Looking to upgrade and replace my existing trolling motor. Any advice on which ones to look at or avoid. Ive currently got a Minn Kota 24V. Could upgrade to 36V if needed. Id like to have the spot lock feature to hold the boat in position. Thanks for your feedback.

We offer a choice to the dealers of which brand they prefer when ordering. Offer MinnKota and MGuide Riptide. 80% are ordered with Minkota Terrovas or Ultera.
Personally I have an Ultera on my boat and have had great service from it.
When first brought out the Ulterras had some issues. Minn Kota reacted and the products have done well the last 3 years or so.
Power Pole builds a great motor but they are $5K.
Ghost and Garmins are not asked for from our dealers for saltwater … so we don't offer them as an option.
If you go Minn Kota and use Humminbird the spot lock and I-pilot is awesome.

Thanks Gunny. I had read about the Ulterra issue and am glad to hear they got that corrected. I run a Garmin GPS currently. I had seen some of the other trolling motors but there was a big price jump and just didn't know if it was worth it.

I'd take a look at the Rhodan if I were buying today. I had issues with my Ulterra failing to deploy on my previous boat so I got a Terrova on the new one. The cable linkage on the foot release broke on maybe the 3rd time I used it and now the motherboard is out to it's going to S.TX trolling motors on Friday. I primarily wade fish so I probably don't have 30 minutes on it

Sounds like you had a bad Terrova. The issue with the Ulterras has been addressed. We get contacted by the dealers in every failure or warranty. We ship around 1200 saltwater boats annually and the service and warranty claims have been relatively low on Minn Kota. Little higher on MG.
One thing we like in being OEM with them is they handle their issues quickly and without hassle.

Look specifically at the new Minn Kota Riptide Instinct Quest and the new Terrova Quest models. We have been shipping boats with them as of late and customers are talking highly of them.

We have an Ulterra and we love the spot lock and I-pilot. The other day, we were fishing deep structure in 15 feet of water and catching speckled trout in 20mph winds. The spot lock was worth it's weight in gold and really the only thing that let everyone on the boat fish. Otherwise I would have been fighting the motor handle the whole time.

I know it can do more than what I am using it for now. I need to go back and read the manual.

Simrad GPS with Aerial photo overlay doesn't stink either!

Ever take a drone up to scout flats and back lakes? You can't legally fly them in the ULM, but always thought the drains around Pringle and Contee would be perfect for that

I have a terrova and really like it. I can use it to hold over a brush pile one weekend to crappie fish and then hold over an artificial reef off the coast the next without anchoring. I also like slow trolling with it by just setting a bearing hold and speed.

You can also use a heading and a low prop speed to use the TM as a drift sock

FIDO*98* said:

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Ever take a drone up to scout flats and back lakes? You can't legally fly them in the ULM, but always thought the drains around Pringle and Contee would be perfect for that

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The aerial imagery I have on the SIMRAD unit is not too far off from a drone. Although it is a bit dated most likely. I have used it to plot courses through creeks between back lakes that I haven't run before, and I know a pathway exists when I see another shallow boat get through there. It's got really good resolution and as a guy that took Interp. of Aerial Photos at A&M and used to use lots of photogrammetry in my job, having imagery on the boat really blows me away. That and the ability to set transparency on a chart over the photos, means I get all the nav aids etc, and the imagery to help.

I am a full time guide on the upper coast. I have two 36v Ulterras on two different boats. My big guide boat is a Southshore 26ft Pro with giant oversized TTop. That Ulterra has been on there 8yrs and probably has over 10,000 hours on it on spot lock. I rebuilt it top to bottom this past December. Second one on my other guide boat acts as primary on that boat (different kind of fishing....more bass fishing style but in saltwater....no TTop and trolls much faster.) It's been flawless as primary on that boat and still haven't needed as backup. They both have been great.

Ulterras are sensitive to voltage drop so make sure battery amd connections are overbuilt.

I use a 36 volt 60ah Lithium Pros in my big boat.
And a 36 volt 40ah Lithium Pros in my second boat. Both have been plenty for their intended purpose.

Will you come bless my next MK before I put it on my boat

Called a local trolling motor repair shop yesterday. He said definitely go minn kota. Rhodan is out of Florida and not a lot of people know about them, so less people will work on them or have parts. 7 of the 10 trolling motors in his shop were Ulterras. He said they just cant keep water out of the mechanism for the stow/deploy. He recommended the terrova. Just figured I would share. Probably not a bad idea to call the service guys before buying. Thanks again for all of your input