It's alive - Trolling Motor Install

[Hweebe]

I'll post here how I go with wiring up the trolling motor.

Step 1 - Bow mount fabrication

Before:

After:

[Hweebe]

Its alive - Test run of the deploy / store to make sure there was sufficient clearance to the anchor. There were some nervous few seconds

I got Steve to also fabricate a support arm instead of buying a ram arm to the rail. 

 

 

 

[ellicat]

That's a nice close fit. Mine sits a bit too close to the rail for a rail mount so will have to get one on the bow itself.

[Junky]

I'm jealous. 

Congrats. 

[Hweebe]

11 hours ago, Junky said:

I'm jealous. 

Congrats. 

A 112lb 36v would fit nicely on your boat . It's all @ellicat fault, I wasn't thinking about one until he started the topic.

Etch Primer applied yesterday arvo on the on areas that had to be sanded down to bare metal to weld the bow mount.

I've decided to leave the bow mount itself bare aluminium as I think removing / installing the motor will in the long term just scratch off any paint

Had a swing of my full 76kg body weight on the bow mount - rock solid. Can't fault the workmanship given Steve also does the boat mods for Stones Corner Marine and Karalee Marine (renamed now)

Next step will be to apply the gloss white enamel paint.

 

 

[Hweebe]

Paint job done - not the best with some of the grinder swirls still visible but does the job

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Quick connect socket - Drilling a hole into your boat regardless of location is always unnerving.

The socket was an atwood (amazon) brand rated for 60Amp. Decided to use this instead of Andersen plugs that are only 50 Amp and not really suited for salty / marine exposure.

Max current draw was 56 Amp on the Minn Kota so the Andersen plugs would have been under rated

Sikaflex used to seal the hole and keep water out (overkill)

 

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This is inside the cab on the other side where there is cabin shelf/storage. I ran 8AWG for a short 1.5m run to the battery stored under the bunks.

 

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In-line circuit breaker was a simple addition to the positive line. 60Amp rating with manual reset.

Overall rating for the job - Simple.

I didn't take any photos of the heading sensor install - hard wired / fused to 12v to the console back panel.

The installation manual did not have any specific requirements for switches or triggers.

 

 

 

[ellicat]

3 hours ago, Hweebe said:

Drilling a hole into your boat regardless of location is always unnerving.

So true !

Neat job. How long did you spend on it ?

[Hweebe]

20 hours ago, ellicat said:

So true !

Neat job. How long did you spend on it ?

Paint Job - Area prep and etch primer 30min + 15m + 15m (2 x topcoat) = 1 hr

Female plug - Hole saw, debur, sikaflex, ciruit breaker inline, solder the wire joins, crimp lugs to battery connection = 1.5hr

Male plug (to trolling motor) -  Solder the wire joins, heatshrink, flexible hosing = 30 mins

Heading sensor - Install to roof hard top (screw and sika), 3m wire run to 12v source, flexible hosing for wires exposed to UV, wire to bus bar / fuses = 1hr

Pair / test heading and trolling motor - 10 mins

Give or take 4hrs with a lot of slacking around on the job / smoko breaks. I had all parts purchased or ready before the install. Wiring was just from scrap 8awg i had lying around / hoarded waiting for a use so I saved some money there. 

All up just on $5.1k for a complete ulterra trolling setup. (2nd hand motor, el cheapo lithium, bow mount and consumables (paint, wiring, circuit breakers, plugs, lugs)

 

 

 

 

 

[Angry51]

20 minutes ago, Hweebe said:

 

Male plug (to trolling motor) -  Solder the wire joins, heatshrink, flexible hosing = 30 hr

 

 

 

 

 

What, did you have to dig up the lead to make the solder,,, 30hr?

[Hweebe]

1 hour ago, Angry51 said:

What, did you have to dig up the lead to make the solder,,, 30hr?

LOL had to mine it for sures hahahaha - typo edited