Quote:
Originally Posted by cajun bill
I have the Ipilot now and absolutely love it, but not enamored with the deployment and stow. Anyone have the new Ulterra which self deploys and stows? If so, any issues so far. Might want to upgrade since my Ipilot is only about one year old.
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I installed my Ulterra last spring and used it this summer. When it works it is great - just press a button and down or up it goes. So much easier than the Ipilot. The operative phrase unfortunately is "when it works". I've worked on mine more than I've fished with it.
The first time I used it the plastic belt which deploys it came loose. I had to tear it apart and reinstall the belt correctly.
Next problem was it just quit working while I was fishing. Thankfully it broke while it was stowed. There is an emergency stow ability but it looks like a it would not be an easy process, even if you carried the tools to do it with on your boat. I found a reset procedure on the web and that fixed the problem.
The last time I fished with it the autopilot function quit working, and when I went to stow it everything jammed up and now it does nothing. I took it to the service center is Lake Charles and it's been there for two months now. The service center claims there are no parts in the system yet for the Ulterra.
So my opinion is that the idea is great but the implementation of that idea is not reliable. If I had to do it over I would stay with the Ipilot until the next generation of Ulterras are available.
Also FYI there is not a saltwater version available and there are no plans to produce one according to my phone call to MinnKota. Saltwater use voids the warranty.