Minnkota Ulterra

Anybody got any input at all on this for the stow and deploy function?
I already have a 101 Terrova w/ the link system and am giving thought to switching.

I don’t know anything about it really. But I have the same motor as you and thought about the switch also. It seems like I am always battling big waves and standing out over the front of the boat trying to stow or deploy the Terrova. Im sure everyone has had a near fall over board. It would save me alot of time over the span of a day long tournament.

Definitely interested.. but I’m always leery of jumping onto new products right away.

So far these units$ look great for the larger boat guys, but what I would love is a 55lb thrust unit in 12 volt for my kayak. Talk about versatility on a small craft, this would be the ultimate. And like said previously, not having to crawl to the front of a kayak and hoist up the trolling motor is a big jump forward in the safety department. I would also love the ability to with a touch of a button raise the motor in shallow water situations.

From my understanding is if the self deploy quits working you have to pull off the left side cover to get to the linkage to be able to put the motor in the storage position. Unless you have a quick detach system leaning over the front to unscrew that cover would not be fun.

My question was what happens with freezing conditions??????

sktrwx2200 wrote:

It seems like I am always battling big waves and standing out over the front of the boat trying to stow or deploy the Terrova.

Definitely interested.. but I’m always leery of jumping onto new products right away.

skt, The leaning at the noise of the boat in rough water conditions is one of my main reasons that I have the interest. I’m still ok on my feet in the boat but….
The ability to either stow and / or deploy while I’m at the helm is desirable to me.

Clown I want to see your “Go-Pro” movie of this!!

Tom you are right about how to detach “if” it ever does not work. Access through the side or, detach my quick disconnect. The later is the easiest and the most safe. Flip my cam lever 1″ shift and it is in my hands.

As to it freezing, My boat is an I/O so I don’t hit the water through the winter like some of you on the river. My rods and line will ice up while I’m at LOW in Oct and I spun my water pump impeller once because I did not get enough of the water drained and it froze enough when I started it launching. I wonder how the belt system that takes up the space in the keyway would handle it. I’ve never been in conditions yet that has givin my Terrova and issues yet though. Never IS a long time.

The auto stow and deploy is the reason I still have my Minnkota Genesis. I didn’t like having to maneuver in the front of the boat in windy conditions. I’ve often wondered why the newer models didn’t incorporate this function.

Denny O wrote:

Clown I want to see your “Go-Pro” movie of this!!

I take it you don’t believe this is feasible? There are several transom mounted trolling motor setups and a few midship units for specific kayaks. Kayaks are more susceptible to wind and current and having the bow being pulled into the wind or current gives the best boat control. As far as balance the battery in the back counters the weight of the trolling motor in front. If you look at the load capacity of the larger sit on top fishing kayaks the person, battery, trolling motor, and gear fall below that limit. During recreational kayaking I sit on the bow and dangle my legs and feet in the water. Believe it or not , even with me at 215lbs the kayak stays pretty level. The thought of having the navigation features and control modes that the terrova with i-pilot with the convenience and safety incorporated in the ulterra would make for the ultimate fishing kayak. At this point the only thing keeping me from installing one is the fact that you need 2 batteries and have way much more thrust than needed in a 24 volt system. Give me a 55lb thrust, 12 volt, 48″ shaft ulterra and I will be a happy angler.

Pretty cool commercial from Minnkota.

JD, you are lucky that Genesis is still working. You may have one of very few left out there. So many problems with that motor, Minnkota had a buy back or replace program. They were very cool when they came out. Buddy had one on his boat. For about a month….

-J.

That is the cats a$$

I know I want one! I just don’t know if I can justify the price to upgrade from my terrova.

john23 wrote:

I know I want one! I just don’t know if I can justify the price to upgrade from my terrova.

X2.
Minnkota certainly isn’t shy about setting the price on there products.

John,
your right.. Im not sure if its worth the price right now. If I try to sell My fully loaded 101 Terrova you might get 1000 on a good day used?? So we would be looking at at least 1700 dollars more into the bow mount so I can sit in the captains chair and tell my buddies “hey, watch this!” haha

Looks really sweet… but ill hold off………(for now)

Now when Im standing in front of one on the shelf come April…. no promises I will be able to not make the impulse buy! lol

The other advantage I see is the launching of the boat – since 80% of the time I’m alone. After couple wrist/shoulder surgeries it would save some wear and tear on the body – hard to put a price on that. However it doesn’t help you when coming back to the ramp and putting back on the trailer either…

Availability is expected mid to late March according to our suppliers on the Ulterra. Pricing is expected to reach $2,000 for a 24V 80lb I-Pilot US2 and expect another $300 plus to add the Link system. Just to give you guys a heads up.

Sweet motor….I agree.

Tom P. wrote:

My question was what happens with freezing conditions??????

Anybody remember the old Minn-kota Genesis, which was the last motor they had auto deploy and stow on? A buddy of mine had one of those and it was notorious for freezing up. More than once somebody had to urine on it to try and free it up enough to get it stowed enough to return to the launch. It also was send to the boneyard by the failure of a $0.75 plastic gear that failed and couldn’t be replaced.

It is a cool commercial, but no way I’m dropping my boat and trusting that my TM is going to work flawlessly every time. I guarantee at some point, you will be trying to find somebody to give you a lift to chase down your boat, or you will be swimming after it.

John Schultz wrote:

It is a cool commercial, but no way I’m dropping my boat and trusting that my TM is going to work flawlessly every time. I guarantee at some point, you will be trying to find somebody to give you a lift to chase down your boat, or you will be swimming after it.

I have heard of guys using the Terrova I-pilot similarly when fishing alone. Launch, deploy motor at the dock, drive the boat away with the remote and hit the spot lock. I always wondered what their plan was when the remote battery died????

Art Green wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>John Schultz wrote:</div>
It is a cool commercial, but no way I’m dropping my boat and trusting that my TM is going to work flawlessly every time. I guarantee at some point, you will be trying to find somebody to give you a lift to chase down your boat, or you will be swimming after it.

I have heard of guys using the Terrova I-pilot similarly when fishing alone. Launch, deploy motor at the dock, drive the boat away with the remote and hit the spot lock. I always wondered what their plan was when the remote battery died????

The Minnkota marketing department has the perfect back up plan for you – buy a Talon so if the trolling motor fails you have yet another expensive toy to hold your boat in place

Boy oh boy, for what you guys are racking up in costs and concerns and your still at the launch, I think I’ll hire a young lady in a bikini to tend my boat whilst I get the truck…she might even want to go for a motorboat ride.

The motor is cheaper in the long run!

Art Green wrote:

The motor is cheaper in the long run!

But not as ” versatile “.

castle-rock-clown wrote:

…she might even want to go for a motorboat ride.

This needs YEARS of real world use before I think about upgrading to it…the stow/deploy/trim motor looks fairly small, will it hold up with the repeated use/wave bashing impacts it will take over the summers, we’ll see…

this has been tested on the water for 2 years i belive

And now in full recall. I called my dealer to get one installed on my boat and all the models have been recalled. A problem with the remote control frequencies I think.

Frequencies???, they didn’t accidentally launch some ICBMs I hope!

Launch ^^^ ICBMs

Let me know if anyone interested in getting rid of their 101 Terrova, would be a large upgrade for me.

Geoffrey

101 Terrova w/ US2 60″ shaft and an I-Pilot link?