Just got back from the maiden voyage with the RipTide SE 55#. Electrolysis issue gone, so the Motorguide was the root cause. The RipTide is very nice. Love the extendable tilting control handle, puts it right where you need it instead of bending over to make adjustments, you can really feather the speed control and she gets down and crawls, perfect for keeping the bow postioned in a drift without having to constantly be on and off. The Motorguide was only 43# but it had a detent style speed control and first "gear" was too fast for some occasions. The battery monitor in the control head is pretty cool, just push a button and an LED lights up to check the battery. The motor is very quiet at low speed. One other thing I liked was the place to snap in the pull rope handle so you dont have to wrap the rope around the shaft to keep it from flying all over the place going down the highway. Rick, I think you will really like the RipTide.
