bow mount trolling motor on a bowrider with rail?

[Saskatoon2005]

Re: bow mount trolling motor on a bowrider with rail?

What type of motors did you see that had a plate attached to the side of the boat? Phone the manufacturer and they will be able to help you out. If it was aglastron, phone that manufacturer and see where they get there plate from. There are many ways to find out how to get around your problem. You have to phone around and it would be a lot quicker than waiting for replies on here.....LOL! Good Luck!

Patrick

 

[Frugal Floater]

Re: bow mount trolling motor on a bowrider with rail?

I have a SeaPro with much higher bow rails and I had the same problem you have. I emailed Minn Kota and they sent me a pdf with a diagram of the footprint of the mount. I did not have enough surface area (due to anchor compartment) to even bolt in the smallest mount that was available. The mount is 13.94" long by 8.52" wide...This is the minimum surface required.

Since my only goal was to get on minimum HP lakes, I decided on a gas kicker motor that would steer when my main motor was steered. The only other options I found was to buy a transom mount trolling and mount it in the back or rig a cantilevered L bracket in the front and mount a transom mount trolling motor...Problem with that is you only have tiller control.

 

[omgitzdave]

Re: bow mount trolling motor on a bowrider with rail?

How about one of these trolling motors that mount to the lower unit?

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/s...1_52574_200002001_200000000_200002000_200-2-1

I'm thinking about getting one for my Thundercraft.

 

[ParallaxBill]

Re: bow mount trolling motor on a bowrider with rail?

I thought I had a similar problem but went with the MotorGuide W45 since it had a smaller footprint than most of the conventional trolling motor bases. Here's how mine turned out with a similar amount of mounting space as your boat has.

 

[ParallaxBill]

Re: bow mount trolling motor on a bowrider with rail?

Hey Dave, what model/year Thundercraft do you have? Email me if you want.

 

[omgitzdave]

Re: bow mount trolling motor on a bowrider with rail?

Hey Bill. I actually own my second 1988 Thundercraft Regency. Its got a 120HP Mercruiser I/O and is in very good condition. Here is a pick with my new truck.

I'm also looking for a trolling motor. I'm thinking about mounting my trolling motor exactly how you have yours. Nice boat!

 

[ParallaxBill]

Re: bow mount trolling motor on a bowrider with rail?

I also have a 1985 16' Thundercraft tri-hull 60 hp OB that I am about to start restoring. It has a gap in the bow rail too and I will add another mount on it eventually. Might not be as easy as the old Glassmaster however. Not sure I have enough deck on the Thundercraft.

Nice rig...both boat and truck.d

 

[gkosel]

Re: bow mount trolling motor on a bowrider with rail?

Go Thundercraft!!!

As you can see from my previous pics, mine is a Thundercraft too. 1991 with a 4.3 OMC.

Your boat looks like it is in excellant shape for an 88. Do you have the gas tank cap behind the bow light on yours like I do on mine? That is my biggest worry with putting a bow mount on the front of my boat.

I have looked at the engine mounts like you referenced from Bass Pro, but am looking for the better boat control and Auto Pilot that the bow mounts provide. It would almost be nice to have both, if I had unlimited money.

 

[SouthernAppal]

Re: bow mount trolling motor on a bowrider with rail?

Check out this link.

http://www.iboats.com/Transom_Motor...31712251--**********.854021715--view_id.39209

It says transom mount, but a previous owner of my 79 Crestliner trihull fabricated a similar mount and put it on the bow of the boat. It's mounted fore of the rail, i.e., between the end of the rail and the bow lights.

 

[drumcore]

Re: bow mount trolling motor on a bowrider with rail?

How about this custom trolling motor mount I built? No holes in the fiberglass whatsoever.

 

[ckaiser]

Re: bow mount trolling motor on a bowrider with rail?

I know this thread's been dead for a bit, but I just picked up a bowrider and would love some more detail on your mount, how it's secured, etc...

Thanks!

Charlie

 

[drumcore]

Re: bow mount trolling motor on a bowrider with rail?

Did you view the 3 pictures, they tell the whole story.

Vertical and lateral movement is impossible because of the "feet" under the deck of the mount, and the L shaped arms that extend below the rub rail of the boat allow the mount to "slip" on from the front like putting on a sock.

The mount cannot slip off the front of the boat because it is fixed into place with the alumunium 1" round tubing and a lynch pin that connects to the existing safety rail of the bow seating section of the boat. The only holes I drilled anywhere on the boat are in the support mounts (one left and one right) of the handrail to accept the lynch pin.

This mount is very solid, but it truly takes advantage of the shape of the boat in that there is room to support the resistance of upward movement of the mount using the rub rail. However, I believe the idea could work for any boat, just would have to plan around the unique shape of the hull and most importantly, the rub rail.

Make sure you look at the 3 pictures I supplied very carefully.

 

[STARCRAFT16SS]

Re: bow mount trolling motor on a bowrider with rail?

This is not the solution if you don't want to cut the rail...Here is how I did it...cutting the rail....
added bullet ends, and added extra rail support in front of the cut...
wanted to leave the most room possible for the bow light to be seen but
not get in the way of the snaps for a bow cover if I ever get a bow cover made...and also did not want the trolling motor in the way of people
sitting in the open bow area...this was the best I could come up with for now....
I could have raised the bow light on a pole but I love my 2 mile LED bow
light thats on the boat now

 

[STARCRAFT16SS]

Re: bow mount trolling motor on a bowrider with rail?

Hello drumcore....looks like you found a solution for fiberglass boats...
could not tell from the pics....where is your bow light??

 

[drumcore]

Re: bow mount trolling motor on a bowrider with rail?

Fixed a removable one to the deck of the trolling motor mount after I took this pic and simply powered it full time with the 12VDC that was available there anyway (already powering the trolling motor and fish finder).

Made it removeable because I don't fish at night very much.

With regards to your comment: "This is not the solution if you don't want to cut the rail". I did not cut the rail.

I simply drilled a 1/4" hole through the upright support for the rail (the steel mount that fixes the rail to the fiberglass deck) in order to accomodate the
1" aluminum round tubing that holds back the entire mount from slipping off the front of the boat.

 

[Merc4ever]

Re: bow mount trolling motor on a bowrider with rail?

Cut out a triangle shaped piece of stainless 1/8 thick mount it to the front with studs using spacers made by stacking washers all stainless of coarse. Mount the motor on top of the flat step you now have.

 

[gkosel]

Re: bow mount trolling motor on a bowrider with rail?

I could have sworn that I had updated this thread (since I am the OP), but after reading through it, I don't see that I did. So my apologies for the late reply. But, I ended up having a local boat dealer fabricate this mount for me. It was kind of expensive and in the end probably something that I could have done by myself, but it has been holding up for about three years now. It is kind of hard to see, but you can kind of see that they had to cut a little notch for the bow light.

 

[alltrac77]

Re: bow mount trolling motor on a bowrider with rail?

I know this thread's been dead for a bit, but I just picked up a bowrider and would love some more detail on your mount, how it's secured, etc...

Thanks!

Charlie

Hi Charlie, I saw your post, and I had the same exact issue last year. I bought a powerdrive V2 off of craigslist for a good price, and was determined to mount in on my 1990 bowrider! I bought a piece (2' x 2') of Starboard material from the Cabela's installation shop, and I used a "Profiling" tool to get the exact angle of the side of the hull. I used jacks to level the boat from front to back, and the installation came out AWESOME!!! Here are some of the only pictures I could find....when I take the shrink wrap off this year, I can always take some more detailed pictures.