The Outdoor Line Forum

I have been using the EZ Steer setup on my Boat. I'm not happy with the setup. I've seen Garmin TR-1 setup and like the fucntion of this. My question is are there other system similar to the TR-1 on the market?

Hey LM,
As of now, there is no competing product to the TR-1.
While the EZ-Steer gives you trolling motor control (steering only, no throttle control) from the helm, the TR-1 is a heading holding auto pilot that steers the boat independent of the boat's main engine/drive.

Along with hands-free steering, the TR-1 gives you throttle control and, more importantly, with a push of a button you have complete manual control of your trolling motor to fight a fish or perform other quick maneuvers.

I realize the TR-1 is an expensive, somewhat complicated piece of gear but there is a reason that it's so popular among serious anglers and charter professionals alike:
The TR-1 takes care of boat control, allowing you to concentrate on catching fish!

My advice: save up and get one on your boat! Once you use it, you'll wonder how you ever got along without it!

Mine (before Garmin bought it) is probably the best money I've spent on my boat. If you fish alone or with kids or newbies, it will make your life so much better you won't believe it. You can point the boat in a direction, let go of the wheel, and go back and set gear, tie on rigs, take care of tangles, and you are still trolling where you want to be. At least on my boat (Arima), once you let go of the wheel, the boat will move off with the wind and you are either dragging the bottom or suddenly in 200ft of water.

So from what I can gather, the TR-1 was bought by Garmin. And is it now discontinued?

LisaMarie wrote:So from what I can gather, the TR-1 was bought by Garmin. And is it now discontinued?

TR-1's are not discontinued. You can purchase them from 3 Rivers Marine, Auburn Sports, Portland Marine Electronics and other locations. Like David and Nelly said, they are worth the purchase price if you have kids or newbies on board. I could not imagine chartering without mine. Other features that are awesome with the TR-1 is the MOB (man overboard) feature.. if you pass through a baitball that has fish holding in it hit the MOB button and and it will take your boat right back through it. You can also set it up to a zig zag pattern which can be very productive to drive fish into biting on the upswing rod. IMO my TR-1 is one of the top three pieces of equipment on my boat.

I even use my TR1 for more than just trolling. I used it this weekend while free drifting. Works great when I need to re-bait or re-tie really fast.

Great point 'Ho!
I had one on my sled and used it for free-drifting, backtrolling and heck, when I was alone on the boat I even pulled crab gear.
Bottom line: I would have to learn to fish all over again without my TR-1!