OMC Electric Troller....where to mount?

[rambofish]

Hello all,<br />I was looking for some input on where to mount a trolling motor on my little plastic fish boat. Here are the details....<br /><br />I have an older electric trolling motor (OMC COBRA) that went with the boat ('89 16' Lowe) that I got from my grandfather. He used it a few times and then removed it from the boat. So even though it's 14 years old, it's basically brand new. It has a foot control and a really slick little mount that lays flat on the deck of the boat and then flips up and hangs the motor over the bow. I don't know the thrust rating but I'd guess about 30-40 lbs. The boat I want to put it on is a 8' plastic "Buddy Boat". Although the boat has mounting areas on the bow and stern for a clamp on motor, with the flip over mount, I'll be fabricating a custom setup. I can mount it at an angle so that the shaft would be directly in the center of the bow, which, when pulled out of the water, makes the top of the motor (cable control area) hang over the side of the boat a few inches, or I can mount it straight along one side which lets me keep everything inside the edges of the boat when pulled out of the water (and gives a little more room in the boat). If I mount it straight, it would be about 18" from center. Will having it off center this far effect the performance of the boat and/or motor? The other option I have would be to mount it perpendicular across the front and hang it off the side, which puts it even farther from center. I'm using a little 2HP gas troller on the rear to "get there a lot faster" and having this electric on it will be nice to use once I'm there. Plus, there's a lot of little ponds and such that I can't use the boat on now because they don't allow gas motors. If I can't make it work, I guess I'll have to buy a clamp on unit, but like I said, this thing is almost brand and would be perfect for my little boat.<br />Thanks for the input,<br />Bill

 

[ebbtide176]

Re: OMC Electric Troller....where to mount?

my 2c would be - you'd be crazy to pass it up! and it should be just great mounted along the rim of the boat, deploying to center. like you said, more room, and still pulling straight in front. that's the way most are mounted.<br />-good luck<br /><br />ps- don't forget you normally can adjst the control cables to align mid/level on footcontrol=straight ahead propulsion, and on most units, you just simply turn the head/top of the TM to change the foot control centering. (you'll see what i mean if you mount it and play with it)