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210 FSH trolling motor mount pics?

Do you still have the dimensions for the mounting plate you used?

Mines in a slip and I just had another knee replacement or I'd run over and measure it for you. However, swore myself or someone posted those numbers in this thread or a similar one.
 
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.

242821897_334554495084578_5071810577060512560_n.jpg242799835_4379282862150298_8798299840399678087_n.jpg242744835_393344448833469_7565908895688347232_n.jpg242756327_381858476943665_1859558309539590792_n.jpg

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.DC to DC charger.png



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
 
Last edited:
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.

View attachment 164194View attachment 164195View attachment 164196View attachment 164197

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.View attachment 164198



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

Great job on your install!

I investigated setting up a 12V to 36V volt charger for my trolling motor bank while underway like you mention at the end of your post. The one I found was “Trollbridge“ Trollbridge36 Information I wanted to have this charging capability for extended boating / fishing trips where I would not have access to 120VAC for my onboard chargers.

I contacted Yamaha corporate to find out what the output of our motors are since this information is not available in the service manual, and corporate would not give me the specifics. The CSR at Yamaha corporate asked me what I was trying to do, I told them I wanted to use the Trollbridge unit to charge my 36V Trolling motor bank. The CSR was in email contact with a tech specialist, the tech specialist stated that there was very little charging capacity left over after the start / house battery charging to charge the 36 V trolling motor bank. In fact, the tech specialist stated that running a whole tank of fuel at cruise would not charge the 36V bank. My thought at the time was any electrons I can put into the trolling motor bank is a net gain. However, I do not want to sacrifice house battery charging to gain a pittance of charge to the trolling motor bank.

I found at one time (I have no idea where that thread is) a post either here or somewhere else where a guy with a boat like ours had determined the total output from each one of our engines was 14 amps, that would mean a stator size of roughly 200 watts at 14.2 volts which seems a little light, but looking at the reg/rectifier on my engines which is the same physical size as my fuel injected dirt bike seems about right. He was doing some sort of sound system upgrade and needed to know the specifics of the charging system output. I cannot remember all the specifics of that thread, but his findings were in parallel with what Yamaha corporate told me, beyond the normal operating load of the engines there was not a lot of charging current left over. I had planned on getting some Hall Effect inductive pick ups and a small monitoring interface to test the how much charging current there actually is from each engine, what the operating systems load was and how much charging current was actually available to charge the batteries is. But the boating season was upon me and more fun activities beckoned.

After doing some back O the napkin math my best guesstimate is that there is about 5 amps per engine left over for battery charging AND running accessories like the live well pump / and or aerator, fish finder, stereo etc. The only way to do it accurately is with a variable load bank, apply load to the point of voltage decay. Keep in mind that our charging systems are always running at full output, when the charging system / accessory load is reduced the reg/rectifier just shunts more output to ground to regulate voltage and battery charge. Such is the nature of a fixed magnetic field of the rotors. The big advantage of this type of system is that it will start charging as soon as the engine fires as it has its own magnetic field and is not reliant upon an outside source like an automotive style alternator. The down side is less output for a given size stator.

I just came back from a one week trip to Lake Powell where I had some hour and a half or longer transit times while running at 6500 rpm’s (Peak charging system output is at 3500 rpm). My observation was that it took about 30-45 mins of cruise time for the voltage on the start and house batteries to go from 12.2 or 12.3 in the morning to reach their peak of 14.2-14.3 V on the connext screen. The only accessory I was running was my Humminbird Solix 10 while under way, and I was not doing extended float times like I normally do while fishing. I’d say my longest float time was three hours or so.

Perhaps this winter I’ll install a charging system monitor as I mentioned above to be able to keep tabs on how that system as well the batteries is doing.

Please let us know how your system works out.
 
I just had a 36v Motorguide XI5 show up in the mail today. I have been trying to get one most of the year but they've been backordered. And if the motor was available the batteries weren't. So they both happened to be available so I pulled the trigger on the trolling motor as well as a quantity of 3 Dakota Lithium 60ah batteries (ouch!). Unfortunately I was in a hurry so just ordered the motor and batteries and not the quick release bracket or connector or wires or anything. I just wanted to get them before they sold out again.

So now I have to figure out how I want to mount the thing but haven made up my mind. I was originally thinking of just making it out of 1/2 aluminum plate like most of the guys are doing on the forum but looking at the factory bracket I am thinking I might be able to fabricate an attachment point that would go from the factory gussets to the bow. The would provide a load path from the front to alleviate the diving board affect. Is anyone aware of anyone doing it that way?
 
I just had a 36v Motorguide XI5 show up in the mail today. I have been trying to get one most of the year but they've been backordered. And if the motor was available the batteries weren't. So they both happened to be available so I pulled the trigger on the trolling motor as well as a quantity of 3 Dakota Lithium 60ah batteries (ouch!). Unfortunately I was in a hurry so just ordered the motor and batteries and not the quick release bracket or connector or wires or anything. I just wanted to get them before they sold out again.

So now I have to figure out how I want to mount the thing but haven made up my mind. I was originally thinking of just making it out of 1/2 aluminum plate like most of the guys are doing on the forum but looking at the factory bracket I am thinking I might be able to fabricate an attachment point that would go from the factory gussets to the bow. The would provide a load path from the front to alleviate the diving board affect. Is anyone aware of anyone doing it that way?
Battery Tender DC Power Plug https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0755YWFLV?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

6 Gauge 6 AWG 20 Feet Red + 20... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M7Y7AKR?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Circuit breaker Circuit breaker, wire, power plug I used. I didnt even try to use the factory mount, after seeing other's gelcoat issues it caused. It really wasnt a big deal to fabricate the 1/2" (really just rounding over the edges) plate using a standard woodworking router and sander.
 
Because of the backorders I probably should get a motor and batteries on order soon. Suggestions on where to order appreciated - SWFL
 
@Dumbassbass thanks for the tip on the battery tender plug. That's the one I went with. I was looking at the motorguide plug but the battery tender looks like a better design.

I too was concerned about the gelcoat issues caused by deflection of the factory mount but I do think adding some support on the gusset would be a good solution. I'm going to mock it up when the bracket gets here and figure out a path forward. My boat already lists to port so I'm conscious of adding weight on that side. If it was on starboard that would help balance out but I'm using the factory cover. I'll post here for posterity whatever I go with. Hopefully it'll help someone out in the future. There's not a lot out there on mounting trolling motors on these boats.

@Ericd I used trollingmotors.net and been happy so far. Shipping was suoer fast and when I had a question someone actually contacted me back which unfortunately these days is saying something. I bought the batteries directly from Dakota Lithium.
 
@Ericd I used trollingmotors.net and been happy so far. Shipping was suoer fast and when I had a question someone actually contacted me back which unfortunately these days is saying something. I bought the batteries directly from Dakota Lithium.

Thanks for the info. Will check them out. Also interested to see your mounting.
 
Mocked up the bracket today. Decided not to go with either the factory mount or the factory location. Decided to mount on the starboard side after some deliberation. I didn't like the factory position because the motor stuck out too far and I was worried about banging it on a dock or something. Also my boat already lists to port and didn't want to add to the problem. I really wanted to use the stock position because it's compatible with my cover, but my bride assures me she can sew on a new pocket. So advantages to mounting to starboard are the weight and balance. Since the steering wheel is on the port, it gives slightly better visibility. Also I'm right handed, so it'll make it easier for me to raise and lower the motor. The only disadvantage I could think of was that it could be in the way of casting, but I dont see that as a real problem. Went ahead and ordered a piece of 5052 aluminum 0.5x6.75x17 from Midwest steel supply.
20211023_160300.jpg
 
Mocked up the bracket today. Decided not to go with either the factory mount or the factory location. Decided to mount on the starboard side after some deliberation. I didn't like the factory position because the motor stuck out too far and I was worried about banging it on a dock or something. Also my boat already lists to port and didn't want to add to the problem. I really wanted to use the stock position because it's compatible with my cover, but my bride assures me she can sew on a new pocket. So advantages to mounting to starboard are the weight and balance. Since the steering wheel is on the port, it gives slightly better visibility. Also I'm right handed, so it'll make it easier for me to raise and lower the motor. The only disadvantage I could think of was that it could be in the way of casting, but I dont see that as a real problem. Went ahead and ordered a piece of 5052 aluminum 0.5x6.75x17 from Midwest steel supply.
View attachment 165815

Did you check the thickness of the fiberglass on the starboard side and in the area you want to mount the troller? Seems like I read some where someone had found that the stock trolling motor mount area is thicker to support mounting a trolling motor there.

As far as you list to port goes, just fill the live well up and the boat will sit perfectly level in the water. The engineers did a good job of making sure the boat would sit level once the live well was full.
 
Excellent suggestion on checking the fiberglass thickness. I will check it tomorrow and report back what I find. If it is thinner though I'll just reinforce the glass on the starboard side with fiberglass and epoxy. I already have all the material to do it if required.
 
Excellent suggestion on checking the fiberglass thickness. I will check it tomorrow and report back what I find. If it is thinner though I'll just reinforce the glass on the starboard side with fiberglass and epoxy. I already have all the material to do it if required.

Definitely do that. I can see a little flex in the glass on my setup under heavy load and I may have used more surface area (possibly fasteners too) than most on the port side. However, after a year or so (whenever I did the install) there are no spider cracks or any signs of fatigue in the glass. I used to work in aerospace manufacturing and check for such things often. What is most telling about this is I'm in Texas and have the boat out almost every weekend, and sometimes 3 days in a week. So that is even a little accelerated compared to many.
 
So I took some measurements today. Started by removing the port side navigation light and sure enough there was a thick section under the deck. Took a pair of body fat calipers and measured it at 23mm. Found it interesting so I removed the starboard navigation light and sure enough it was 20mm thick. Then I measured the thickness beside the anchor locker and it was 3/4 inches or 19mm thick. One observation is that the extra thickness does not extend past the curve where the fiberglass is hull thickness from the bend at the deck to the rub rail, so I will move the mounting holes back a half inch or so to ensure I'm bolting thru the thick section.
 
Hey folks- thought I’d share my setup as it might interest some people on here. I went w a 36V Motorguide (72” shaft) on my 255FSH. For the mount I used a shuttleslide and could not be happier. Excellent build quality and top notch customer service. I did everything myself because of how shuttleslide made their product pretty easy to install. When picking the correct mount, just email them and they’ll work with you to get the exact one for your boat. Being able to retract the trolling motor when not in use is pretty awesome. Let me know if you have any questions.

P.S. I also did lithium batteries with an onboard charger. R2-D2 (that’s what the kids call the trolling motor because of how it beeps when going into anchor lock) will hold us in place all day on those batteries. Love it.
 

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How close to the center of the boat does using this mount put the trolling motor? Did you connect the batteries to the alternator? what charger did you use?
 
How close to the center of the boat does using this mount put the trolling motor?
To the port side of the anchor locker where the leading long edge of the hull starts. Basicly when stowed it will be parallel with the port side bow seat. Approximately 18 or so inches left of the center line when deployed.
 
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.

View attachment 164194View attachment 164195View attachment 164196View attachment 164197

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.View attachment 164198



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
Which plate did you choose? Seems to be a bunch of different types of plates on Midwest steel. 6061 plate?
 
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