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foot control trolling mtr for jon boat?
I've been trying to fish out of my jon boat and find myself trying to juggle
boat positioning with the trolling motor while trying to fish. I thought a
possible solution would be to use a foot control trolling motor. The
problem is that my jon boat isn't setup for a bow mount trolling motor and I
haven't seen anything else available in foot control trolling motors. I'm
looking for the best solution to mounting a foot control motor on my jon
boat. Or would I be better off to buy an old bass boat and not mess with
my jon boat?My ideas so far are to make a bow mount either out of aluminum or plywood
and mount it to the front of the boat. Or make a transom mount to fit the
trolling motor. Another idea is to buy an older bass boat, the lake I fish has a 10hp limit
and I've seen some bass boats for $1k or less with motors that need work. I
have a 9.9hp Mercury that I use on the jon boat. Thought perhaps my 9.9hp
motor on an old bass boat with a foot control trolling motor might be a
better solution than modifying my jon boat. |
RogerN
Mar 7
2005
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| Roger, You've asked a lot of questions, and there's lots of options available. First off, I'd be wary of any motor that 'needs work'. That could set you
back a few bucks, or hundreds, or be a total loss, depending; and it's hard
to determine in advance without being an experienced motor mechanic
yourself. I've had pretty good luck with a hand control trolling motor on a Jon boat.
The way I mounted it was to make a small platform of plywood and 1x2" boards
for a underframe, about 26" deep from the bow back, and the width of the
bow. This was mounted with stainless steel screws to the handrail on the
boat. If I were mounting a foot control motor, at this point I would be
done with the platform, as you could bolt the motor mount directly to the
platform. The platform is easy to build with simple tools, and little outlay of cash. Batteries get heavy, so I would stick to a 12 volt system. Regards, |
James
Mar 7
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| Roger,what kind of aluminum boat do you have? Alumacraft used to offer a
raised trolling motor shelf mount that goes on the foredeck,I mounted one
on my old 14ft years ago with pop rivets. |
Bass_Mr.
Mar 7
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| You could also get a power drive Minn Kota. They allow a longer wire
connection and do not move like a foot control when you take the foot off. |
Calif
Mar 7
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| I feel your pain. I have a bow mounted hand controlled trolling motor on my
16 Jon boat with a deck on the front. I installed a BigFoot foot switch
between the motor and battery. So I set the speed of the motor and then turn
it off and on by stepping on the switch. To turn the motor, I just push or
pull it with my leg. It's a pain some of the time but it works. |
Todd
Mar 7
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| >>>boat positioning with the trolling motor while trying to fish. I thought a |
Dan
Mar 7
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| The boat is a 14ft Lowe lake jon. I can get aluminum sheet 5052 and stainless (or aluminum) pop rivets, I have
a metal cutting band saw. I thought if I can't find a better solution, I
could cut, bend, form, grind, and join aluminum to make a nice mount for the
front of the boat. I have a large TIG welder set up for welding aluminum
but it would take a considerable investment of time for me to learn to use
it good enough to want to weld on my boat. |
RogerN
Mar 7
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| The ideal situation as far as I'm concerned, is a Powerdrive motor with
the wireless CoPilot remote. I've been using it for 3 years and I doubt
I'll ever go back to a foot control -- even if I do ever go back to a
full sized bass rig. The great thing is that the Powerdrive motors are about the most
adaptable to 'non-bass-boat layouts' of all front mount designs. The
minimum footprint of the bowmount bracket is only about 8" x 6". |
RichZ
Mar 7
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| >>>boat positioning with the trolling motor while trying to fish. I thought a |
Dan
Mar 7
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