Minn Kota Powerdrive???

B

Blindblue16

Active Member
Hi all, I have a question. I am in need of a trolling motor with spot lock tech. Been looking at the 24v Powerdrive because of the cost and I would be cool with using a remote. Its going on a fish n ski. Those with the Powerdrive, what say you???
 
I'm not a sophisticated fisherman. The PowerDrive does everything I want. I really only use two features: Spot Lock and Maintain Heading. I either want to stay above a school or I'm working a line somewhere and just want to point the boat and go. One nice thing I like is that you can save your Spot Locks and just get near them the next day and let iPilot take over. As for thrust, I'm in a little aluminum V175 - so I can't speak to larger heavier boats.
 
Thanks for the honest reviews! Thats all I am wanting honestly, something to keep me in one spot and something to work a bank. Do yall have it paired with any electronics, or is the capability right on your phone as the advertisements mention?
 
The 24 volt PowerDrive is extremely efficient compared to its 12 volt counterpart. I have had both and would NEVER consider going back. Mine runs off of 2 size 31 AGM 12 volt batteries. My boat is an 18.5' aluminum V hull and I don't have it paired with anything. Love the remote!
 
We recently purchased the 24 v version from bass pro, it was hard to find a steal of a deal, but it has been very good even on our big 24ft tritoon. The spotlock is amazing. I looked briefly for a foot pedal which would be nice if you were fishing solo to work a bank without your hands using the remote and I don't know if they can be added.
 
Maverick5207 said:
No foot pedal for the Power Drive with spot lock. Gotta upgrade to a Terrova to be able to add a foot pedal
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also the newer terrova has a better spot lock, no searching , also adds jog features with the heading puck. If it was me a would get the latest and greatest. foot pedal is good for backup as well in case remote fails.
 
bobco said:
also the newer terrova has a better spot lock, no searching , also adds jog features with the heading puck. If it was me a would get the latest and greatest. foot pedal is good for backup as well in case remote fails.
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I agree. The foot pedal is a must. I lost my remote last year so the pedal it was. Found the remote but the foot pedal saved the day.
 
I know there is something to be said for more basic models and staying within a budget. But since I’m good at spending other peoples money, the ONE thing that I think is a huge advantage as you go up in technology is the automated stow and deploy feature of an Ulterra.

As one gets older or their health changes, it makes using the motor significantly easier.

I don’t have that now but if I were buying today that is what I’d do as a plan for the future.

Buy once, cry once.
 
I upgraded from the old Terrova to the quest brushless version. It is a huge improvement. Only downsides are the expense, and it is much heavier than the old terrova. Much better spot lock, super quiet and hardly uses any battery compared to the old motor. I did upgrade to cheap lithium, iron batteries, but I can fish three or four days and still have 75% power reserve on the batteries. I will add the weight savings on the batteries was about equal with the additional weight of the new trolling motor.
 
Ryan said:
I know there is something to be said for more basic models and staying within a budget. But since I’m good at spending other peoples money, the ONE thing that I think is a huge advantage as you go up in technology is the automated stow and deploy feature of an Ulterra.

As one gets older or their health changes, it makes using the motor significantly easier.

I don’t have that now but if I were buying today that is what I’d do as a plan for the future.

Buy once, cry once.
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I wasn't going to go there but since that box is now open, I agree with you 100%.
I started going to Powell with an old cable steer trolley. It always worked great for bass fishing the local lakes here on the east side of the Phoenix valley. But at Powell I fish vertically quite a lot so the cable steer sucked. I found a used 1st generation Terrova and that was heavenly compared to the cable steer. After time the vagueness of that generation spot lock was getting tiresome. I upgraded to a 2nd gen Terrova with Bluetooth. Big difference in spot lock and remote distance. 3 weeks after getting the 2nd gen Terrova, I found a 2nd gen Ulterra. Wow. Not having to go to the bow in the wind and chop is a game changer. I loved both Terrovas but the Ulterra is a game changer. If you're launching your boat by yourself, it's a no brainer.
I couldn't recommend anything more. It changed fishing for me.
 
I was once a Minnkota advocate too, until Garmin arrived with the brushless Force and then Livescope. I too had an Ulterra which worked great until it didn't. I owned a Terrova which was a workhorse but wasn't very quiet. Minnkota customer service is terrible. Yes, I had two Humminbird chart plotters and I loved the LakeMaster maps, but I had issues with the chart plotters and got nowhere with customer service. Also, their transducers would often lose depth at speeds over 15 mph, which was aggravating to say the least. I was on the waiting list for Mega Live for YEARS. I finally just sold ALL of my Minnkota and Humminbird units and replaced it with Garmin across the board, which has exceptional customer service. Yes, you do need to be technology savvy, but the equipment has been bullet proof and significantly improved my fishing success. That said, maybe the second gen Ulterra is the real deal :)
 
David A Dexter said:
I was once a Minnkota advocate too, until Garmin arrived with the brushless Force and then Livescope. I too had an Ulterra which worked great until it didn't. I owned a Terrova which was a workhorse but wasn't very quiet. Minnkota customer service is terrible. Yes, I had two Humminbird chart plotters and I loved the LakeMaster maps, but I had issues with the chart plotters and got nowhere with customer service. Also, their transducers would often lose depth at speeds over 15 mph, which was aggravating to say the least. I was on the waiting list for Mega Live for YEARS. I finally just sold ALL of my Minnkota and Humminbird units and replaced it with Garmin across the board, which has exceptional customer service. Yes, you do need to be technology savvy, but the equipment has been bullet proof and significantly improved my fishing success. That said, maybe the second gen Ulterra is the real deal :)
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Well, I think the 2nd gen Ulterra's are marginally better from a durability standpoint but you're correct. They can have issues and can get expensive to repair very quickly unless you can diagnose and do the repairs yourself. Personally, my Ulterra (bought well used) is a rock. Not one issue in 2 seasons of heavy use.
The 3rd gen Ulterra's look bulletproof but time will tell.
No other manufacturer offers a self stow and deploy model and as I grow older (65 currently, soon to be 66) I appreciate that I don't have to walk or crawl on a windy, pitching deck to stow or deploy the trolling motor.
I haven't found Minnesota service to be lacking so far. They have been very helpful but I've never had any serious issues yet.
I did look at Garmin trolling motors but I liked the self stow\deploy feature so I went that route and I do have Garmin fish finders. Not a big Hummingbird fan although the recent versions look like they have tackled the issues of old.
 
I’ve been having issues with my Helix 9 MDI GPS G4N with losing depth at speeds over 6 mph. HB told me I need to buy a high speed transducer and y cable for about $150.00. For a $1000.00 f f, I would expect it to work over 6 mph. I’m thinking twice about staying with Humminbird. Sq
 
Squirrel said:
I’ve been having issues with my Helix 9 MDI GPS G4N with losing depth at speeds over 6 mph. HB told me I need to buy a high speed transducer and y cable for about $150.00. For a $1000.00 f f, I would expect it to work over 6 mph. I’m thinking twice about staying with Humminbird. Sq
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Can’t go wrong with Garmin. That being said, issues with transducers losing bottom has little to nothing to do with the brand. It’s all about getting clean water around the transducer. It takes fine tuning of the location to get a clean return when on plane IMHO.
 
Dorado said:
Can’t go wrong with Garmin. That being said, issues with transducers losing bottom has little to nothing to do with the brand. It’s all about getting clean water around the transducer. It takes fine tuning of the location to get a clean return when on plane IMHO.
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Totally agree. It took me 3 or 4 tries to get mine to read at planing speeds. Even slight adjustments make a huge difference.
 
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