Make trolling motor pedal removable?

[swick]

Hi guys. Just had to pull my trolling motor off the boat for a minute. The motor comes right off the mounting bracket real easy but the foot pedal was screwed to the bow. I'm ready to put it back on, but I'd like to find a way to not screw the peal back down. I'd like to make it removable so I can pull the whole thing on and off with ease. Reason being is that its only a 17' boat and sometimes we're using it for family instead of fishing. Any thoughts?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Make trolling motor pedal removable?

So don't screw it back down. There is no reason it needs to be permanently held in place.

 

[NYBo]

Re: Make trolling motor pedal removable?

Screw it to a piece of plywood to give it some stability.

 

[zibzer]

Re: Make trolling motor pedal removable?

this will take a different step depending on what the bow is made of.

WOOD: mount a t-nut under the floor. cover bottom of t-nut with epoxy to help hold in place. Use wing-bolt from top to hold pedal in place when in use, unscrew wing-bolts when not in use

FIBERGLASS: install helicoils in fiberglass. Use wing-bolt from top to hold pedal in place when in use, unscrew wing-bolts when not in use


either way will make a clean install when the pedal is not in use. When the pedal is in use you will have the wing-bolt sticking out the top of the pedal. This may get in the way of using the controls depending on there design. You could use a pan-head bolt with a Phillips head but then you would need a screwdriver to uninstall/install. use your discretion.


Good Luck!

 

[swick]

Re: Make trolling motor pedal removable?

Thanks for the input guys. I'll try the pedal unattached and see how that works hopefully sometime this week. Otherwise I'll come up with something. I thought about the wing-nut idea before, but I don't like the idea of bolts sticking up on the bow; trip hazard and whatnot. If the pedal is stable enough without bolting it down I will either buy a trolling motor lock or rig one up myself. Reason being is I leave the boat parked out in my driveway 24/7. In my experience theives are mostly lazy opportunists, so if it were removable they wouldn't invest the time or know-how into taking it off. However if I simply leave it there completely unattached I don't expect it to be there forever. Right now its in my house waiting for me to take the boat out again.