Thinking about pulling trigger on this one. I have a powerdrive that I broke shaft on and took to repair guy and first time out ( yesterday) it was leaking water out of the head. Calling them tomorrow to see how we take it from here as he specifically asked if water got in it and I told him it deployed while going about 30 hitting a wave and we tied it up and came in.

I am not buying another powerdrive, I HATE the way the deploy and the terrova works same way apparently. Im done with that. I am attracted to the lift assist and the
"trim" feature

Anyone real world experience with these? I am putting on a Crestliner 189.

We loved the Ulterra. There was an absolute certainty that we would get to fix it in the near future. It's working great for you, then you're out in the middle of the lake and it won't stow. Sorry to be blatantly honest, but most people never read their manual and don't know how to manually stow it. It would then get brought to the shop in a deployed mode needing to be fixed. Yep, it's going to need a new a new trim module, circuit board, steering motor or combination thereof. Not a problem when it is under warranty, but after that it gets expensive. The trim belt breaks quite a bit, too. I WOULD NEVER BUY ONE.

I had one on my bay boat for about 3 years and never an issue.

I have had the 80# on my bass boat for about 7 years. Replaced the mother board once after an all day fishing in the rain fried the original and replaced a plastic piece on the side that broke from me bumping too many stumps. All and all, I love it.

I ordered the mother board off Amazon and replaced it myself. Broke the plastic piece prefishing a tourny. Found the part at a local trolling motor repair shop and had it replaced in about 15 minutes.

I would definitely buy another one.

I am a full time guide on the Texas Coast. I've had a 112# Ulterra on my 26ft bay boat since 2016. I bet it has 15,000 hours on it. I did a full rebuild last year but been purdy awesome for my use.

I will say I have two boats and two Ulterras so when one needs to go to the shop I have a backup.

I had issues early on. These things do not like low voltage. Very very sensitive to voltage drop....so i overbuilt my wiring and quick connections. Have had a couple of stow problems over the years and I just removed the unit and put it on deck.

I will also say if you don't use it regularly then you need to rinse and lubricate it tens times as often. As with everything else on a boat if it sits it fails.

Having two Ulterras since 2016.....used under extremely hard duty as a guide fishing 220 pus days a year on the coast...i have never broken a belt.

I’ve never owned one. All I know is that everyone I know that owns one had a problem with the stow/deploy at one point or the other, especially with the belt breaking.

Had mine for a year now with no problems.

Had one on a bay boat from 2015 to 2022 when sold it and never had a problem with it. I think they are great for an old guy like me and sure back saver

[quote=Sgrem]I am a full time guide on the Texas Coast. I've had a 112# Ulterra on my 26ft bay boat since 2016. I bet it has 15,000 hours on it. I did a full rebuild last year but been purdy awesome for my use.

I will say I have two boats and two Ulterras so when one needs to go to the shop I have a backup.

I had issues early on. These things do not like low voltage. Very very sensitive to voltage drop....so i overbuilt my wiring and quick connections. Have had a couple of stow problems over the years and I just removed the unit and put it on deck.

I will also say if you don't use it regularly then you need to rinse and lubricate it tens times as often. As with everything else on a boat if it sits it fails.




Thanks Grem and I see you on some other boards so know you have a well rounded opinion. I am calling the shop that fixed the powerdrive today to see what direction I am going. These things are darn expensive and now the closest place to get repairs is over on 45 and I am 25 miles N or Houston. From the opinions so far I think I will get the quick release plate in case of an issue.

Our repair work consisted of about 75% Ulterras. If you get one, I wish you the best of luck.

BTW - Minn Kota is producing the Ulterra Quest now with the brushless motors. I do not know the exact weight, but the 36-volt Ulterra Quest must weight around 85-90 pounds.

Same here . Probably putting another on my next boat.

Just wait…you will
Buddy has one and we’ve worked on it more than I can count

I had one and loved it for the self deploy and the solo boat launches. One day I hit a stump really hard and that was it. It was on the ship many times and the shop finally told me that it really wasn't worth putting any more money into it. They told me that it is a great trolling motor as long as you don't fish in lakes with stumps.

Put an Ultrex on and am finally enjoying the boat again.

Terrova is much better than the power drive. I have a PD on a pontoon and it is a PIA to break free to deploy or to lock back in the stowed position. I have had a couple terrovas and the only negative about them for me was that you had to reach down and grab the head to stow but they did release without being hard to free from the holder

I had one for two years and it was great- it failed to deploy a couple of times but always reset with power off and on- it doesn’t like low voltage. All that said I probably wouldn’t buy again as I like things simple, ultrex is better for me.

I think they do alot better in open water, bouncing off trees all day breaks em down quick. A crappie buddies guides with one and he has 3 so hopefully one won't be in the shop. You couldn't give me an electric steer motor. He's had to swim for the boat once unloading it with nobody in it and it wouldn't deploy. That said he likes it enough to have 3 versus going a different route. I went from an Ultrex to an Ultrex Quest.