1971 17' Bell Boy Runabout

[Pusher]

I ended up making my own ez steer bracket for my minn kota electric 55lb thrust trolling motor. The motor itself pushes the boat along rather nicely for lake trolling and only a light breeze. When the wind does kick up I have to fire up the main motor, so to anyone looking to troll with a 17' fiberglass runabout, you may want to step up above a 55lb thrust motor.

The bracket itself is quite smooth. The worst part is if you want to back up and run the weeds you need to unhook the bracket from the quick releases. It's somewhat annoying but that's my only complaint. It's otherwise very sturdy and should last longer than the motor.






And with a slight tug and motor swap you're back to regularly scheduled broadcasting (My 15 horse with the strap in the background.



For a more thorough build you can see my signature for the thread link.

 

[Pusher]

fiberformbl my thread should be updated now, after the photobucket bomb. Let me know if I missed any stage that you needed details on. I might still have other photos that could help.

Also, let me know if you start a thread. I'm a fan of these boats

 

[fiberformbl]

Great! I am happy to see the photos that were missing! My thinking aligns with yours and I will likely follow much of your example. To keep things simple, I did start a new thread - link is below, or you can search for my username or "1970 Bell Boy Bonneville project". I already have some questions that you are probably one of the few people who can answer - I will post questions there (and continue to watch your thread!).

http://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat...air/10460977-1970-bell-boy-bonneville-project

 

[mickyryan]

man awesome job on that tiller rig!

 

[Pusher]

Thanks Micky! I actually thought I was wasting my time when I started that project.

You might be interested in the next one I have yet to post.
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat...-17-bell-boy-runabout?p=10264283#post10264283
The last picture in post #8 shows a funky push cable that looks out of place. They're called venier cables and you can adjust a friction knob to lock it at a setting. My brother hooked his up to his kicker so he can set the speed and lock it in place for trolling with his ez steer bracket.

 

[jsparks747]

Looking great! I am getting a little 6 horsepower Mercury after I tried it with a 9.5 Johnson Sea Horse but I just didn't like it. A bit too loud.

 

[Pusher]

I just did 13 hours with a 15hp running. You might actually be going the wrong way. A 6hp might have to work harder to push the boat, and end up running louder.

I could be wrong. It might all depend on the motor.