Trolling motor for a 212X

[jetboater4life]

My son likes to fish but in the summer most of our boating involves power sports. This fall when the water gets cold I was thinking of doing some fishing with him. I will probably pick up a trolling motor on craigslist and give it a shot. What are your opinions on nonpermanent (meaning no hole cutting/drilling) spots on the boat to mount the motor and battery? Or is drilling holes the only way? I don't know much about trolling motors so this will be something new for me. I did a quick search but didn't see much, however, if you have a link to a thread please share. Thanks!

 

[skrip345]

Not sure if you have an anchor locker on your model, but if I was planning a trolling motor install, I would try to use some of the hardware holes that are already there. If that didn't pan out, you could drill holes in the anchor locker to mount the trolling motor, then purchase another lid for use without the motor.

 

[jetboater4life]

I do and mounting a board to attach a trolling motor sounds like a good idea.

 

[Eric Ballard]

This is how I did mine. Different boat, but the idea will work just as easily. Just lay the cushions on a sheet of wood and cut out a template. Build a box to mount the trolling motor on and put the batteries somewhere - I put mine in the ski locker. the whole thing goes in and out as needed when i want to fish.

https://jetboaters.net/threads/trolling-motor-help-needed.12427/

 

[Ben Okopnik]

I've actually been researching this, and I think I've got a pretty good solution. My Rocket doesn't have enough flat horizontal space up forward to mount a bow motor, and the stern is too far back from the wheel to try a tiller... however, Minn-Kota doesn't make a stern-mounted remote-controlled motor.

But other people do. Behold:

http://www.boatstogo.com/rc-electric-trolling-motor.asp

$369 plus shipping. At 55 lbs thrust, I can just put a couple of 5/16" flat-head screws through a board, slide it into my stern ladder mount, and run the cable over the stern (the battery just happens to be right there.) Done.
I don't know if this will fit your application, but it seems like a pretty good option to me.

By the way, I can also throw in a personal recommendation: I've dealt with these folks a couple of times over the years buying their inflatable dinghies, and they were just stellar. Their inflatables are a solid 5 on a 1-10 scale (with Avon and AB being 10 and 9 respectively, and West Marine and Zodiac being a 3 or so), and their responsiveness and warranty are outstanding. I'm willing to believe that their motor will be pretty good, and that they'll take it back if it's not.