Fishing Forum

I'm kinda new here, I've been reading for a while and thought I'd post my first mod to my toon. I have only been on it a couple times, but I hated the electric motor being behind me. I found a pretty nifty bracket, bent some tube, and Made some changes. (all stainless) I made the whole trolling motor bracket removable so I didn't have to take it everywhere. It folds up out of the way for loading/unloading and only has one handle to tighten it into place. I'm going to add some rod holders and maybe a few other things I can't do without. Let me know what you think.

Up position-



Down position- (motor removed because of concrete[])





Skinner
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Wow real nice thought out! Arm moves 180 degress and only the handle locks it all in any setting? Welder and bender....that tells me you do those for a living? As I'm a machinist and I like your thoughts of building it! Very nice job!![][][][]
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[cool][#0000ff]Welcome aboard and thanks for sharing the great idea...with pics. You obviously have a creative mind and some skill with welding equipment.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I moved your post over from the picture board because we get a lot more traffic on the main Tubing board and more people will see it. I will include your pics on the picture board in a separate thread on motor mounting.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I also reduced the size of your original pics. You can attach larger pics to your post, but we try to set a limit on about 400 to 450 pixel width for pics you include in the main body of the post.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]Looking forward to seeing how you get your rod holders set up. Let us know if you need any assistance. [/#0000ff]
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Very nice job! Curious though, why you don't like the motor on the back. You do have to turn the head of the motor to the same direction as the propeller (easily done with loosening the head screw and turn the whole housing)
But, then the next question is, Do you wear flippers?
I prefer all three forms of propulsion (fins, oars and motor).
Personally, I only fly fish, and I prefer the motor behind me when it comes to that $60. and up fly line.
That bracket however would be real nice on the back when coming into shore.
I took the whole head off of my Minn Kota so I just have a small shaft with the propeller and a wire loom coming out of the top to a small box that I keep by my side. Tilting the prop up to beach is pretty easy.
Very Nice Job however! Love to see it up close and personal!
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Wow real nice thought out! Arm moves 180 degress and only the handle locks it all in any setting? Welder and bender....that tells me you do those for a living? As I'm a machinist and I like your thoughts of building it! Very nice job!![][][][] [/reply]

[#ff0000]Thanks, the arm does move, actually more than 180*it will move 360* if there is room. I have the bender and welders just for tinkering, I have also built a couple rockcrawlers with them. (Just for fun)[/#ff0000]

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[cool][#0000ff]Welcome aboard and thanks for sharing the great idea...with pics. You obviously have a creative mind and some skill with welding equipment.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I moved your post over from the picture board because we get a lot more traffic on the main Tubing board and more people will see it. I will include your pics on the picture board in a separate thread on motor mounting.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I also reduced the size of your original pics. You can attach larger pics to your post, but we try to set a limit on about 400 to 450 pixel width for pics you include in the main body of the post.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]Looking forward to seeing how you get your rod holders set up. Let us know if you need any assistance. [/#0000ff] [/reply]

[#ff0000]Tubedude, Thanks for the help/comments. I'll resize the pics smaller next time. I'm going to try and get my rod holders done in the next week or two, I'll post pics when I'm done. I've been looking at alot of pics of different setups. Nice site you guys/gals have here.[/#ff0000]

[font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][size 1]In Reply To[/size][/font]

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Very nice job! Curious though, why you don't like the motor on the back. You do have to turn the head of the motor to the same direction as the propeller (easily done with loosening the head screw and turn the whole housing)
But, then the next question is, Do you wear flippers?
I prefer all three forms of propulsion (fins, oars and motor).
Personally, I only fly fish, and I prefer the motor behind me when it comes to that $60. and up fly line.
That bracket however would be real nice on the back when coming into shore.
I took the whole head off of my Minn Kota so I just have a small shaft with the propeller and a wire loom coming out of the top to a small box that I keep by my side. Tilting the prop up to beach is pretty easy.
Very Nice Job however! Love to see it up close and personal! [/reply]

[#ff0000]Goddess, Thanks for the comments. I really strugled keeping straight in the wind with the motor behind me. (my arm got tired of reaching behind me) I do wear flippers, and can steer a little with them, but not very good. I just figured with the motor in front and lowered all the way down it would be easier for me. I like the idea of having the box next to you for on/off.[/#ff0000]
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[size 1][#ff0000]Goddess, Thanks for the comments. I really strugled keeping straight in the wind with the motor behind me. (my arm got tired of reaching behind me) I do wear flippers, and can steer a little with them, but not very good. I just figured with the motor in front and lowered all the way down it would be easier for me. I like the idea of having the box next to you for on/off.[/#ff0000] [/size]


[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]Not sure what problems you encountered with the motor behind you. On windy days, the boats do drift, but I have been able to controll that with my flippers for the most part. I have been on waters where it wouldn't matter where the motor was mounted, if you know what I mean[pirate][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]The box next to me is not just on/ off it is all the speeds forward and backward just like the handle. Infact it is the handle in a box with a big radio knob instead of the long handle.[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]Can you row with that motor there?[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]I only ask cause while at Henry's this summer, the waves got so bad, that oars was the only way I was going to get back to shore. Waves so bad that at times the prop was out of the water. Not normal for me to be on the water in that case but, that storm came up fast and hard.[/size][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]Not sure what problems you encountered with the motor behind you. On windy days, the boats do drift, but I have been able to controll that with my flippers for the most part. I have been on waters where it wouldn't matter where the motor was mounted, if you know what I mean[pirate][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]The box next to me is not just on/ off it is all the speeds forward and backward just like the handle. Infact it is the handle in a box with a big radio knob instead of the long handle.[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]Can you row with that motor there?[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]I only ask cause while at Henry's this summer, the waves got so bad, that oars was the only way I was going to get back to shore. Waves so bad that at times the prop was out of the water. Not normal for me to be on the water in that case but, that storm came up fast and hard.[/size][/font] [/reply]
I was out at Grantsville Res. and the waves were actually coming over the pontoons when I would get sideways. I could control it on High, but I just fought to keep it straight getting across the lake. I figured if I need to row I'll leave the motor down. I just wanted it out of the way for loading/unloading. I figured you still had forward and reverse speeds, just no steering. What type of fins are you using?
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I relate to the wind, in fact I do have more control in the wind with 3 or higher setting. I use the Force Fins with the Neoprene uppers and heels (got them back when they were around $100. now I see them at $159.)
Tube Dude and Zonker use the scubba fins, which I got to say makes A LOT of sense. All that rubber in the water.
I were my fishing boots (ankle Support) so I went with the Force Fins. Got a chance to find out how great they really are a couple of weeks ago. Wind kicked up on Daniel's and I was actually moving pretty good against it and in a pontoon. That's pretty cool. Tubes I know I can move but, POTOON! YAH!
Can you put your feet up on the bars to row? Not that it really matters cause I have rowed with my feet dangling, but when I need to put my back into it, the foot rest are great.
Sorry for all the questions, but this is really a nice set up you have come up with, so I am trying to take it all in.
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I relate to the wind, in fact I do have more control in the wind with 3 or higher setting. I use the Force Fins with the Neoprene uppers and heels (got them back when they were around $100. now I see them at $159.)
Tube Dude and Zonker use the scubba fins, which I got to say makes A LOT of sense. All that rubber in the water.
I were my fishing boots (ankle Support) so I went with the Force Fins. Got a chance to find out how great they really are a couple of weeks ago. Wind kicked up on Daniel's and I was actually moving pretty good against it and in a pontoon. That's pretty cool. Tubes I know I can move but, POTOON! YAH!
Can you put your feet up on the bars to row? Not that it really matters cause I have rowed with my feet dangling, but when I need to put my back into it, the foot rest are great.
Sorry for all the questions, but this is really a nice set up you have come up with, so I am trying to take it all in. [/reply]
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You might want to hit COPY and then PASTE if you want a quote. To hit quote, that is all that is coming up, your answer isn't there.
Been there done that too[laugh][laugh][laugh][laugh]
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[size 1]You might want to hit COPY and then PASTE if you want a quote. To hit quote, that is all that is coming up, your answer isn't there.
Been there done that too[laugh][laugh][laugh][laugh]
http://www.bluedeville.com [/size]


DOH! Newbie mistake.. I may need to get some better fins, mine are around 12 years old. (made by Caddis) Is your turning only controlled by your fins when using the troller? maybe I just need more practice. I can still put my feet on the bars, that was part of the reason I made it like I did. I live in Stansbury Park, and fish the lake out here quite a bit. (caught a 5lb largemouth last spring) but there are tons of 2-3lb fish that are fun to catch. I hope the weather will clear so I can try it out and see if I even like it.

Later,
Skinner
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I found out (the hard way, I left my flippers home) that I can turn my boat WITH THE MOTOR ON with just my feet. Not real sharp or quick, but it worked. With my flippers I can whip my boat around quickly with or without the motor.

I have got to someday make it out there to Stansbury to see the set up in person. I got family in Granstville so I do occassionally get out that way.
Thanks for the answers and tight lines
FG
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I found out (the hard way, I left my flippers home) that I can turn my boat WITH THE MOTOR ON with just my feet. Not real sharp or quick, but it worked. With my flippers I can whip my boat around quickly with or without the motor.

I have got to someday make it out there to Stansbury to see the set up in person. I got family in Granstville so I do occassionally get out that way.
Thanks for the answers and tight lines
FG [/reply]
Ya got family in Stansbury too now, remember? So many ya can't keep track of.
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