all in? When was this? That's a good price.

[@keonos1]

Could you share his information? I closed on the boat so its official.

[@adamizett3169]

Why not show the deployment and stowage! You know , useful information!

[@NickeeGee]

Good idea!

[@jreca]

How much did your setup set you back?

[@NickeeGee]

All in right at 5k.

[@NickeeGee]

That's including paying for installation*

[@chasingmyasianqueen]

NEW SUBSCRIBER. Great video, just installed the same unit on my 29 Cobia. Been out fishing twice with it love every bit of it. Wife was hesitant about spending the money but now she loves it. The remote moving 5 foot any direction is awesome. We have small KZbin channel getting ready to drop two videos with the trolling motor use. Check this out please

[@NickeeGee]

Awesome! Thanks for the comment, going to check out your Cobia those are very nice boats!

[@tp6307]

sorry Rhodan has given nothing but problems. Had an electronic card problem and gears do not turn shaft now. 2, 3 ft seas rough on this unit. Minn Kota remote is much better. Rhodan remote is primitive and you must guess at your settings or look at motor to see where your settings are. Not real happy with this unit. I have a Sea Hunt 25.

[@NickeeGee]

I agree with a lot of what you're saying. Our Rhodan has given us some issues too but they've since been resolved. I do like the Minn Kota remote in some instances HOWEVER for what we do offshore, the Rhodan remote is much easier to use and understand at the click of a button to anchor. On my flats boat, I much prefer the Minn Kota remote given it's got a lot more functionality and is intuitive.