HOW TO INSTALL A BOW MOUNT TROLLING MOTOR - Jon Boat to Bass Boat Build Conversion

[@exvan3571]

Great vid! Spot Lock is a game changer on these light tins. You can camp over a brush pile, catch an early limit of crappie, then troll for other fish.

[@mvboutdoors]

As soon as you use it, you wonder how you ever got along without it.

[@matthewcialdella1734]

Thanks! I’ve been trying to decide how to remount my motor. This is pretty much exactly what I was thinking. Glad to see it’s a good idea

[@mvboutdoors]

It worked great! No issues 👍

[@drbosb]

Awesome DIY content! Thanks for sharing with us, and I appreciate the added tips from other fans!

[@mvboutdoors]

Happy to help! It's worked out really well, very solid.

[@shawnchapman1479]

Beautiful! Nice fabrication. Well played!

[@ChewyThaoFishing]

Great video! Appreciate the specific details and breaking down every step!

[@etiennesprangers1953]

Will be putting int he exact same trolling motor this spring, thanks much for sharing this.

[@mvboutdoors]

It's awesome! Congrats

[@troutnut01]

The only things the made me cringe was where your wiring goes through the aluminum, you NEED to install a rubber grommet to protect the wiring from chafing and getting cut by the aluminum. It WILL HAPPEN faster than you think. They are cheap and available at the hardware store. Since you have already installed the wires through the metal, a cheat would be to slice the grommet, install it, but put a couple drops of a one minute glue between grommet at both ends of the cut, and maybe a third point to keep it in place. I would also run a separate power wire for the GPS all the way to the battery, and away from the power cables for the trolling motor. While modern trolling motors are fairly quiet in regards to electrical feedback, with your GPS, and any depth finders you want as clean and quiet power sources as you can get to avoid RF interference. When I was a teenager I was on a ski boat with about 6 friends and relatives that had an electrical fire due to a direct shirt in a main power wire, and it nearly burned the entire boat before I had to crawl back in and disconnect the battery. Everyone bailed overboard, the main engine was still running but out of gear, and the most embarrassing thing was we had to be towed by a jet boat 😂 . But the girls thought I was a hero.

[@mvboutdoors]

Thank you for the advice! As soon as I finished the video I looked at the install and thought the exact same thing. Right now I've lined the hole with thick friction tape but a rubber grommet will for sure be the way I go. I hadn't thought about that for the GPS unit, I planned on running dedicated power for the fish finder but it makes sense for the GPS unit to get clean power as well. The wiring at this point will likely be redone when I install the fuse block and remaining accessories as I get further along in the build. Appreciate the feedback! I'd like to avoid having a similar story to share :)

[@islandfishermanmagazine1996]

Nice work!

[@WeOutChea]

I see u brother with the major upgrade

[@mvboutdoors]

Yeah man! Can't wait to try it out --

[@WeOutChea]

@@mvboutdoors can I pay you to make a bracket for my war eagle for my trolling motor

[@mvboutdoors]

@@WeOutChea That would be interesting, when you're ready to go send me the details on IG.

[@Semper-]

Nice build man. I'm planning on installing my trolling motor on my 1448 mod v soon but I'm not sure where to install it. The instructions mention to install it close to the the boats centerline and I was wondering what your impression is having it installed on the side of the boat. Any effect on the control or spotlock?

[@mvboutdoors]

I had zero issues with it mounted to the side like that. I was really happy that it kept itself out of the way. Spotlock worked fine, driving worked fine, it really didn't cause any issues.

[@Semper-]

Awesome man. Thanks for replying and keep up the good work@@mvboutdoors

[@davidschmidt7961]

Quick question, working on my first jon boat and have watched a ton of your videos! I am looking to add pad eye hooks to mount my cooler/seat to the bench. I have seen in multiple videos people say dont go stainless steel screws. Wondering how you would mount if it were you? Would you rivet it ? Thanks a ton!!

[@mvboutdoors]

If you can rivet it that's a great option, however stainless is basically your next best option, there's not really anything better. Stainless can react with aluminum over time if water is present but has a much less reactivity then pretty much any other option than aluminum. I need to see what you were working with to give a better solution but you could also do stainless bolts with nylon washers to reduce dissimilar metals.

[@travismorgan4249]

Looks great. What length shaft is that on your trolling motor?

[@mvboutdoors]

The smallest I could find was the 54" length

[@travismorgan4249]

Gotcha. I’m about to order an ulterra for my 1648 and trying to decide between the 45 & 60”. I also have a pontoon boat and my plan was to install quick release and use it on both boats during the year. Does the 54 ever feel like it’s in your way while deployed and your bass fishing? I’m leaning toward buying the 60” but I’m worried it’s gonna stick up to far.

[@travismorgan4249]

If you go by the minn Kota shaft length measurement chart it tells me to get the 45” for both 1648 and pontoon, but while researching it seems most people like to err on that longer side.

[@mvboutdoors]

@@travismorgan4249 If you plan to also use it on the pontoons I would for sure go larger. I havent had much experience with it on the water yet so I've yet to. I'm considering cutting it down if its too long but I dont forsee it being an issue.

[@Therapy-n-Session]

💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾

[@toddmoser1670]

Don't be afraid to hit up your local fab shop i bend stuff for people all the time.

[@mvboutdoors]

Our local fab shop is awesome! They welded on my pods. I prefer to DIY whenever I can but a cleanly bent trolling motor mount would have worked really well.