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I have a 1995 17' Outrage used primarily in saltwater, and want to mount an electric trolling motor. There are many to choose from, but I don't see a great way to mount one. Any suggestions????

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minn-kota has a full line on salt water trolling motors all the way upto 200 lbs thrust, they make extended shafts and mounting brackets either for bow or transom

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I know they do, but there is no good place to mont them on my Whaler. The transom is too small (my 90hp Merc takes up the whole space), and the rail around the bow and shollow rail make bow mounting almost impossible. Thrust is not the problem.... it is a good mounting location specifically for a 17' Outrage.

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Some members in this situation make a bracket that fits off the stern.

Look at the last photo in Erik Selis' personal page,
http://www.whalercentral.com/infusion...ser_id=427

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Are you trying to mount it on the bow or the stern? Which location do you prefer? I've seen pics of some members making a plate for the bow and then through bolting it. Stern would be simpler, just clamp it on a side. your 90hp can't take up too much room to prevent a stern mount. Where do you plan to store the batteries?

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Just had another thought.

There are electric trolling motors that bolt on the cavitation plate of the engine.

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Joe,

Thanks for the information. The bracket looks o.k. except that I am a Fly Fishing guide/minimalist so I was looking for a less obtrusive method. The cavitation idea is a good one. It requires 13" from the plate to the water line. I was wondering if any one else on the board has any personal experience with one on their Whaler???

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Take a look at my personal page. For the trolling motor I used , the bow railing was removed. You would need a differently designed plate , but the mounting principal should stay the same. Your hull should have a pretty good lip that could be through bolted.

Thanks,

Todd

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I've been running a stern mounted motor on my 69 Nauset for years. With any wind it is an exercise in frustration. I am turning to a Bow mount with a wireless or long cable controller which will give MUCH more control. The wind won't blow the bow around and make steering difficult. I think I'll use Todd's excellent bow mount design using oak instead of steel.

Question for Todd: Where is the battery?

Thanks to all

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Another question: What is the rod under the rub rail made of?

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Saltman, check out my personal page for photos of how I did mine. It may give you some ideas.

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Saltman , you would want the TM on the bow in my opinion. I have a Minn Kota saltwater series on mine and it works well. I like the auto pilot option . I have 80# of thrust which I would have no less on the outrage. CHeck my personal page for a few ideas. BG

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Take a look at my personal page as well. I have a setup very similar to the one in the pictures.

I would not purchase anything other than a bow mount with auto pilot. Every time I forget to turn on autopilot I get a taste of how difficult anyone with out it has got it. It makes life much easier and allows you to focus on casting and getting fish on. I love copilot also. It allows me to cast from any position on the boat. I fly fish as well for white, smallmouth and largemouth bass and panfish.

I use the RipTide 55 with copilot and autopilot. It is very good power for my 13'. I can create a wake with my boat and reach 5MPH+. That's useful in heavy river current. Dialed back in a lake it is also perfect. My boat will run nearly a full day on one charge with a 27 group AGM battery (lake or slow river). If I go into a big river (Missouri or Mississippi), I carry a second battery and have a quick changover connector to make it easy.

No complaints whatsoever. I suggest you do it right the first time and you won't be dissappointed.

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burtim,

I noticed that your trolling motor blocks the line of sight to your bow light on the port side. Is this of any concern for you? The only view of the port light would be from someone viewing head-on.

I'm preparing to do a similar install using the same model motor. I run at night a lot and I'm worried about being visible. I'm considering getting a Perko 1612DP removable light that will get the light above the trolling motor.

Thoughts?

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The shim and MinnKota mount raise the motor just enough that you can see the light to the port side until you are abeam my boat. Under gas power, the shaft is out of the way and, since lakes are typically pretty flat, you can see the light just about as well as before the mount. Take a look at the overhead views to see the interference from the mount. You might miss the light if you are iin a much higher boat and pretty close. If that's the case, the light shows on the white deck quite well.

If you pull the trolling motor off, I don't think it's any different than before. I do cruise in that configration when I'm not fishing. If there are a lot of boats around, I'm probably not in the water to fish anyway. My only concern might be towboats with barge traffic on the Missouri. I could get caught off guard trolling for monster catfish after dark. You do have several minutes to prepare but, if one of those comes through at night, I'm in trouble in the 13 regardless of the light situation. The wake from those can be 3-4 feet!

It's funny you ask this. I was just on a lake late two days ago and came in about 10 PM. I was checking that issue out and felt satisfied with the setup. I always have the 360 degree light up at night and carry a Q-Beam spotlight to keep it safe.

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I've got a Swivel-Eze mount for my MotorGuide with a Gator Mount. Have a look at my personal page for an idea. I also have the drawing of the Swivel-Eze mounting system should you care to see it just drop me a line. It's pretty slick, all I do is loosen two screws and the motor and bracket are removed leaving nothing but the two aluminum discs that you see. Very simple installation and most importantly it's solid, neat, easily serviced and out of the way.