At ICAST this week and just finished up. I got enough time to get a walk thru with the Lowrance Ghost and the others.
Total weight 72 lbs. Fly by wire foot pedal very responsive. 24/36 motor. Easy up/down with the cylinder. All looked good up to the point that if you use it in brackish or saltwater it voids the warranty. I stopped asking any more questions as I can't use it with those restrictions it would be a $3K boat anchor for me. What a disappointment.
No way Jose. Not in these parts. Mike, what do you think about the new Motorguide? I really like looks and features
Updating this now that I got some sleep.
At ICAST this week I got enough time out of the booth to get a walk thru with the new Lowrance Ghost and others.
The current spot lock benchmark Ultrex TM weighs in at 80 lbs (3 more pounds than one of my Odessey group 31 AGM batteries) and can't be used in brackish or saltwater as it voids the warranty. That one was eliminated from consideration since it was released due to the latter.
Ghost:
Total weight 72 lbs. This thing stowed is enormous. Same profile as an average 11 year old laying down on his side. The break away mount has the spot lock motor drive built into it and it's massive. Fly by wire plastic foot pedal very responsive. 24/36 brushless motor. Easy up/down with the cylinder. Electronics interface with Carbon or Live units only.
All looked good up to the point that if you use it in brackish or saltwater it voids the warranty. I stopped asking any more questions as I can't use it here in tidal waters with those restrictions. What a disappointment.
The new MG 109 tour is huge, a little quieter than my existing 109 tour. Stainless outter shaft with composite inner shaft, pinpoint spot lock, cable steering, all metal foot pedal, easy up/down, and ties in to all electronics with transducer built in. With them opting to locate the drive mechanism for the spot lock in the head vs the mount (like the Ghost) the mount and motor stowed is even bigger than the Ghost! The foot pedal is so big with the addition of the side buttons it will not fit in an existing recessed tray which removed it from consideration. It CAN be used in brackish & saltwater. No published weight listed anywhere including the product literature and I neglected to ask.
New Garmin TM was lagging well behind the others in attributes but significantly smaller in size. Head moves during spot lock hence the coiled cabling around the shaft. Plastic foot pedal was not layed out very well and had the flimsy plastic toy feel like the existing Xi5 MG. No water tank trial was setup so no idea on noise or actual use test. Wrote this one off quickly after the rep couldn't tell me if it would be covered for use in brackish or saltwater or the weight. No more wasted time/text on this one.
From an engineering perspective, none of these are suitable products for my use strictly based on the size/weight. Boat OEMs didn't design any existing bow to support these kind of weights (or impact) and were sure to see some cracking and pull thru failures eventually. Putting 75-80 lbs up front along with increased wind drag is going to alter performance characteristics on any boat. Even those that might not have been weight position sensitive previously. The height/length on these things is going to block a huge amount of forward viewing area. Safety issue.
It's not a game, and nothing is changing for me till they get the size and weight down. Another 5 years???
Last edited by mikesxpress; 07-14-2019 at 06:58 AM.
Yea we been looking at it on Facebook for a while. Videos on comparisons of the 3
News flash!
What you saw on Assbook ahead of the ICAST formal release is not the same as actually operating one in person and speaking with the OEM.
The Lowrance unit though big doesn't seem to be bigger than an Ultrex, or Fortrex, when stowed, or is it?
Kevin | 2000 Champion 191 | 2000 Yamaha OX66 200hp
It's huge. Without them side by side or taking measurements I can't answer that one.
Well congrats on touching what we all have already known lmao! All the videos are from oem’s. Even straight from lake x with Sam Carlisle. For all interested the Motorguide is the cheapest at 2,400$ with gps locking.Originally Posted by mikesxpress
News flash!
What you saw on Assbook ahead of the ICAST formal release is not the same as actually operating one in person and speaking with the OEM.
What you knew was fed to you.
Trust no one. Especially the OEMs and stickerboat folks. That's why I went and spent physical time on the units from an engineering perspective. Not sure why your having issues with my hands on review?
I never once said anything negative or positive for that matter about your review. My first comment was I have seen videos comparing the three, that’s all I ever said. All 3 are interesting to say the least. I wish I could combine some of the features as not one motor has it all imo.
Back to the topic.
For us on this board, use of these new TMs in our brackish/saltwater fisheries (Potomac/James/Chicahominy) voids the warranty. That includes the MKs. I spoke with the reps about this and didn't get a defined answer as to the exclusion but did get "we can tell if it was used in brackish or saltwater". Only MG held the line that they didn't have that exclusion on the Tour models. If my existing 109 Tour quit, I would have to go back with another Tour. Spot lock function would be nice on Erie but not a must have for me.
Well that’s a big let down.
05’ Skeeter TZX200, Yamaha 200hp HPDI
00’ Skeeter SX186, Yamaha 150hp VMax.
PRO-FORMANCE FISHING TEAM.
Why you gonna disappoint me with the brackish water news for the Ghost?
Thanks for saving me 3 grand!
2022 Skeeter ZXR20
Yamaha 250 SHO
Spot Lock on Tidal Water = Power Poles
The saltwater disclaimer in the warranties is an "easter egg" item. There are allot of guys on here that got those Ultrex TMs and they got nothing coming as soon at it got dunked in the river........ One of the major reasons I took the time to detail that part.
I do use my poles allot here at the house bass fishing but in the true saltwater further south, allot of times I'm working points for rockfish and the water is 15' deep. Spotlock fighting heavy tidal flow would be nice....
I have sent an email to those three companies to see if any of them will publicly state that any use in saltwater or brackish water will void the warranty. Then I also asked them does apply to all the pros who fish the Potomac, Upper Bay, Louisiana delta, Cal Delta, Cooper river in Charleston, cause the trails seem to fish these areas every year. I doubt ill get a response from any of them. Thanks for the info mike Ill stick with my Motor guide tour.
Jason the use by the stickerboat guys is in different category than us. If the TM screws up, the support crew at the ramp just replaces it.
Here is the MK warranty statement:
I'm sticking with my Tours, thanks Mike for the TM information on new products.
Your welcome Bryan. Best the tidal folks know this stuff before they pick a new TM.
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