Trolling motor in action Minn Kota Powerdrive V2

[Steve21slx]

Well finally was able to get on the water. We cruised the river for a while then pulled back into the tributary where we launch the boat and dropped the trolling motor to see how it would work. It actually did not do to bad for just a 54# thrust on a 21'10" boat. I adjusted the height a little bit after this video which seemed to give us a little more speed but all in all I am very pleased. I continued to check the wiring to make sure I had good connections all around and nothing was getting hot. We probably went for about 20 minutes at full power and as far I can tell the Anderson plug and wiring held it's own. As I stated on my other video I used 6 awg for the power connection as added precaution as it only called for 8 awg at the distance I have my battery from the trolling motor. This will only be for trolling these back creeks/rivers and not for the main river for the most part. Now it's time to get the skunk off this boat and actually catch some fish off it!!  . 

 

[Vikingstaff]

Looks like you did a great job on that trolling motor.  Nice little boat video too.  Enjoy your time on the water!

 

[bcpnick]

Thanks for posting this. I picked up a trolling motor earlier this year and I went to mount it last week and I got frustrated and gave up. I like how you have it setup off the side like that. I think I'll give that a shot. 

 

[Steve21slx]

Yeah for me it was the only way to do it since I do not have a trolling motor door and the fact my wife does not want it in the center of the front deck. The only down side is that it puts it off the edge another 4-5 inches which so far is not an issue except when I almost ripped it off by just missing the post when I put it in our storage spot. I forgot to tell my son to look for and got lucky. I think next year I will probably upgrade the trolling motor 70 or 80 lb thrust because with a little current the 54# just does not cut it at times. Just the thought of lugging to two batteries around is not something I am looking forward to.

 

[lakeliving]

Yeah for me it was the only way to do it since I do not have a trolling motor door and the fact my wife does not want it in the center of the front deck. The only down side is that it puts it off the edge another 4-5 inches which so far is not an issue except when I almost ripped it off by just missing the post when I put it in our storage spot. I forgot to tell my son to look for and got lucky. I think next year I will probably upgrade the trolling motor 70 or 80 lb thrust because with a little current the 54# just does not cut it at times. Just the thought of lugging to two batteries around is not something I am looking forward to.

Add a Yandina combiner and you won't have to pull them. The alternator will charge them when you are zipping around dodging A holes in cruisers.

 

[Spoiledrotten]

Yeah for me it was the only way to do it since I do not have a trolling motor door and the fact my wife does not want it in the center of the front deck. The only down side is that it puts it off the edge another 4-5 inches which so far is not an issue except when I almost ripped it off by just missing the post when I put it in our storage spot. I forgot to tell my son to look for and got lucky. I think next year I will probably upgrade the trolling motor 70 or 80 lb thrust because with a little current the 54# just does not cut it at times. Just the thought of lugging to two batteries around is not something I am looking forward to.

Can you put some kind of protection mount, at least, in front to keep from hitting docks and the like? 

 

[Steve21slx]

As I said I am looking at the combiner but not going to mess with it this year.

 

[Steve21slx]

Can you put some kind of protection mount, at least, in front to keep from hitting docks and the like? 

Yeah kind of thinking that but my ultimate plan is to get another quick release bracket and put it on the back of the boat in the small decking area for storage and travel. The problem is I can't find anybody that has them fairly cheap. Amazon does not and I hate to pay 50$ when I only need the deck mount part. I may have to break down and do it any way unless i can figure something out that is similar. I was thinking maybe some aluminum U channels that would work the same as the OEM bracket. I may mess with it this weekend if I have time.

 

[lakeliving]

Maybe a nice phone call to minn kota will get you just the bracket you need

 

[Steve21slx]

Maybe a nice phone call to minn kota will get you just the bracket you need

I thought about that and as i continue to look for the bracket i need I found that actually they have discontinued the bracket. It is now $59.99 for the new updated bracket. It looks the same as mine but I am going to contact them to make sure that my bracket is compatible with the new one. Not sure I can justify 60 bucks for something that will only be used as storage spot. I will see what they say.