Rubber Isolators or no?

Thank you contestants, you know the rules... the first person with the most convincing argument wins!

First question, for $100... I went to the local BPS to pick up some of those little rubber trolling motor bolts and a connector cable for the batteries. After getting home and opening the box the new trolling motor was in, I found a little bag of 6 long bolts, washers, and nuts, and after reading the directions... they are for mounting the motor to the boat. But, the rubber ones are for mounting too! So, which method should I go with? The rubber isolators or the bolts with nuts?

Now... before you jump in here, there is a part two.

The rubber bolts keep the trolling motor from resting on the gelcoat preventing damage. If I went with the bolts that were in the box, should I use something with them to prevent the mount from damaging the gelcoat, or is mounting the motor without a cushion ok?

<insert calming music here>

Here's Pats two best way to mount a troll motor. 1. Absolute best way: **IF** you can get underneath to thru bolt it on, go buy a rubber truck mud flap, cut it out the same size as your troll motor mount. set your mount on the big rubber pad you just made, and use stainless bolts, fiber lock nuts and the biggest dang washers you can, and suck that mount down to the deck. It will never give you trouble.

2. Almost abolute best way. If you can NOT hold a wrench under the deck to thru bolt, get some stainless "togglers" which can be had at your marine dealer, use the same mudflap for a bracket pad, and those will never give you trouble.

Those cheezy rubber isolators are just a disaster waiting to happen.

I value your opinion, so I'll end the contest right here. I'll see what I can do as far as reaching up underneath there and using the fiber washers. Maybe my son can still squeeze into the rod locker? That'll be a hoot trying to get him to actually hold the wrench where I want it, instead of him disassembling the rest of my boat, but that's another story.

If I recall, you worked for Tracker at one time... so do you know off-hand if reaching them from the rod locker is possible? This is the 700LX, and the locker door pretty much extends to the front of the boat. The mount on this one (Maxxum) appears to be longer than the old one, think I'll get all six bolts to work? Maybe I'll run over to NTOWS to see if anyone has any installation pics.

I'm sure I have some industrial type rubber (1/8" thick) around here somewhere that we use to use as gasket material on our storage tank...

Thanks Pat!

I have several truck mud flaps in the garage, too. Let me know if you want them. When I see them lying by the road, I pull over and toss them in the truck. They've come in real handy for a number of projects over time, so I keep a couple on hand.

Joe _________ "Jerry Barton (NervisRek)" <jbarton1@comcast.net> wrote in message news:R4GdnQvXFZcp27TfRVn-2w@wideopenwest.com... Outstanding suggestions Pat. I just happen to have a couple of truck mud flaps in the garage, but I'm sure he'll want to install it way before we get to Center Hill. Now I'm thinking about changing mine to the way you said.

Warren

I'm not using the isolators, and have managed to get the old motor off and hahve two of the six bolts installed on the new one. What's cool is that the old holes match the new ones, so I only need to drill two more holes. (Break time right now)

The trick now is to manage to get way up to the nose of the boat with my extended ratchet and figure a way to get the washer on with the nut. Gonna try taping it to the socket to see what'll happen. LOL

You've still got little kids.....

The girls wouldn't even stick their heads out the door in fear of manual labor!

I'm not sure people enjoy watching me field-dress a fresh-killed doe right next to a busy suburban street, but no one seems to mind if I haul it home, hang it up in the side yard and do my business there. As long as we don't put a bullet in the carcass, we're ok. I think I'm the only guy in Brentwood who does this.... When I decide not to take the meat, a carcass will lie there for up to a week before city services finally scoops it up.

With over 150,000 deer killed by vehicles in the state each year (180,000 are lumped in the "traffic kills/poaching" category), that's a lot of free food just there for the taking.

We get a lot of deer in the yard. I'm not sure if running them down with the yard tractor would qualify as roadkill, but I may put that to the test if they don't stop eating the bark off my fruit trees!

By the time I'd have trouble distinguishing roadkill from a mudflap, though -- even at a distance in a moving vehicle -- I'd say the critter is past prime and should be passed on by.

Joe ________________ "Bob Rickard" <r.r.rickard@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message news:3_hWd.413$yp.61@newssvr11.news.prodigy.com... Wow! I pull over for any kind of old roadkill. I knew we were just alike, Joe.

or this? http://tonova.typepad.com/thesuddencurve/armadillo.jpg