Minn Kota Ulterra Installation

[Capt13]

I have been reading about these trolling motors for a couple years. I did some research on them and the choices for me were the Minn Kota or Rhodan. I really loved the feature of automatic stow and deploy, so my decision was to go with the Minn Kota Ulterra Riptide. There were a bunch of bad reviews about the stow and deploy feature and I accepted I might have issues.
I put together a freshwater bass boat in 2001 and bought a "state of the art" ( I hate that phrase) pinpoint trolling motor system that would automatically follow a depth contour. It did not have a gps tie in and worked "ok". I was sponsored at the time and after the first year was given a heads up that I might want to sell the system while I could.

Fast forward to the present. I have been working on the installation of the Ulterra for awhile. It's been slow going with this heat and humidity. Anyway, I thought I would post about this system and the troubles or success I might have along the way.

 

[Capt13]

Just a quick note ..... I have no affiliation with Minn Kota, Hummingbird or Johnson Outdoors. (Although I wish I did )

 

[Capt13]

Love this video ......



I launch by myself a lot and am so looking forward to this!

 

[Capt13]

Locating a mounting spot was a little tricky. Hope I got it right ! Had to remove the bow cleat.

 

[Capt13]

I wanted to go with Everstart deep cycle batteries but Walmart had, I'm guessing, restocking issues. I ended up picking up 3 Interstate group 27 deep cycles from Costco. I built a battery box to protect the 3 batteries in the cabin, from Veranda vinyl composite sheet and board from home depot.

 

[Fluke Whisperer]

Interstate are really good batteries, I have used them for years, last year I brought a 10 yr old deep cycle interstate that was in my boat to my dealer in BPT Ct. to have it checked, although it was still good, I elected to buy a new one, your lucky if you get 5 yrs out of battery let alone 10, I have them in my truck,boat and my wife's Rogue which by the way is a 2015, the battery that came with the car expired 2 yrs ago, so she only got 3 yrs out of a factory batt, what a rip off.

 

[Capt13]

That's good to hear ..... this is my first time trying them.

 

[Roccus7]

Great job. If I ever find a decent flats boat with a Spot Lock at a good price I'd jump on it, especially for fishing the ledges to lower the pucker factor...

 

[live bait]

Love this video ......



I launch by myself a lot and am so looking forward to this!

I'm an old guy who launches alone all of the time, & is not a very trusting soul, I think I'll stick to a rope between the bow cleat & trailer.
John

 

[Snapprhead27]

There's two youtube regulars that have that Minn Kota and it seems they love em.

 

[Capt13]

drilled holes through the front deck and used a Seaview Cable Gland to make the installation waterproof.

 

[Capt13]

Moved a little closer to trying out this new toy !

 

[Roccus7]

Question:

Do any of the electric motors have a "tether" feature. Was just thinking in my own terms, but if you were to go overboard while you had the electric motor programmed to head in a particular direction, would it stop or keep going?

Could be a deal breaker for me. I'm anal about having my "Auto Tether" engaged when I fish alone...

 

[george]

This is a great thread and I look forward to seeing it in action. I'm hoping to install one on my boat next year. I guess I'll know who to call when it's time!

 

[NoFlukenName]

Question:

Do any of the electric motors have a "tether" feature. Was just thinking in my own terms, but if you were to go overboard while you had the electric motor programmed to head in a particular direction, would it stop or keep going?

Could be a deal breaker for me. I'm anal about having my "Auto Tether" engaged when I fish alone...

I'm not aware of one on the Saltwater models, but they have Remote Controls that you can loop around your wrist or neck. Those remotes allow you to "shut off" the TM if necessary. Hope this helps.

 

[NoFlukenName]

This is a great thread and I look forward to seeing it in action. I'm hoping to install one on my boat next year. I guess I'll know who to call when it's time!

Will be the best addition to your boat, especially if you blackfish. You won't believe how much easier it is to "anchor" with a TM and how close you can get to pilings, jetties, etc. that you wouldn't dare try with an anchor.

 

[Capt13]

Question:

Do any of the electric motors have a "tether" feature. Was just thinking in my own terms, but if you were to go overboard while you had the electric motor programmed to head in a particular direction, would it stop or keep going?

Could be a deal breaker for me. I'm anal about having my "Auto Tether" engaged when I fish alone...

I think you are gonna have one of these on your boat next year Dom. Reading about your fishing routine, I think this might be a must have. OK, I haven't run mine yet but I am soooo looking forward to the possibilities.

Fishing alone is safer if this system lives up to the hype. When by myself, I used to tie myself to a 25' tether when fishing hard current in sporty conditions because I knew I would never be able to swim back to the anchored boat in "sporty" conditions. The remote with this motor is waterproof. I'll have it hanging from my belt loop If I go in, I should be able to not only "release" the boat, but steer it towards me so I can get back on. At least that's how I sold the boss on the purchase.

 

[Capt13]

Powered up the motor today and tried the self deploy feature. I effed up pretty bad and was lucky I didn't damage anything. The support post I put together was mounted to close to the head of the motor. I neglected to take into account that this thing travels horizontally first before it tilts up. The head caught on the post and actually broke off at the base. I cut the post down in height and remounted further from the head.

Before

After

 

[Roccus7]

Ah @Capt13 , trial by error. Don't you hate when the documentation isn't the clearest?

I like the waterproof remote. I bet by the time I get mine it will also be voice activated, "Poseidon, please pick up my sorry, wet azz..." That would make the approval by the Minister of Sociality and Finance very quick. You just can't believe how much "safety equipment" I buy for the boat!!

But will it compensate for ledges, rocks, etc or take a direct line path??? Lots of the "surprises" here are NOT on the charts and guess where I do most of my fishing?

 

[Capt13]

Another concern I had was my ability to remember to undo the velcro tie down on the support post before trying to deploy. What I have read is that the system is sensitive about obstructions or pressure on the shaft during deploy or stow functions. Leaving the velcro wrapped would be bad.
I sewed a loop in a bright orange piece of webbing to use as a reminder to pull the velcro off. A quick glance should be all I need.....