Motor guide xi5 vs min Kotta I pilot
 

Does anyone have any input on the new motor guide xi5 vs minn Kotta I pilot. I need to get a new troll motor asap. The minn Kotta seems to be loud when turning, but a well made product. I have not seen any motor guide xi5 on any boats.

I have the Motorguide xi5 and ive been very happy with it. I have it for a little over a year and haven't had any problems so far. I chose it because I read that its GPS was a little more accurate but I don't really think that makes a difference. Its pretty quiet when it turns itself. It works well for me. Minn Kota has come out with a TM that self deploys and that would be awesome but I don't think they have a salt water version yet.

Rhodan is the way to go......

Minn-kota just released their saltwater self deploying TM. Riptide Ulterra. Supposedly quieter when turning, but I can't vouch for that.

Love my PowerDrive V2 with I-Pilot.

Do you have one? Can anyone vouch for these?

I have had my ipilot for 2 yrs. it has worked flawlessly. Have no experience with the other brands. I will replace it with the new saltwater version self deploy model. Saw em demonstrated at the sportsman show.

Have you experienced any software problems with the iPilot?
Someone mentioned to me that there were some issues with the communication between the Ulterra's GPS/computer and their boat's main GPS/computer at console.

I had planned on waiting until the kinks were worked out because there are probably some in the Ulterra, like any new product.

Thoughts?

No. Never even a hickup

I don't have one but I have researched them and they seem very legit. I have an ipilot and don't regret it or anything, but supposedly the motorguide and rhodan will hold to a smaller area than the ipilot. The ipilot spot lock is good for anywhere from 5-20'. It seems to work better when there's a strong tide and its lock seems to get better the longer you have it in anchor mode. Still beats the hell out of anchoring

This post from theHullTruth may swing me to get the Ulterra:

I have had both Rhodan and several iPilots.

Rhodan is better at GPS lock no doubt. Motor is too noisy for me at the mid level speeds. I did not feel the build quality of the product was as good as the MK. Support and folks that work at Rhodan seem really great.

BUT...there is no way I give that up over the new Ulterra with auto deploy! You will have a two year warranty. If you use your boat as much as stated the auto deploy feature will be game changer for you. TRUST me on this one. I have sold 4 friends on the Ulterra just from seeing mine in action.

Rhodan
 

Yes...they are great to hold you on spot.....

I have a Motorguide Xi5 GPS. Love it. Anchor lock holds true it'll change how you fish. It can get a little clumsy sometimes trying to work the remote and fish at the same time but besides that I have no complaints. I was on a rig this past weekend that had a MK Ulterra SW. The self deploy was smooth and it seemed to run a little quieter than my Xi5. If you have a tower or platform or plan on adding one down the road then the Ulterra would be the way to go.

very timely topic
 

Just got back from a few days of fishing with my MK Ipilot and noticed something that I had noticed before, but I don't remember it being that bad. Yesterday, I was trying to fish a spot along a marsh bank and when I got the bow of the boat positioned into the wind where I wanted it, I hit the anchor button. While the wind was blowing pretty well, it should not have been unmanageable for the MK to hold me in position. Sooooo, what I observed was that after the boat would move off spot about 10-20 feet, the motor would bring me back, but it would take about 30-60 seconds to do so. It seemed that the motor would wait too long to kick in and would have to overcome the momentum of the boat moving with the wind before it could increase in rpm enough to make progress against the wind and get me back to where I started. Aggravating for sure.

I really want to get to the Ulterra for the stow/deploy and trim functions, but I wonder if MK has improved it's spot lock function that owners of the MG and Rhodan rave about? Anyone know?

I have friends with both and the Motorguide Xi5 holds position WAY better then the Ipilot. The Ipilot moves around and loses connection from time to time especially in current. The Xi5 holds like an anchor and you can't even tell that you are not on using an anchor. I do not own either of these units but have fished in boats that have them. I'm just telling you what I have experienced.

I'm getting the Ulterra as we speak, but A LOT of people I've talked to say that the spot lock should be temporary only. They say you don't want that trolling motor kicking on and off, spooks the fish. Better to anchor once the spot is established.

I have stayed on fish in 3 ft of water with the ipilot. There is a long thread in the hull truth about the xi5 seems to be a lot of quality issues. I almost sold my ipilot to get one till I read it

There's the battery draining and wear and tear, but whatever. Carry on.

Update from MK
 

I spoke with MK Tech Support yesterday about my recent experience and the rep advised that 15 ft is 10 ft. longer than it should take to kick in to return to the previous spot. He claimed that 5 ft. is the norm so he agreed to replace the head on my unit under warranty. I asked him if the software/hardware on the newer Ulterras had been improved regarding this and he said they are the same. I also asked him if MK had any plans to put a built-in transducer in the saltwater version and he advised "no".

I guess we'll have to see if this replacement head improves the situation. Anybody else try this solution?

You have to double tap the anchor button if you want immediate response to anchor lock. Pressing anchor the button once will lock the position into the computer, the TM then slowly reacts and places you back on the spot. If you double tap, then the TM will respond and nearly knock you out the boat getting there. You can't be moving wide open, hit spot lock and expect the TM to perform well. There is a lot of boat to stop and move back into position.

I have had my Riptide Ulterra 110 for 6 months with flawless performance. Spot locked over a reefs for hours. Just keep extra remote batteries with you. You
Just can't beat the auto deploy.


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