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In the market for a new trolling motor. Really want one with spot lock but I’m curious if it’ll do the trick. Dealer says it will but of course they are trying to sell it. I have a 17ft aluminum boat and I’m worried spot lock won’t keep up with wind on such a light boat. Does anyone have experience with it? Open to minn Kota or motorguide.
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I have 55# Minn Kota Terrova 2017 with BT spotlock. I fish an aluminum 17 ft Triton. Spotlock does a fairly decent job holding and it actually does a better job with wind or current. There are settings to adjust weight of boat or actually how aggressive it makes it adjustments. The one thing that gripes me to no end is the behavior when it first locks or sets GPS. By program it turns the head 180 degrees and pushes backwards a few feet then it turns 180 degrees more to set it back. So within a single minute the head is now rotated 360 degrees and the transducer cable and power cable are twisted around the head. I have contacted them and complained and they have sent me 2 other heads. It still does it
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55 oughta do it, but 80 will for certain
as mentioned, works best in a little wind/current...
you won't regret it
not sure how you have your ducer cable run, but mine does the same thing, and when it reahes end of travel, unwinds/resets itself. no prob.Quote:
Originally Posted by catchNgrease
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26DL6z7zBpQ
^^^6 foot master lock cable intertwined with transducer cable = no snags/tension
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I bought a 80# Minn Kota Terrova last year and I love it. The spot lock does work better with a little wind or current. It replaced a 55# Minn Kota Edge. I have it on a 17 foot G3.
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I have an 80 lb thrust Ultrex on a 17ft Polarcraft and love it.
You will love the spot lock! Worth every penny! Love my ulterra!
It really depends on how good the signal is at the time you're using it. Mine holds good 80% of the time. It doesn't like bridges but most places it will hold pretty close
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I have an 80lb Terrova on a 2070 Triton aluminum boat and it does a great job. It sometimes wraps up the head but I notice that more when there isn’t any wind or current. I fish below Wilson dam some and it does an adequate job in heavier current especially to hold on an edge. It does not work under a bridge, overall I’m pleased with it and I fished with a buddy the other day and he said that he wouldn’t have even tried to fish with the wind blowing as hard as it was because he wouldn’t have been able to stay where we were fishing.
Everyone has already summed up the awesomeness of the spot lock, I have a 2019 Terrova, but another HUGE benefit, at least for me, is the PLUS + / MINUS - LEFT RIGHT buttons on the remote. When in spot lock, press the FBLR buttons to move the boat in 5 foot increments ….. Left, right, forward ….. Whatever !
The buttons can also be used in conjunction with each other to move at an angle as well, such as 5 presses forward, 2 presses right, would put you 25 feet forward, and 10 feet to the right. This comes in super handy for me, as I fish the bank, and hop from spot to spot.
It does take some practice, and monkeying around to figure it out ..... Puck position, alignment, and trolling motor position effect the actual direction the boat moves as well. Mine seems to drift to the left a tiny bit, so I hit the right button a time or two ….. You'll figure it out, and love it !!
I've had old minn kota powerdrive 70lb and now I have a 55lb terrova BT on a 16ft stick steer and a 80lb riptide ulterra BT on a 20ft xpress. The newer BT units are a lot better on spot lock than the older ones. I wouldn't trade them for anything. My riptide version doesn't have a built-in transducer so I bought a coiled cable and zip tied the transducer cable to the cable. Attachment 376046Attachment 376047Attachment 376048
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