Putting a Ultrex on an older boat?

Fishing Travis today and did pretty well with numbers, but the wind was kicking my butt keeping in one spot. I had Ultrex envy when I saw a guy in my cove stay in one spot with his spot-lock Ultrex.

My boat is a 2004 Skeeter SX190 with a 2004 Vmax 150. She's an old boat with scrapes, scratches, and scars all over the hull, but she's mine. I have 2 HDS9 Gen 3s on it and an HDS 7 Gen 3 as well. I redid the carpeting 3 years back and reupholstered the seats. The motor keeps chugging and I upgraded the TM to a Fortrex 80 when I did the carpet and seats.

Still, it's a 15 year old boat. Putting an Ultrex on it would cost at least 2.5 large. The boat's probably worth 7 or 8k in the condition it's in. Should I pull the trigger on an Ultrex? Would it change my life for the better?

I guess I could take the Ultrex off if and when I sell the old boat and re-install the Fortrex...

Any bad experiences here with Ultrexes?

More questions: I want the spot-lock feature. What else do I need? I'm not planning on upgrading to Humminbird, but I do want to stop fighting the TM all day as I'm not getting any younger.

I bought a boat a few years ago for $2500. I put a $2800 Ultrex on it as soon as they came out. Added $1250 worth of batteries and $4000 worth of electronics.

Sold the boat and bought a larger boat and swapped everything from the older to the newer. Then sold the old boat for $2800.

Don’t wait to enjoy fishing.

If your boat runs fine and you are comfortable with it then there is no need for a new boat. Bot a lot of technology changes with the hull designs that warranty a new boat for me. I put an Ultrex on a 2007 Skeeter about 2 years ago, and yes, it is absolutely worth it. The boat does everything I want it to, why get new payments just to add an Ultrex?

tuning into this post , I am also thinking about an Ultrex. Is there things needed like a certain graph to link ? or does ultrex have all it's own built in stuff?

No doubt, get the Ultrex.

I put an Ultrex on my 2010 Nitro which I plan on having for a while, I had to do some minor work to get the foot pedal to fit in the tray, you can also put the foot pedal on the deck seeing how you don't have to stand on it to hold your spot, I replaced the Fortrex and it was an easy switch, if you like your boat and it fishes well, then yes, absolutely do it. You will just need the right wire to connect to your lowrance units.

How is an Ultrex less valuable as a tool on an old boat as apposed to a new boat?

I own one of the first Ultrex that anyone had in my area and I put it on a 2006 Ranger I have had to have the armature replaced a steering cable break and all the steering electronics replaced but I wouldn't take anything for it I'm near 70 and don't wear out near as fast as I use to. with out it..All the work on it was warranted.

I have Lowrance electronics, Hummingbird has some bonus compatible attributes, but I have stayed with the Lowrance - the built in transducer works with an adapter cable, but the spotlock works just fine which is worth it. And mine is a 2006 as well. I can't live without it.

Get the Ultrex and save your Fourtex, they use the same bolt pattern so it is not hard to change the frame out. I put on on my 2003 Champion and so far all is good. I fish alone a lot of the time and it is a lot of help. The spot lock is awesome.

I have an Ultrex on my little 2003 Ranger. Set it and go fish anywhere on the boat.

get the ultrex and keep the old motor if you sell the boat take ultrex off and put the old one back one
also do it immediately don't wait.

I just put an Ultrex on my boat last month. Worth every penny and I’m kicking myself for not doing it sooner!

I put a Xi5 on my 1988 Nitro a couple years ago and it was great! Just upgraded to a newer boat and moved the Xi5 to it along with most of my electronics. Spot lock is awesome and linking to graphs is also great! Go for it! I really like the link to the graphs feature, since you already have Lowrance graphs I would go with the Xi5 and link it......and save a lot of $$$$

I put an Ultrex on my 2000 Skeeter around 1.5 years ago. It seemed to work just the same as it would have it if was on a $70K 2018 boat. Don't know that I'll sell the boat any time soon, but if I did and someone didn't want it, I'd just take it off and move it to the next one.

Okay, I'm getting ready to make a choice.

Another question though is this: I'm running the large LSS-2 transducer on my Fortrex for the Side/Downscan imaging. Will the large transducer fit on the Ultrex lower unit housing? Also, will the built-in transducer work with Lowrance HDS units? And will it require a special adapter cable?

Absolute vote for adding the Ultrex. I have most bells and whistles on my '18 ZX250 and the ONE item I could not live without is the Ultrex. I love my twin poles, and 3 large graphs, but the Ultrex is the ultimate, particularly if you fish offshore.

Last winter I put an Ultrex on my 2009 Skeeter ZX225 and have been singing and dancing ever since. The perfect upgrade!

upgrading to a spot lock TM is worth whatever dime you want to spend on it. I just put an Xi5 on my 2000 Scout flats boat. If your heart is set on an Ultrex.. go for it. I fished today and was able to fish at all only because I had spotlock. If there ever was a game changer.. that is it.

BD

Get it! You shouldn't even be wasting time on here asking about it. I love mine!

If you are keeping the boat, get the Ultrex.

I have an even bigger transducer than the LSS2 on mine. I have the Active Imagining 3in1. I bought a transducer sheild to make it look better, but whatever floats your boat will do the job. The Fortrex with US2 is the same motor unit as the Ultrex with US2. I don’t know about the Ultrex with HDI transducer built in. Probably a different shape, but still doable.

The Ultrex with US2 does require an adapter to work in the Lowrance HDS “blue” input. The Ultrex comes with a long cable to get to the Lowrance, but the fitting is different. The adapter is about 12” long. It has the US2 plug on one end and the blue Lowrance connector on the other end. It’s about $20-$30, depending on where you buy it.

The Ultrex is currently available in 4 configurations per voltage/length.

I’d suggest getting the basic/basic unit. It will do everything you need. Power steering, spot lock, cruise control (auto pilot), and save spot locks. It will come with a simple remote, if you can download the Ultrex app on your phone and use it as a secondary remote, if you wish.

The only thing I can’t help with is which voltage and length. 36 is better, but costs more if you have to start adding batteries. The 45” is great on most mid to smaller boats. The longer ones are good for longer boats that tend to bounce a lot on bigger water. You need to leasure your mounting location to waterline distance and make sure the prop centerline of the trolling motor is at least 18” or so under the surface.

Be careful of the “Ultrex mount will hold a fortrex” stuff. It used to be the case on the first and second year Ultrex units. The new ones with the new logo on the mount will not hold a Fortrex. There is two mounting centering pins that prohibit that from working. It’s a product “update”’that squashed that option.

I put an Ultrex on my 2005 TZX 190 right after they came out. Wouldn’t want another boat without one.

Let’s assume you have no front graph .......will the ultrex still have spot lock ? Or do you need a compatible gps unit to make that work ?

I put an Ultrex on my '99 Skeeter and I love it. Best 2k I ever spent. Can't tell you how much it's done for my time on the water.

The Ultrex has its own gps built in. No graph necessary to spot lock, save waypoints, or auto-pilot to those waypoints.

Cool that’s the answer I was looking for thanks

My Ultrex came with a GPS puck that mounts separate and the TM uses the puck as a direction finder. The puck has an arrow that you align with the CL of the boat. I've never heard one person say they regretted buying a Ultrex and I've not had one issue with mine. When you can anchor down in 50' of water with spot lock and stay within a 3' circle, well what more can you ask.

I've been using spotlock trolling motors for several years. Back before the ultrex came out and everyone on here seemed to think it was a useless upgrade. I have tried talons and they were nice but nothing has been as useful as spotlock to make fishing easier. I put it on a small 14' v hull and paid more for my electronics than the boat cost. Worth every penny. Ill take an old boat with spotlock any day over a new boat without.

With new models coming out soon, there may be some used units hit the market soon that would make it even easier to bite the bullet.

I put a Ultrex on my 1996 Champion 221.Absolutly LOVE It!Once you get it,You will wonder how you ever did without it!

Herb, I had the dealer put a 36v, 52" shaft on the Legend I just got. Come out and give it a try. I don't think you'll have ANY doubts about it after that! I drove my Champion for 20 years and upgraded it 4 or 5 times in that time frame. The Ultrex is no doubt the best piece of equipment I've ever bought in regards to helping you with boat positioning. Especially in the lakes around here where you pretty much have to fish deep a good deal of the time!

well ultrex or lone of the newer models just coming out?

well ultrex or lone of the newer models just coming out?

as soon as they come out I will be putting a $3000 ghost on my 94 Ranger

They are available for preorder at Tackle Warehouse. Jump on it!

Okay, I pulled the ol' trigger and ordered an 80/45 from my peeps at South Austin Marine, who'll be doing the install. Looking forward to the Life Change.

Randy, I'm looking forward to a cruise in your new ride, man! I will call soon.

Do it! I had one on my 01 Triton. Took it off when I sold it and put it on my 09 Skeeter.

I have a pre-order in with Tommy at Lake Fork Trolling Motor. He is a motor guide/Lawrence dealer and has already been to the ghost training school.

He said that everything that anyone can say negative about trolling motors has been built into the ghost. Worth a phone call if you have any questions about them.

Fixed it for you. Now the Ghost doesn’t sound so bad. Lol

I put an Ultrex on my 30 yr old Champion over a year ago. Great TM. Check around for discounts - Tackle Warehouse offers 10% discounts on all orders for active/retired/discharged military.

I've kept my sonar/GPS units updated with late model Lowrance sonar/GPS HDS units.

I ignore boat's resell value when it comes to replacing/updatng accessories as I have no plan or need to upgrade to another boat - so I'll install what I want to get the most enjoyment out of my rig.

The Ultrex has arrived, but I've got music gigs all weekend, and besides, who fishes Lake Travis on Labor Day Weekend anyway? Only maniacs, that's who, joining all the other maniacs in their cigarette/ski/wakeboard/yacht/waverunners. So the install takes place on Tuesday. Full report to follow.

First thing you'll need to do Herb once you get on the water is program the remote. Study the manual so you'll understand how it's done. Actually pretty easy. After that all you gotta do is locate some fish and spot lock on'em. Have fun with your new toy, it is a GAME CHANGER, lol.

I’m thinking about putting a terrova on a jon boat. Thoughts?

You don't need a 36V for your boat unless you plan to fish 2 days or more without being able to charge your batteries. I would say, upgrade the TM, buy some new batteries and Fish On!

EZ to get caught up in "I gotta have everything new" craze. I don't care if I am fishing out of a 1974 VIP Stick-Steer, I am gonna have me an ultrex on it. Its a TOOL. Nothing wrong with new tolls in an antique toolbox. In my opinion, the spot lock innovation has changed fishing more than anything other than electronics. Its that important and anyone who has one will tell you the same thing.

Put one on my 07 Skeeter and the Ultrex did not seem to mind. Neither did the one we put on my buddy's '99 Champion. They are well worth the money in my opinion. Lowrance and Garmin had new GPS trolling motors come out this year that may be good, but happy with the Ultrex and it does the job.

Well, I kinda went overboard with the upgrade!

Fact is, I had been wanting to switch to Humminbird for a long time now, though I've been a Lowrance user for years. But I've been out on too many guide boats and friend boats with Humminbirds on them and envied the optics and the layouts.

So I ordered the Ultrex with Mega SI+DI, and am replacing the HDS9's on bow and console with two Helix 10's, and linking them with ethernet. South Austin Marine is doing the install.

There's gonna be a learning curve in store for me I think.

Guys: lots of answers here by MK: https://www.minnkotamotors.com/support/faqs/what-difference-between-i-pilot-and-i-pilot-link

Ultrex is a game changer