Trolling Motor Mounting Issues

[killerfish]

I am trying to mount a minkota bow mount to my 18 foot runabout. I need a mounting bracket that will raise the base of the motor slightly, and extend it a few inches out over the front edge of the boat. I've been searching online, but can't seem to find anything like this already put together. Does anyone know where I might be able to purchase something like this, or will I have to fabricate something myself?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Trolling Motor Mounting Issues

You need one of these (available right here on iBoats).

http://www.iboats.com/Minn_Kota_Pow...d.238347--list_time.1179431555--view_id.38868

It consists of two plates. One mounts to the boat, the other to the motor. It allows sliding the motor off the boat for travel or storage, and to prevent theft, but it also allows you to cantilever the motor a little more.

 

[killerfish]

Re: Trolling Motor Mounting Issues

So are you saying that i can slide the top bracket forward, and still have it locked in place for operation?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Trolling Motor Mounting Issues

Think of it as two interlocking plates. The bottom one mounts to the boat. The top one mounts to the trolling motor. You slide the trolling motor onto the lower plate and its secured in place with bolt with a plastic knob on it. How far forward the motor sits depends on how far forward you mount the lower plate on the boat. There are matching holes in both plates so you can install a lock to prevent the motor from disappearing. The plates are pre-drilled for MinnKota motors. The only drilling is for the lower plate on your boat which you would have anyway. If you use four rubber "well nuts" to mount the plate you will not damage the finish of the boat and it will absorb noise. Well Nuts are rubber plugs with a threaded bushing at the bottom. You push them into the hole in the boat, place the plate on them and insert the bolts. As you tighten the bolts the Well Nut expands -- just like the drain plug for your boat.

 

[AustinOX]

Re: Trolling Motor Mounting Issues

Does there need to be any access underneath for these well nuts? I have a 15' Grumman Sport Boat with an enclosed (and supposedly foam filled) bow. Would mounting a plate like this with 4 well nuts in an aluminum bow be sturdy enough for repeated use? I'd be buying the lightest 12 volt I could find, since this boat only weighs about 125 pounds.

I like the idea of being able to pull the trolling motor off when I don't need it, and since I have an absolutely mint '71 sport boat, I don't want to go chopping it up to make this happen. I don't think I'd be able to use a stern mount- I've got a 4 horse Evinrude and real estate on the stern is severely limited. I'd put a stern mount on the side, but it seems like it would troll at a severe angle, and the bowed sides of the boat would take an additional contraption to clear. I'm open to suggestions!

Thanks,
Austin

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Trolling Motor Mounting Issues

You do not need access beneath the deck for mounting a trolling motor with well nuts. And yes, four of these are more than enough to handle even the strongest trolling motors. My MK Power Drive is mounted that way as is my Son-In-Laws MK Power Drive on his Crestliner.

 

[AustinOX]

Re: Trolling Motor Mounting Issues

I'm glad to hear that I don't need access underneath, and I'm not so much worried about the well nuts being strong enough as the medium. I'm assuming that the aluminum is the same thickness at the top of the bow as the hull, but I don't know for sure. As I said, its a '71, and I think they were made a little heavier back then since the weight capacity is more than double that of a brand new model. I'll own this boat for the rest of my life, and I want to be sure that mounting a trolling motor this way isn't going to stress the metal and tear out gaping holes after a few years. What do you think?

Austin