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I have a problem.  I just bought a Minn Kota Ulterra and it doesn't fit.  The housing covers the cleat making the cleat unusable.  If I remove the housing and expose the metal unit, it will work.  Has anyone else experienced this.  Do you know of a solution?

Thanks...I'm outside right now in the rain trying to figure a solution.  

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How much does it block on the pop-up cleat?  Could you use a quick-disconnect mount and move it out over the rail a little bit to give you room?  I know my iPilot is only about 1/4" from the cleat which leaves just enough room to get a rope on it so I guess the Ulterra is probably a little wider.  

Good luck!

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Thanks for the suggestions.

i think I am going to raise the unit with the quick disconnect and some 3/4" starboard.  I may also cut away some of the plastic housing.  It will have just enough room for the line.  Really halfaxxed

Also...I was really surprised to find that there is no aluminum plate reinforcement in the boat deck.  You cannot drill and tap since it is only fiberglass.   I am gong to install  a 3/8" plate glued Under the deck using fiberglass resin.

Hewes claims in the manual that it has a plate.......shame on you Hewes...

 

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My old unit was mounted on the port/bow as close to the bow as possible.  Is that where your plate is?  

I think that Hewes was installing the trolling motors in 2008 so I am surprised that the unit was installed with nuts and bolts.  It was difficult removing the lock nuts...they are far beyond a human arm.  It would take days to install the new unit with nuts and bolts.  

I am not ragging on Hewes, but there are so many issues with the design and installation carelessness that I am disappointed.  I've had the boat for over 3 years and still love it but am constantly cursing when I find something poorly designed or shoddy workmanship.

Let me give you just a couple of examples of things that were supposed to be installed in the boat but were not:

- There is no backflow valve in the cockpit drain tubing...the boat is constantly wet.  I'm in the process of installing one.

- There (of course) is no aluminum plate to secure the trolling motor.

- There was no Lowrance hull transducer installed as is mentioned in literature and their owner's manual

- The hose for one of the livewells was leaking...I found it by opening up the port rear box access plate and noticing a wet area in the foam...I pulled it away and noticed that the hose was slashed (presumably by the manufacturer since the foam encased the tube with no signs of knife marks...just water).  It is almost impossible to fix and I am living with it...the bilge goes on quite a bit when the livewell is running

- The wiring in the console is a mess

- The wire size to both the jackplate and powerpole are undersized and I almost burnt down the boat with a fire from the power pole wires which melted together and went into flames

- The release well plug does not stay in place...it is a design that is fatally flawed.

- I had to put on 2 different props to get it from unsafe porpoising.  It still requires trim tabs to settle down the bow which is great for gas efficiency

- there as no pull ropes/cords that were supposed to be available to snake wires under the deck

- The list continues...

BTW - did I mention that I do love the boat?

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Are you the original owner?  I am not saying Hewes did not make any mistakes but it seems like some of the issues were after the build.  Mine is a 2005 and I have none of the problems you describe.  Well maybe the plug for the wells as they can be a pain at time to get in and keep water out.

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To be honest I am not sure.  I know I have an extra transducer cable under the console.  I never tried tracking it down because the Lowrance I have is newer so the cable would not work with my unit.  Hewes did stop putting in the factory Lowrance transducer, what year they did I am not sure.

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Love the list, so true - as well as my love of the boat

My third trip on the boat the powerpole just randomly started going up and down on its own, eventually being stuck down. Took a while for me to find the pinched wire that had come loose and was shorting out, lots of fun there.

I recently had the same problem when I installed my iPilot on my 2007 with blocking the cleat. I ended up using the "quick" disconnect mount and raised it with the washers they provide in the kit, it still limits the use of the cleat though so I have to use the line attached in my anchor locker to dock which can be a pain however the benefits of using ipilot greatly outweight this problem. I had the same problem reaching the bolts to remove/install new one, but I was able to find a flexible head long handled ratchet to get it done.

My hull transducer for Lowrance is installed, not far from where bilge pump is mounted.

What unit do you have? They make transducer adapters for some. I have a simrad unit and got the adapter and it works well, not that I monitor depth that much since I can usually see the bottom.

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Mark, what year is your boat?  I know they stopped putting the thru-hull transducer in them, probably because there are too many options for sounders and most people just use a transom mount.  

The porpoising is well known on these boats.  I wouldn't consider mine bad, more annoying than anything, and is easily fixed with a little tabs down.  I tell people my boat just doesn't like slow speeds cause I don't need tabs over 30 mph unless it's choppy.  What prop did you end up with?

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I think the manual you are reading is outta date, I'm pretty sure they stopped installing transducer around 04'. They don't update manuals frequently enough.

I would put money on it there is a plate in the deck. Just cause there are nuts on the back doesn't mean there is no plate. The T/M, power pole and possibly the jack plate were most likely not installed at the factory by Hewes. They were most likely installed at the dealer or by previous owner.

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My LT18 had a trolling motor installed when I bought the boat. Some nimrod used lag bolts, complete with 1/2 inch holes, to mount the motor. I removed and reinstalled properly, threading the plate for stainless bolts. I would also bet your plate is in place. Can't believe Hewes would forget that. Good luck. 

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Not to get more off topic but what are you guys doing to get all this porpoising?  I only had an issue with one or two of the props I have ran and the only time it did porpoise was a slow speeds IF I was trimmed out too far, no issues if I was not trimmed out.  Maybe I got a lucky hull.

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I hope the porpoising is due to too high a pitch of the prop; but it is definitely speed related. It's minimal at speeds >34 mph with no tabs, manageable with tabs from 30-34 MPH and bad below that.  Just installed the yamaha engine cable and trying to get some data to look at fuel burn before trying new 3 and 4 blade props.

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  • 1 month later...

Not sure if anyone is still having an issue with mounting the Ulterra. I am also considering an upgrade to the Ulterra. I asked the Minn-Kota rep whether there would be any issues using the existing Riptide mount. His response is quoted below:

"The hole pattern between the Ulterra and your current electric steer motor is not different at all. If you are using the white composite quick release bracket called the RTA-17 this will work with the Ulterra."

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  • 2 weeks later...
On September 29, 2016 at 1:07 PM, MarkGK said:

..,The housing covers the cleat making the cleat unusable...Do you know of a solution?...

You could move the cleat? If would require glass work to repair old location. Ive seen flats boats with an offset bow cleat. 

I thought about it when having my RF18 built. But my slight OCD couldn't deal with the offset. LoL 

 

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