factory trolling motor bracket install - 190 Bay

[agereety]

I am going to attempt to install the factory bracket for the bow mount electric trolling motor this weekend. I have looked at all the posts I could find regarding this subject. Question: where does the roplene shim/ angled wedge go - does it go on top of the hull - between the bracket and the hull? I received one shim- should that be enough? Is there a link somewhere that offers detailed insturctions/photos? Also - for the inspection hatch hole - is there a recommended tool for that - a hole saw , maybe? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

[Tomas Klein]

I installed the bracket I purchased from from Merrit Marine. I cut the shim in half and placed both pieces between the hull and bracket to provide a solid, level mount. I had to trim a corner off one side of one shim. I was able to through bolt 3 of the holes in the MinnKota mount (the mount which lets you remove the troll motor). I used a 4 1/8" hole saw which worked fine. I ground off the tip of a 1' spade bit, used on a cordless drill, to carve out the foam. I used fender washers with the nut epoxed to the fender washer - this made it much esier to start the washer w/ nut. I installed more through bolts than provided for in the kit and used liberal amount of Rule cement on everything - I probably overbuilt but the mount is absolutely solid. It was a challenge to work through the 4' hole and took two of us to start the nuts - one holding topside and the guy with the longest arm starting the nuts. I did take some photos - if you get me your e mail, I will try to retrieve them and send them to you - hope this helps although you may be into it right now and sorry I didn't catch your post until today.
Tom_klein@hughes.net

[agereety]

I have decided to gather as much info. as possible - prior to the trolling motor bracket install. Any info., photos, instructions,etc.... would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. - Andrew

[ILLOGICAL GGC]

i have other pics but this one best shows where the wedge is located on the 186 i had

[BAYCOASTAL]

make sure, I repeat, make sure you use stainless toggle bolts like the "snap toggle" system.--or something similar. Otherwise you will either have to make numerous extra holes in your boat or hire a contortionists to holt bolt, nuts & washers etc. This will save you headaches. You can get these in stainless (see pic)---you thread the stainless bolt through the anchor and it all stays together until you have it tightened up etc. If you cannot find these at Home Depot etc, try Merritts Marine.

[agereety]

Thank you , BayCoastal, for the tip. I have decided to take my time and gather info. with all of my modifications. I dragged out my depthfinder/transducer install, but it is a system that works. Yesterday, I tried out the depthfinder/transducer that my friend and I installed - and it worked perfectly. I was able to figure out (because of this site) the perfect transducer placement, stuff to use, etc.. I am intimidated by all of these modifications (initially) because I am not skilled with this kind of stuff. My friend, however, has skills - so with the combo. of me gathering info. and his skills- it appears to be a system that works.
Regarding this trolling motor/bracket stuff - it's been slow and steady. I took forever to order the motor and accessories for several reasons. I decided to deal with Cabela's. The first call to a "product specialist" was me talking to someone whose knowledge base was actually less than mine.
I tried to find reviews of the Minn Kota Riptide, and all I could find was bad stuff. I was discouraged. I waited two more weeks. Then I called back - talked to a product specialist who was an authority on this stuff- it boosted my confidence level, and I ordered a ton of stuff. I ordered a 101 pound thrust/36 volt Minn Kota Riptide (54 inch shaft), the "quick disconnect" plate, 12 feet of 6 guage wire, a Minn kota 3 bank/stage charger, an A.C. plug,a twist/lock (plug in and twist) receptacle for the trolling motor, the "jumper cables" to wire the batteries in series, a Minn Kota circuit breaker, and I still need to get some military/marine grade- polarized/clamp style battery top terminals. I already have the special trolling motor bracket, inspection hatch, and hardware from Merritt Marine. Now, I have to get psyched to cut and drill holes to make that all happen. If my friend and I can't figure out all of this stuff ( with the help from this site) - then I will try and get assitance from my dealer and hand all of this stuff over to them to figure out.
Regarding the use of the stainless/ bolt thru anchor approach - it sounds cool. I have also learned the tip of applying a little epoxy to the nuts and washers - gluing them together - and that should make it easier to thread them onto the bolts - while reaching in thru the cut inspection hole - in order to attach the trolling motor bracket. I am gearing up mentally for this next modification. I am somewhat relieved that all of the stuff I ordered has not arrived yet.

[ILLOGICAL GGC]

with this one access hole ,i was able to reach all thru bolts with ease---then again i did not know about the S S togglers at the time

[BAYCOASTAL]

The riptide is a good one--I installed a 55lb thrust ---works great. I also purchased the remote system---I highly recommend this!!!! Comes with a little remote like a car key remote. I can operate the trolling motor from anywhere on the boat. Comes in handy when chasing bait fish with my cast net etc.

The only thing I don't like about my riptide is that the stow/deploy system is a little hard to work, but they have improved this on new models.