195 FSH Trolling Motor Only 3 Bolts

Trying to mount a trolling motor on my 195. The mount it came with will only allow 3 bolts. Did anyone else have this issue and was 3 enough or did you do something different? I feel like three is not enough.

Yes, factory mount comes with 3 bolts.
You need the tm manufacturers mount attached to the factory mount. This will give you 5 bolts/screws attaching to the hull. The inboard holes of the slide mount
Drill through the hull.
Minnkota 24v, 60", run by a single nextgen lifepoop battery...

Mine is the same I even extended it in case i want to put extra holes but it was holding up fine, make sure you have a backing plate underneath gunnel. I used big washer.

EDIT: its actually 4 bolt went through the gunnel in my install, one of the bolt I used in the quick release block I used a long one that goes through the gunnel. The one with no bolt in the pic.


Additional pic in my thread FSH 190 Sport trolling motor install | Page 2 | JetBoaters.net - The World's Largest Jet Boat Forum!

fatboyroy said:

Mine is the same I even extended it in case i want to put extra holes but it was holding up fine, make sure you have a backing plate underneath gunnel. I used big washer.

EDIT: its actually 4 bolt went through the gunnel in my install, one of the bolt I used in the quick release block I used a long one that goes through the gunnel. The one with no bolt in the pic.


Additional pic in my thread FSH 190 Sport trolling motor install | Page 2 | JetBoaters.net - The World's Largest Jet Boat Forum!

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What kind of backing plate did you use and do you use your boat in the bay/ocean? My concern is with hitting larger seas that there will be flex in the bracket and break or cause damage to the gel coat.

IamJoHo said:

What kind of backing plate did you use and do you use your boat in the bay/ocean? My concern is with hitting larger seas that there will be flex in the bracket and break or cause damage to the gel coat.

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Just a big washer, I also use butterfly nut cause its hard to put a tool inside the gunnel to tighten it. I go offshore a lot but 5 ft seas is the max ive encountered (not by choice). So far no issues.

On my 2023 Yamaha 222 FSH Sport, the accessory trolling mounting bracket that came with the boat looks very similar. While installing a Garmin Force Kraken that weighs 53 lbs., I made backing plates using 1/4" aluminum after buying a circular saw blade made for aluminum. Using cardboard, I sized the main plate to be as large as possible and was able to get 6 bolts thru the gunwale.

Cajun Bill said:

On my 2023 Yamaha 222 FSH Sport, the accessory trolling mounting bracket that came with the boat looks very similar. While installing a Garmin Force Kraken that weighs 53 lbs., I made backing plates using 1/4" aluminum after buying a circular saw blade made for aluminum. Using cardboard, I sized the main plate to be as large as possible and was able to get 6 bolts thru the gunwale.

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Do you have additional pictures of your Garmin Kraken trolling motor setup? I just bought the Garmin Kraken TM and plan to install it on FSH 210 using factory mount.

Here's a picture of it in use. With a 36v lithium battery setup, it pulls the boat 4.8 mph. What are your concerns? Will you be mounting the motor directly to the boat or will you be using a quick connect bracket like I did? It's pretty straightforward job. You'll want to remove the front speaker by popping off the cover and removing the 4 screws. On my 222, both seatbacks are held in place with 2 screws at the bottom. Hopefully, your backs are removable too. Access holes are already cut out behind the seatbacks. Position the mount and mark the holes. I used a center punch and progressively larger bits to make precise holes. I slid a piece of cardboard into the storage compartment hatch, then up the side of the boat and into position to make a template for the backing plate. After trimming it to be as large as possible and still fit, I marked the 1/4" plate and cut it. I made the linear cuts at a 45 degree angle as recommended for backing plates. I used all stainless steel hardware and, I think, needed some longer bolts in connection with the quick release bracket. The receptacle is to the upper left of the speaker. I went with 4 gauge wire. It fits in the plug and receptacle provide to buy larger ferrules. (It's a good plug system. But, given the amperage of this motor, they really should include the larger ferrules with the plug.) I put all of the wires in wire loom, although it's not mandatory. They run up right under the gunwale and can go into the wire tie wraps that are already mounted there. The wires then go down the port side and over into the front of the head compartment where there's an opening for the wires to be routed. I mounted the circuit breaker on the forward wall (towards the bow) and 3 lithium batteries in metal trays on that front shelf. I also lined the compartment floor with Dri-Dek, including under the battery trays, so that everything would dry out if water ever enters. I've learned that I really can't pull the drain plug on the front fish bucket compartment because water gets into the middle bilge/head compartment and doesn't drain out very well. I've just added livescope. I mounted that bulkhead receptacle to the bottom left of the front speaker and the black box in the head compartment to the port side of that front lower compartment, just to the right/forward of where all of the wiring enters.
I installed a 120v covered male receptacle at the helm. If you're standing at the wheel, down and to the right/starboard in the foot rest pocket. It's out of the weather. On the inside, it has a y-connector. On goes to the Noco battery charger for the house and starting batteries. The other free plug is only used when I get back from using the trolling motor and need to charge the lithium's. The 36v charger that I have isn't rated to be an onboard charger. I hope that this helps. Let me know your questions.

Thanks for the detailed information, very informative and helpful. Yes I am going to use the factory mount with a Garmin quick release. That said, I struggled a bit with positioning the factory mount just right so that the trolling motor shaft does not stick out too much past the boat gunnel. Also the U shape tip of the factory mount is a bit narrower than Kraken's U shape opening so I may have to enlarge the opening on the mount. I am still trying to decide whether I need a backing plate or just use the provided washers. I will have to try removing the back seat cushion to see if I can get better access.

I can save you some time, lol. The factory mount is narrower than the recommended Garmin cut out. But, since you're using the quick release, it actually raises the entire trolling motor assembly up. So, only the shaft requires clearance at the level of the factory mount. I missed that and test fit the factory mount to the TM without the quick release plate. Thinking it needed more clearance, I trimmed some of the factory mount, only to see that it wasn't necessary later. As long at the bottom of the U is at the edge of the gunnel, you'll be fine. For structural integrity, I wanted the mount snug and as far back as possible. It also has 2 bolts on the front end. I used those with a small backing plate. Give that the TM weighs 53 pounds and has 100 pounds of thrust at 36v, I recommend going with a backing plate over the washers. This motor is powerful and will knock someone off their feet if you start it at full power and they aren't ready!

Thanks for the advice!! I’ll give it a try.

Cajun Bill said:

On my 2023 Yamaha 222 FSH Sport, the accessory trolling mounting bracket that came with the boat looks very similar. While installing a Garmin Force Kraken that weighs 53 lbs., I made backing plates using 1/4" aluminum after buying a circular saw blade made for aluminum. Using cardboard, I sized the main plate to be as large as possible and was able to get 6 bolts thru the gunwale.

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Thats a serious backing plate!

Looks like at some point Yamaha changed the design of the factory mount and added a cross bar with two bolt holes. Glad to see this after reading posts about the factory mount bending and hitting the front of the boat. Makes me feel better about mounting this one. Attached picture of the mount from my 2024 fsh195. They didn’t include hardware which seems strange.