Mounting a trolling motor on a 215:
Taking things off:
Remove the bow roller for the anchor.
Remove the two cleats.
Remove the navigation light.
Putting things back together:
1. Move the wiring out of the way for navigation lights and drill a hole all the way through the bowsprit. The hole has to be large enough to hold the wiring for the nav lights on the bottom of the bowsprit but not so large that the nav light can't be mounted under the bowsprit opposite where it was on top.
2. Push the wires that were coming out of the top of the bowsprit through to the bottom of the bowsprit. Turn the glass lens over in the nav light so that the port and starboard lights are facing the right direction and remount the nav light UNDER the bowsprit using screws and RULE. Fill in The hole on the top of the bowsprit with RULE.
3. Drill about a half inch hole through the deck where the inboard end of the slot in the bowsprit exposes the nose end of the deck. This is where you'll run the wires from the trolling motor to the batteries.
4. Mount the trolling motor, so that when deployed, the shaft is close to the center line of the boat and as close to the bowsprit as possible. The unit should be mounted at an angle to the right so that you can open the anchor locker.
5. Install the battery or batteries in the megahold. Install a master switch at the forward end of the hold so you can switch the whole system on and off. Install a fuse box of the proper amperage.
6. Open the access port inside the anchor locker and locate the routing tube on the starboard side of the hull where the navigation light wiring is routed to the center console.
7. Purchase twenty feet of red and black welding cable of the proper gauge and tape the ends together with thin tape. If you want to run anything else up to the bow tape those wires to the cable. (I run a hailing/fog horn under the bowsprit)
8. Put the end of the wires into the routing tube through the access hatch at the bow and start pushing. Keep pushing till you see the ends of the wires start coming out the round hole with all the wires and cables coming out on the deck inside the console.
9. Drill a hole from the megahold at the rear through to the center console large enough to push the wires through. You'll have to drill it at an angle, starting low enough in the megahold to miss the hatch gutter and up into the center console. It's an eyeball thing.
10. Push the wires through the hole. Solder on a battery terminal to the black wire and leave to attach to battery later.
11. If you're going to mount an on board battery charging system inside the center console, install it now and push the charging wires through the same hole into the megahold.
11. Attach the red wire first to the fuse block after soldering on a wire terminal and then from the fuse block to the Master Switch again using wire terminals. Finally fasten a lead from the switch to the positive post on the battery and leave disconnected.
12. Return to the bow and push the trolling motor power cables through the hole you drilled in the nose in the bow. Connect the cables you routed to the trolling motor power cables using crimp connectors or connectors of your choice. Fill around where the wires go through the hole in the bow with RULE.
13. Go back to the megahold and connect the wires to the batteries.
14. Remount a cleat or both cleats up closer to the trolling motor so that it won't be in the way when raising and lowering the motor.
You're done!
