Rhodan Trolling Motors. Made in Sarasota, FL

Added: 2026-05-21

[00:00:06]I was born and raised in Sarasota, Florida.

[00:00:10]I grew up fishing since I was probably 2 or 3 years old. I've had a love of fishing.

[00:00:18]This is my hometown. This is my community. So we try to contribute to that community as much as possible and manufacturing the product here is our way of doing that.

[00:00:35]We build approximately 70% of the trolling motor in this facility. Uh we're roughly 90% US content but 70% of that is produced in-house.

[00:00:46]It started with Glenn Robertson.

[00:00:49]He was a pioneer in the electronics industry and had the idea of uh using GPS to control a trolley motor to hold boats on position.

[00:01:02]GPS anchoring uh utilizes precision timing signals from satellites that are in orbit to be able to accurately calculate your position on Earth.

[00:01:14]We use those coordinates to determine whether or not we've drifted from the chosen location and then control the uh thruster accordingly to position the boat back on spot. We're able to get in 5 6 700t of water, get over a tiny piece of structure, load it up with snappers and groupers, and we're able to hold tight over that all day long.

[00:01:38]It changes the game all across the board.

[00:01:41]This is our electronics assembly line.

[00:01:43]We start with bare PCBs. We then go to a screen printing machine which puts a thin layer of solder paste in very specific locations on the board. This is a pick and place machine which picks up the individual components uh checks them and then places them on the board. We have a completed panel that has the electronics component placed on it. We load the firmware onto the boards and then check and make sure that they're operating as expected. We fully encapsulate the electronics. So, they're placed into a housing filled with this elastoic material and that fully seals them to the elements. My name is Donnie Thanos. I'm the operation manager here at Rodeium Marine Systems and I'm going to walk you through our machine shop.

[00:02:26]These are series of horizontal mills.

[00:02:28]We're machining our steering box housings here. This is the cast equivalent of 316 stainless. This is where we do a lot of our plastics, our our gears.

[00:02:39]This is one of our Swiss machines. So, this part right here is the pin that goes in the foot pedal linkage assembly.

[00:02:47]Most of our lathes are set up with bar feeders. So, we can set up a 12T section and feed them through. So, you can see here some of the other raw materials that we bring in. This is what they call a a delin, which is an engineered plastic. Our gears are made from this stuff. Here are some of your clutch parts. So when you've got a a clutching system in your your road and troll motor, it started out with this nice big heavy stainless 316 bar stock.

[00:03:14]This area is a production assembly. This is where we get all the components from electronics and machine shop and we put everything together.

[00:03:27]We make everything pretty much in house.

[00:03:31]The importance of making things on site is that we know that everything is being done the same way.

[00:03:40]We all take pride in what we do.

[00:03:47]Once the subsystem is completed, we do a burn-in process. We assemble the motors, power them up, and then put them all into track mode without the thruster and allow them to run overnight. and we can verify that everything is performing up to spec and to ensure that they have a long and stable lifespan. It goes onto the test tank where it is put through a full operational test to verify that every feature is working as expected.

[00:04:17]I think the biggest thing about being built here in the US and and built here in Florida is we're able to have our hands-on production and hands-on parts at all times.

[00:04:27]We understand the passion that people have for this industry.

[00:04:32]So we feel that it is important for us to deliver a quality product and go the extra mile to make that happen. We really go over it with a fine tooth comb to ensure that the quality is there uh to produce the best trolling motor uh on the planet.

[00:04:50]We also put them out there on our test boats and run them in extreme conditions. Uh we're heading out to the Manatee River today to uh test the new 48V Gen 5 motors.

[00:05:04]Conditions are nasty. Uh this is the type of day we look for for testing. So we'll see if uh see if they hold position. Hopefully don't break a boat, but uh that's that's the the risk we're going to take today. And again, that's how we push the boundaries and continue continuously make better products for our customers.

[00:05:24]I'm not necessarily what they call a fair weather boater, but the conditions yesterday were conditions that I would not have gone out in normally blowing 25 mph and the currents ripping and whatnot, but it is always fun. Those are some of the best days.

[00:05:42]>> Basically, what we're trying to achieve is that the product performs so well that you don't notice that it's doing its job. So, we push it to its limits and we expect it to take all of that in stride and just do its job as best that it can. And you just don't even know that it's working.

[00:06:03]We've got the 47 Freeman running the 48vt 120s. We've got the 42 Freeman behind us running 36VT 120s. And we've got a 48vt 120 on the contender here.

[00:06:15]Um, they are he's in anchor mode. We're in our new uh track mode. So nasty conditions, the motor is just loafing.

[00:06:24]Uh this is exactly what it was made to do.

[00:06:30]Yesterday was completely successful test. Yeah, it was a culmination of years of work to produce a product that could perform that well under those conditions.

[00:06:41]We are not a commodity product. You know, we're not mass-produced overseas.

[00:06:44]This is manufactured here in Sarasota.

[00:06:47]We're more concerned with building a quality product. By doing the manufacturing inhouse, it gives us significantly more control over the quality of the end product, but it also allows us to contribute to the community. I mean, we've got people gainfully employed here. These are our neighbors and and friends, and we're contributing to this local community.

[00:07:09]Our motto is set it, forget it, and catch more fish. Personally, I just want to see people out there having a great time on the water because it it's truly a a remarkable experience. We fish, we're outdoors on the water. Um just that's that's how we live our lives and we design products that uh are suitable for people that do the same.