Trolling motor guard (?) broke

[bassin_louisiana]

Dear All,

I don’t know what this is called (weed guard?), but I broke it off my Minn Kote Edge trolling motor yesterday. Is there anyway to put it back on? I have the broken piece, and when you connect it, there is a good groove fit, which makes me think some strong adhesive might work. Or can it be glued? I don’t think I will need to replace rtrolling motor because it does affect the function, other than the fact that some grass and weeds might get in the trolling prop more often. Thanks!

 

[Teamster]

You could maybe JB Weld it and drill a hole on either side to put a brace on it.

 

[bassin_louisiana]

Thanks, Teamster. What kind of brace you think?

 

[Silvertip]

Get a piece of flat aluminum stock from Lowes, Home Depot, or your local hardware store. Fashion the brace on each side. JB weld the piece and then drill it and bolt the two braces with stainless bolts and nylock nuts. Or, smooth off the jagged edge and go fishing. It will not likely cause any more weed issues than before. The skeg (the broken piece) allows the motor to go over rocks and stumps without damaging the prop. That's more of an issue than weeds. JB weld by itself is pretty tough stuff. Just let it set up for a couple days so it fully hardens.

 

[bassin_louisiana]

Thanks much, Silvertip!! I wonder how much it would cost to replace this whole part/Head from Minn Kota?

 

[fishrdan]

Check fish307.com for MinnKota parts, they have schematics for your motor and a good selection of parts, if they don't have it they are relatively quick to get it from MinnKota to you.

The motor housing is glued/epoxied onto the shaft, so you have to heat the housing to release the glue, but not so much heat to damage the fiberglass shaft. Tape the shaft well to protect it and use a propane torch (or heat gun on high) sparingly, just until the glue breaks free. Have constant pressure trying to unscrew the housing and when it starts to turn, stop heating and immediately unscrew the housing. I used JB weld for the glue when I had to replace a broken shaft. Once you get the new housing on to the shaft, leave it for a day so the JB weld can cure, warming the housing (120-150*) will accelerate the cure.

You need to clamp the shaft securely without crushing it, to hold it in place. I took a forstner bit the size of the shaft, drilled through a 2x4, then ripped down the center of the hole on the table saw, to make a clamp fixture. Made 2 of these to hold the shaft securely while working on it.

Along with the replacement housing, you'll need a motor seal kit at a bare minimum. And, remove the motor wire connections from the controller before spinning off the housing, so they don't get twisted up. Be sure to clock the housing correctly on the shaft, take pictures before removing the old housing.

 

[Silvertip]

Replacing the entire motor housing is not necessary, a lot of work, and when you have everything back together the motor will likely not run because of human error. Fix the skeg as described or just leave it. It is doing no harm in it's current state.

 

[Old Ironmaker]

That skeg has more to do with protecting the motor and steering than a weed guard. It looks like it did it's job. I would try what has been suggested but wouldn't lose any sleep or fishing over it.

 

[Teamster]

Get a piece of flat aluminum stock from Lowes, Home Depot, or your local hardware store. Fashion the brace on each side. JB weld the piece and then drill it and bolt the two braces with stainless bolts and nylock nuts. Or, smooth off the jagged edge and go fishing. It will not likely cause any more weed issues than before. The skeg (the broken piece) allows the motor to go over rocks and stumps without damaging the prop. That's more of an issue than weeds. JB weld by itself is pretty tough stuff. Just let it set up for a couple days so it fully hardens.

^^^^ This^^^^