MinnKota. Ulterra I Pilot

For anyone that has one of these have you been happy with it? Any issues with the launching and unlaunching of the trolling motor into and out of the water with the remote control ?

A buddy of mine has it and he's got no problem. Works flawlessly for him. I'm waiting for a tighter spot-lock.

I have no problems with mine. Love it. It beats throwing/pulling anchor everytime you stop/move.

I'm jealous of u guys. I've had 3...haven't kept it running longer than 3 weeks.

Mine was one of the Ulterra's out, 36vdc with link has worked with no problems.

As someone considering an Ulterra, can you please elaborate on this?!

I purchased the Xi5 back in September as I wanted to network with my Lowrance units and for the "improved accuracy" of the spot lock function, the "jog" feature was another selling point.

Well after a few months on the water, I decided to go back to Minn Kota. I opted for the Ulterra 112 and there is a marked difference in performance between it, the xi5 and my old 80lb IPilot. I couldn't be happier.

I am not here to bash Motorguide in any way, just offer my experience. The Xi5 was very good in open water with a decent wind (10+) but it seemed to struggle in low wind situations, seemed the head was always moving and unstable in light winds. I've had occasions that the head would spin a complete 360 degree turn (Uncommanded) and a few other anomalies. I thought I would really like the "navigate to cursor" option. In reality, it wouldn't get you terribly close to the spot, within 15' is about what I noticed. I didn't think the lack of a display would bother me, but it's nice to look down and see what you have your speed set at etc.

Anyway, I hope this provides a little insight for your decision.

With the GPS acquisition in just the head previously,(they've added the magnetic heading sensor) I think it allowed for more drift before making corrections. For example, the head of the boat may be over the intended spot lock location, but with wind, current etc, the boat would "pivot" more on the front end. When fishing over a large school etc, where you need to be fairly close it would work great. But, if fishing a brush pile or where you were over a fairly tight school of whites etc. I found it not as accurate. I know, complaining about drifting 20-30' seems silly, but most times it absolutely makes a difference between catching and just exercising!

I have the Ulterra 80 on my rig now 3 months and love the "deploy" feature of course. This is my 3rd Terrova type trolling motor over past 10 years and I am a very happy Minn Kota customer.

Note: I am learning how much more battery power the "deploy and restow" feature consumes during a full day of use. You don't want to run out of "juice" and not be able to power the motor back into your boat. If that happens, which it did to me a few weeks a go. You have to follow directions with a couple tools to get the motor stowed and then you HAVE TO TAKE IT to a Minn Kota service center to have it reprogrammed! Thankfully I have mine mounted on a Minn Kota Slide Plate to make that task easier.
Not a good plan - I would like to recommend to Minn Kota that this be a feature more like a "Garage Door" release and correction while on my boat. Right?

Love mine.
I upgraded from a 101 Terrova.
Never had a minutes problem. The spot lock works better and it is a lot quieter than the Terrova.
Of course the auto deploy and retract is the bomb.

Wow , that would be a deal breaker for me.

MO

I got an Ulterra a few months ago and absolutely love it. Now I've got a new boat getting rigged this week with the new Ulterra and I can't wait. I still haven't figured out why there is so much love for the Ultrex when the price range is similar.

I have the Riptide 70lb on my 16ft vhull. Batteries never die even with constant use. I generally mark a school of fish and spot lock in open water. Can't tell how far I drift off the initial point but it doesn't matter bc the fish are moving around down there too. I wish I woulda gone to Ipilot sooner.

I've worked on all three. Each of them had their own set of issues. Remotes not keeping signal, control board burning up or malfunction, trim and tilt motors would go out and would sometimes not stow properly having to do it manually and would have to send it to me to reset.

Now with them working out some minor kinks from it being new in production I'm sure that it is a much better motor now. I would def run it over an Xi5. Whatever issues the Ulterra had I have seen resolved when the Ultrex came out.

Well, I just started having problems with my ulterra. Bought mine new back in June. It started to make loud noises like it's off track while stow and deploy. Then eventually it gets stuck. All I did was turn it off to reboot and I was able to get it to stow properly by pulling the head in manually. It's in the shop now getting warranty work done. Hopefully it'll be done soon.

I wish the spot lock held closer to where it was set, but it is still awesome

same here on the spot lock

I have had the Ulterra 80lb with I-pilot {not I-pilot link} since last May. It drove me crazy in that it would just stop responding to the remote or foot control. I took it off the boat two times and took it to an authorized service center and it would work perfectly when they tested it. After many calls to customer service it was finally determined that the wiring and breaker from the batteries to the trolling motor were not heavy enough. Minn Kota finally told me that it must be at least 8 ga. and mine was 10. I changed it out to 6 ga. and have had no more issues. I really do like it a lot. I wish the spot lock would hold on spot better but it sure beats messing with an anchor. The stow-deploy feature is great for an old 78 worn out fisherman.
I have bought a different boat and I have not decided for sure that I am going to put the Ulterra on it. I am wondering if the spot lock on the Ultrex is better than the Ulterra?

I was about the first guide I know to run out and get one. It has been in the shop more than on my boat. 5 separate trips to repair centers. Motherboard twice, spot lock unresponsive once, and stuck in down position twice. The spot lock has never held within acceptable ranges and I've had 2 gps modules mailed to me to try and solve. In short, it is in my garage as a back up motor. I wanted to return, but it was in the shop twice in the 1st 90 days and they would not refund my money. Only honor warranty. I loved it when it worked, but it's been a headache. Again, I use mine 6 days a week and I'm rough on motors, but my Riptide is bulletproof and holds tight on anchor. I love Kotas but the ulterra I have is a nightmare

The 2017 Minn Kota trolling motors have the new and improved I,pilot concepts. The newer motors whether ulterra,terrova,ultrex all have the improved I pilot feature with tighter spot lock.

Getting me one installed tomorrow by Shut up and fish. I hope the bugs have been worked out. We will see.

I bought a Power-drive 2 with the I pilot. The anchor feature is awesome. Work great for 6 months so far. I have a Powerdrive 2 with a copilot for sale new 80 pound thrust. 60 in shaft. New never installed bought it thinking it was an Ipilot.