Mounting trolling motor to Buster 420

[Flopper]

I have a buster 420 & am thinking of mounting a trolling motor.

can 1 be mounted?

do I need to cut bow rails?

what brand & model should I be looking at ?

can I up grade my battery as I have electric ignition?

all help appreciated 

[Old Scaley]

You should be able to easily mount an electric motor to your tinnie. You will need a plate to mount it on. If there isn’t one there already, you will need to get one welded on. That would be the time to make any adjustments you need to the bowrails. Just make sure you take it to a fabricator who has experience with these sorts of things. Your local Quintrex dealer should be able to recommend someone.

 I have a Minn Kota iPilot on my tinnie and I love it. Go for the longer shaft so that the prop doesn’t pop out of the water in a bit of chop. I would recommend using a separate battery. You need a deep cycle rather than a cranking battery. Bigger is better. I would also recommend cutting the power cable and connecting Anderson plugs to each end, and adding an Anderson plug to your charger so that you can leave the battery in the boat while charging it. You can get a quick release bracket so that you can take the motor on and off if you need to. 

I did a post on installing mine. I will find it and add it to this topic.

[Old Scaley]

The info is in this topic. 

Good luck, and ask any questions you have. There are a lot of people on this site who run electrics.

 

[Flopper]

Got my electric motor all fitted off before Christmas 

had it out a few times 

still learning how to use it & get used to having control hanging off neck

the anchor lock is great for just cruising around flicking on sandbanks etc

it did struggle with the strong winds & big tides at Christmas 

but so far very happy

can't wait to get it up to barumba 

added a couple of photos

cut the bow rail off

bolted mounting bracket straight to boat

packed it level with aluminium strip & ali plates under

made a bracket to secure lithium battery

 

[Old Scaley]

Looking good. Pretty sure you will love using it. A couple of questions: have you got a fuse somewhere on the positive cable? Can you cover the battery to keep salt off and reduce the chances of arcing? Is the LiFePO4 battery recommended by Watersnake?

Hope it works out well for you.

[Flopper]

Thanks for the feedback

I'm all ears as it's all new to me.

Went to Aussie Batteries at Warana & they recommended the 120 amp hr lithium 

Watersnake manual says no circuit breaker required ?

Hatch shuts almost water tight under casting deck not much moisture gets in

Leave it open in my shed when not on use

[Old Scaley]

Thanks @Flopper. Looks like all my questions are answered. You should get plenty of run time out of your LiFePO4 battery and looks like Watersnake have good inbuilt voltage control so will be safe enough. Looking forward to some fishing reports now.

[Angry51]

Looks good mate.

You won't regret having that on the front.

[Drop Bear]

Nice one mate, enjoy.