2016 180 Dauntless: Install Trolling Motor without Modification to Bow Rail

[MikeatFMS]

Purchased a 2016 Boston Whaler 180 Dauntless at the end of the 2018 boating season. I am new to Boston Whaler boats. I am trying to figure out the best approach [to install a trolling motor].

Fig. 1 180 DAUNTLESS with Bow Rail

dauntlessBowRail.jpg (17.35 KiB) Viewed 2880 times

My 2016 180 DAUNTLESS boat has a full bow rail, which prevents the installation of a bow-mounted motor.

Is it possible to have a [auxiliary engine or electric motor] mounted on the transom?

[Are there any readers] with experience with a motor-mounted trolling motor?

I am open to any options that won't involve heavy modifications to the rails--if that is possible.

[jimh]

I have to presume that you have abandoned the notion of using the main engine, which in a c.2016 DAUNTLESS would be a modern Mercury FOURSTROKE engine, when trolling. This seems surprising to me, because a modern four-stroke-power-cycle engine should be able to run at a slow idle speed and get very good fuel economy.

If you are intent on mounting a trolling motor that is powered by electricity, you will have to give careful consideration to the battery bank that will provide the power, the means of connecting the electric motor to the battery bank, and the means to recharge the battery bank. Those considerations will have an effect on where you mount the trolling motor.

As for mounting an electric trolling motor at the bow when the bow has a bow railing, there are mechanical interferences to be overcome.

If Boston Whaler offered an option of a bow-mounted electric trolling motor on your model, I would take a long and detailed look at how they installed the trolling motor, where the batteries were, how the cabling was handled, and how the batteries were to be re-charged. Their method would be a good guide to any attempt you will make to re-fit your boat with a trolling motor.

[jimh]

Is it possible to have a [auxiliary engine or electric motor] mounted on the transom?

Usually the notch in the transom on the smaller Boston Whaler boats is not wide enough to permit attaching a second engine on the notched transom. This can be overcome in some instances. An article in the REFERENCE section shows how an auxiliary engine was mounted to the transom of smaller Boston Whaler boat, a 170 MONTAUK:

170 MONTAUK: Auxiliary Motor Installation Directly To Transom
by Ray Dumas
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/refere ... liary.html

The method described in that article could be used to mount an electric trolling motor to a similar transom.