Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I was using an older Minn Kota trolling motor, but recently starting having an intermittent problem with the motor cutting out. I decided to see what else was on the market and ordered this Newport Vessels 55 pound thrust motor. My main use for the motor is fishing in a 14ft aluminum boat, making short moves and positioning the boat. The summary: Upon receiving and unpacking the motor you must attach the prop which took about five minutes. No problems. Transporting and setting up on the boat, no problem. After attaching the leads to a 12V battery the LEDs lit up as expected from 1 through 10. Using the motor some problems or irritations were noted. When selecting forward or reverse there is no firm click or confirmation that you have reached that specific selection. This happened when selecting, forward, stop, or reverse. When I was running forward and wanted to switch to stop the selector would easily turn past stop and to the first position in reverse. This may take some getting used to, but after a week of fishing I could not get the right feel and I may be used to controlling my older Minn Kota. When running the motor, the control handle would on occasion slide out another 4-5 inches unexpectedly. It would happen when I was running the motor and possibly (unintentionally) pulling the handle out as waves and wind were going by. I could not find a locking mechanism to keep this from happening. The LED display was confusing at times and I don't think that accurate. After using the motor for about a week, short uses, perhaps 5 hours of run time, only an estimate. The LEDs continued to display all 10 lighting up. Only once did I see them decrease while running the motor momentarily to 8, but then displaying 10 fully lit LEDs. I started with a fully charged 12V battery and by the end of the week it was reading 12V from 12.7V when I started. This is the same battery I used with the Minn Kota, and it had a full charge. The motor ran louder than my older Minn Kota. This normally would not be a big deal, but I fish on a clear inland lake and the fish spook easily. So the quieter the better. Conclusion: I enjoyed trying another trolling motor, but I will see what it will take to repair my older Minn Kota. Could be a loose connection internal to the motor. I think this Newport Vessels motor could be used by many people and completely enjoyed. What I can say is for my intended purposes I was unhappy with its overall performance. I did read and consult the owners manual to see if any of the issues I had would be addressed, but it is a very basic instruction manual. If I were to make the purchase decision all over again I would buy a another Minn Kota.