Ultrex users and aluminum boats

I've got a question for ultrex owners....have a buddy who has a ultrex on his Crestline and seems that it does not hold his boat anywhere near a 5 ft range had a chance to compare the xi5 side by side with it over the weekend. The xi5 was on a fiberglass boat and honestly was much better at doing its thing compared to the ultrex...my question is does the aluminum boat make that much difference or is it something else. Not wanting to start a issue just curious about the lightweight boat if that has any bearing on it.....thanks

Yes I have had the gen 2 version trolling motor on a shallow draft jet boat. It could drift 15 ft off at times. It was an ulterra but with the advanced gps.

does he have the bluetooth gps mounted and hooked to a power source?

I've got a 80/45 I pilot Link on a 18 foot polar craft and it works great. Keeps you well with in the 5 foot cone in you have some wind or current.

Yes he doea have the GPS puck mounted and powered and he's followed the directions setting it all up...just seems it just doesn't hold very tight didn't know if being such a light boat if it was harder for it to hold its position do the wind and or current moving it around

Might try adjusting the BOAT SCALE for your boat. The procedure can be found on page 42 of the I-PILOT Minn Kota manual. Has to do with the weight of the boat. Have read about others having similar experiences and after readjusting the boat scale their problem was resolved. Might take a couple tries with different settings to find the one that works best for your boat. Good luck and report back with the results if you do indeed use the boat scale procedure.

I'm assuming when the heading sensor was installed it was paired with the TM head? Also, the sensor has to be calibrated to work correctly. Judging by your comment #5 all directions have been followed to a tee, my next guess would be the heading sensor is getting interference or may not have a clear line of sight to the TM head. Does the jog feature work as well as the straight line heading when the N button is pushed?

I had an Ultrex on a 1652 tin boat and the spot-lock worked flawlessly.

To my knowledge the jog works fine..the heading sensor is mounted on the deck which is 3 to 4 inches below top of boat by the tm head..it all synced up fine so didn't think that was a issue. Just sitting side by side with a xi5 on a fiberglass boat there's a lot of difference...

The heading sensor has nothing to do with the spot lock function. The Ultrex will spot lock just fine even if it's not installed. The jog feature however, will not work without the heading sensor, but all the GPS electronics for spot lock are contained in the head of the Ultrex.

I would bet on his "boat scale" (as mentioned above) still being set to the default of "0". Tell him to turn it down to -2 and see how that does.

Anyone know how to set the scale? Just got thru talking to him says he doesn't show anything in his stuff. Says the real owners manual is online and its not online yet....

This should get you there (https://minnkotamotors.johnsonoutdoo...-motors/ultrex).
Scroll down towards the bottom of the page and you will see 3 options for manuals, select the i-pilot option.
It takes a few minutes to download. It also takes a bit to scroll down. The info to set the boat scale can be found on pages 42 + 43.

If the above doesn't work go to Minnkotamotors.com/select trolling motors/select bow mount/select ultrex/ then scroll down to the bottom of the page. You will see several manuals. Pick the one for I-Pilot.
This is the manual that contains the BOAT SCALE info. The I-Pilot is the same for the newer Terrova, Ulterra and Ultrex. Good luck, if any other questions let me know.

Attachment 292898Attachment 292899Attachment 292900 Hope this helps. Let me know.

Hey guys thanks for the help passed it onto him. Said he didn't see this when he set his motor up so I'm thinking he missed it. He's going to go out this weekend and try and reset it. Once again thanks for the help..

I have a 175xwt bass tracker,i had a xi5 12volts on it and it held boat good if it had some wind,i took it off and stoyed it in shop because I got a ultrex ,they hold about the same,i just like the ultrex the best because it has cable also which is better for dock shooting,the ultrex is the best tm I have seen with both foot cable and hand held remote,best thing since slice bread

Not to be a whiner but my 2017 Ulterra (new version) has never held spot lock to standards. Best Minn Kota can offer is my FreedomBoats 18’ Patriot may be too light. Yes, I have done the boat scale (I am at minus 1), all the calibration, replaced the head 3 times, added the AN GPS antenna (easier to see how far the bow is off spot-lock) and will just have to suck it up. I refuse to have this $3,000 investment that does not work as advertised keep me from enjoying chasing crappie. I will say the “techies” are awesome just not magical.


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Originally Posted by dhaire

Not to be a whiner but my 2017 Ulterra (new version) has never held spot lock to standards. Best Minn Kota can offer is my FreedomBoats 18’ Patriot may be too light. Yes, I have done the boat scale (I am at minus 1), all the calibration, replaced the head 3 times, added the AN GPS antenna (easier to see how far the bow is off spot-lock) and will just have to suck it up. I refuse to have this $3,000 investment that does not work as advertised keep me from enjoying chasing crappie. I will say the “techies” are awesome just not magical.

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According to the boat scale chart you still have the option of setting the BOAT SCALE for your boat to a -2. Have you tried a -2 setting?

Yes. It makes it lazier and slower to respond to spot lock therefore allows perhaps even more movement, just slower. Techies also mentioned this might be a possibility. I will say again, the issue is not with the techies—they are motivated, smart, and want to help. The software is just not there for my boat. Spot jog, nav, self deploy and retrieve, and all the other aspects of this wonder of technology work better than advertised. Spot lock is the only substandard function. I sincerely would have bought a different boat had I known this as all I care about is chasing crappie. Whine over, heading to the lake.


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Originally Posted by TONY CRAPPIE

Attachment 292898Attachment 292899Attachment 292900 Hope this helps. Let me know.

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Not to steal the thread, but is there any sort of adjustment like this for the Xi5? I have a 24 volt 80lb on an 18 ft. glass ranger which is likely oversized. The anchor mode just fights itself like its "tuned" too fast or the boat is too light for the TM. If there is a constant wind or current, it works great. I have heard other people having the same problem but not everybody. I haven't made the call to motorguide yet. I'm wanting to gather a little more information first. I would hate to have to go back to 12 volt. I love the extra power.

my boat weight is under 2000 pounds and IF anyone thinks that a 40 to 45 pound thrust will handle it I'd like to see them try it. Especially into a good wind. Dead calm water and it'll work otherwise NADA

Well buddy finally had a chance to actually set things up....said it was 8 degrees off center and he set it at minus 2...I don't know but 8 degrees off center seems like a lot...guess we will see..

Well had chance to take buddies boat out yesterday. With the setup changes he made it performed a lot better he was happier with it. Thanks for all the information!

How did he figure the 8 degrees off center and where was the adjustment?


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Talked to john said he followed instructions of deploying motor turning it on and pointed motor straight ahead and then instructions had some steps to take and recalculate the off set showed him he was off so guess he readjusted heading sensor...said it was pretty simple once he read the instructions ..t hats about all I know