posted 08-06-2008 02:34 PM ET (US)        

In retrospect, it was almost cheaper having an entire second boat, a 15’ Striper with a bow mounted trolling motor for inland lakes and the Outrage – 18 for excursions on the Great Lakes and beyond. I just couldn’t justify the maintenance effort required for such occasional usage of the remotely stored 15 footer.

Conceptually, what I intended to do was fabricate a plate of aluminum that could receive either the Samson bit or the trolling motor set-up, dependent upon what sort of fishing I was doing.

The first step in the process was to remove the bow mounted Samson bit, no small task as this previous article discusses:

http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/015094.html

I had to take the boat to a fabricator who puddle welded nuts to the seized machine bolts and wrenched them off that way.

I had purchased a Minn Kota Power Drive with Autopilot 70 # thrust, 24V, 60” shaft trolling motor and a Minn Kota (MK hereafter) quick release base previously, as I wanted all the materials on hand to begin a mock-up in treated lumber. Cost of the MK components was about $1,000. I also purchased a couple of group 29 deep cycle batteries for just shy of $200. About 20 feet of 4-gauge copper was provided gratis from an electrician I’m currently working with.

The aluminum plate started out as a 1 ½” x 10” x 16” slab and was shaped to fit the bow shape. 6 machine screws anchor it to the boat permanently, 4 tapped into the original Samson bit backer plate and 2 spread wide and anchored into epoxy pucks poured beneath the fiberglass laminate where no backer exists. The raw slab material cost was $120 and the fabricator needed a 6 hour day to complete, for a $500 total.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3149/2699496099_aaea63988b_b.jpg

As visible in the photo, the Samson bit’s rubrail lip has been accommodated by relieving and slotting the leading edge of the aluminum plate. This piece of original hardware can now be snugly installed with 4 machine screws tapped into the new plate:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3293/2700310834_a916ef171e_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3020/2699495569_942f2563ae_b.jpg

Another 4 pattern tapped into the plate anchors the MK quick release base, the center portion or puck:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3048/2700312886_6bb4e24de5_b.jpg

The battery bank is located in the forward cooler seat, with a small hole drilled through the cooler to pass the power cables through. These run the short distance across the deck on port, then up to the gunnel where they snake around bow rail stanchions to the motor’s base, not permanent nor in the way.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3196/2699498241_0481032832_b.jpg

And finally, a couple overall shots of the MK trolling motor installed, running beneath the bow railing:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3006/2699497661_e8845bd02b_b.jpg
and one with my handy assistant:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3159/2700312540_40881acab9_b.jpg

After using it on the camping trip, I believe that the 60” shaft may be unnecessarily long for my use. The motor would be more easily leveraged beneath the bow railing if the shaft were shorter by 6” at least. I’ll probably start with cutting that length off and test it again. If one were regularly fishing in steep chop, the 60” shaft might be required, but for my use it seems cumbersome.

All other aspects of the design proved effective and as planned. This should really get a work out on our Musky camping trip in late September on Lake Tomahawk. I’ll append an update around then.

Willow Flowage Island Camping
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3192/2692915676_35070099f4_b.jpg

posted 08-15-2008 02:56 PM ET (US)            

Erik