Hi folks,
Was going to wait till next year to install trolling motor on my new to me 2019 FSH 210 but someone gifted their riptide SP. I replaced the shaft to a 60 inch replacement shaft as the original was only 54 inches. Looked at the factory mount and it looks a little flimsy. was worried about flexing when the waves are rough. I am on the Potomac and some days beat the snot out of you. I went the Midwest Steel route and just got a .625 6.5x20 aluminum plate for 57 dollars with shipping. I used a jigsaw with metal blade to shape the corners and then used my quarter round router bit to shape and smooth the edges. Good enough for Govt work
. Much sturdier than the factory plate.
I pulled both speakers out up front and it looks like the railing material(from top side to underneath) on the port side is twice as thick as the starboard side. I guess they do that for additional hull structure on trolling motor side.
Wondering what length and diameter of stainless bolts you used to mount this to your boat? Want to make sure to get the right size for the job?
Here is my solution. I used 5/16 x 2.5 inches to get thru the aluminum mounting plate. I had to take my grinder to the head of the bolt underneath the trolling motor mount to make it flush with the mounting plate so the motor would fit as designed. (ask me how I know lol).
The Minn Kota puck uses 1/4 by X 2 inch bolts. Cut recess into bottom of plate using regular wood 5/8 spade bit on my drill press to cut hole big enough to fit socket to tighten locknut flush. I used lock-tite blue on the nuts. One of the holes will be over the hull and wanted them to not cause problems.
I was only able to use 5 of the 6 holes I planned on because when I felt underneath you can tell where the extra thickness of the gunwale is. So if I was going to do this again I would drill the middle hole in the plate with no screw in it - about 2 inches to the right. I used silicone around the bolt holes and put neoprene washers in between the aluminum and the gunwale. Stainless fender washers are installed underneath and lock nuts with Loctite blue on the bolts. I had to cut the harness zip-tie under the middle bolt before drilling because it was right underneath. You can't see it from the photos but the back of the plate aligns with the middle of the port navigation light.
I was able to reach all bolts and use regular ratchet to tighten. Only 12 feet of cable was used to the batteries underneath the console. Not enough for my comfort level. I was an Army Aviation Electrician when I was enlisted so not happy with the routing before it gets to the batteries( its my OCD thing) I will redo next week. Circuit breaker is on left side of battery and feeds positive terminal. So I plan on getting another 15 ft and redoing the line from the minn kota disconnect (which was awesome in its design...just missing o-rings...so I got some from the local true value). I got two o- rings, one for the cap and one for the plug. Moisture is not your friend in electrical plugs lol.
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My plan is to upgrade to lithium 24v battery next year. Running regular 90AH 12V batteries this year as they came with the motor. I installed a second NOCO 5x2 charger just for the trolling motor so I am good for this year and prepared for switch to lithium next. I plan on running a external plug adapter hooked to the boat and trolling chargers so I will just plug the extension into the exterior of the console to charge trolling and boat systems.
Only addition I might want is a DC to DC charger like this so I can charge the trolling motors while boating.
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I will have to be careful when docking on trolling motor side as it is right on the edge.
As you see I have a weed problem this summer..... trolling motor gets me past the weed line so I don't have to clean out the ports after leaving the dock.
Very happy with the install.
Thanks again for the help. Hope my info is useful to others. Have a great weekend.
Tom