# Trolling motor mount.



## Les_Lammers (Feb 17, 2007)

Looks good. For a backer pad you may want to consider using a piece of a poly cutting board.

BTW, I was as Smith Marine, the shop that handles warranty work for Motor Guide and MinnKota in Ft. Myers. I asked about Watersnake TM's and he said the manual models are good. For remote he like MinnKota.


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## jttracey (May 3, 2011)

Very clean


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## noeettica (Sep 23, 2007)

Nice work ...


I talked to someone yesterday that bought a water Snake ... He said It is GARBAGE !!!


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

Thanks guys, but I already have a traxxis I'll be using, haven't gotten to work on the boat or take it out lately, but I'll let you all know what I think. I have met several other people who have had the watersnakes since I started that other thread, Les you seem to be spot on with your comment. It seems the guys who have a manual model love them, but there remote models need some perfecting.

I will be using a poly cutting board as a backing pad, But I'll need to buy a new one as the one I have isn't thick enough and I don't want a tripple layer on there. I still need to drill my holes and paint the mount, but I'm impressed with how it came out and think it will work nicely.


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

The mount is finished. I hammer coated it black and added a poly board to each side. I just need to trim down the screws and mount it.




























I'll post a pic onc it's all done.


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## paint it black (Nov 3, 2007)

Sweet! Dude, you did a hell of a job.


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## AfterHours2 (Aug 2, 2010)

Awesome job. I think I like it better than the factory mounts in production. Might have something going for you in the future...


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

Thanks guys, I'll have it mounted today so we will see how it works out. 

I have no intention of making another one as it took me nearly a month to get this one going, but anyone is free to copy my design


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

After using it for a few trips I have come up with an issue. The cutting board is too slick and the plastic clamp can't provide the pressure needed to dig in. Everything is fine for speeds 1-3 and if I ease into 4 from 3 no problem, but if i go anywhere near 5 it tries to rock right off the mount. The clamps can't go any tighter so I have to come up with a solution.
My 2 thoughts are either use some material as a buffer, like seadek or rubber, or drill through the mount and bolt it on like I did with the POS motorguide last time.


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## tntwill (Aug 24, 2011)

Template the pads and router them out


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

You mean the cutting boards? If I do that it won't be thick enough for the clamps as it it just barely now enough (have about 1/8" of thread left showing if that). I may need to add an entire other layer of cutting board, route it, and also add a piece of rubber under the backside. 

On a brighter note, the trolling motor worked very well and is just barely the right height .


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## vjordan (May 22, 2011)

I've been following your thread and am very impressed with your work.

I don't think cutting boards are going to work. They're quite slick and intended to be that way. If you want to stick with plastic you might want to try a piece of plastic deck board. It has a texture and is intended to be non slip. It wont rot like wood. You can get it at Lowes or Home Depot.

A cheaper alternative would be the stick on rubber non-slip mats they sell for bathtubs. The glue should hold up well to a water since they are made to be submerged. I'm just not sure how well they will stick to the cutting board.


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## cutrunner (Jun 8, 2010)

> Template the pads and router them out


This.

I had the same problem with mine. I used starboard tho. Now it works perfect. If you look at the birdsall mount it has the recesses for the clamps. What you could do is just add another board but measure first and blow the holes with a holesaw, them bolt it to the mount. If that doesbt make sense i can try to reexplain


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## cutrunner (Jun 8, 2010)

And use spell check lol


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

The cutting boards worked well in the past, but that was with an aluminum clamp that was strong enough to let them bite into the board. I think I will be adding an additional layer and routing half way down for a little bite, but I'll also use a backing pad on the side opposite the clamps to give it more bite and shockability. I wonder how the guys who buy the gheenoe style mounts work this out as they are just bare aluminum.


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## cutrunner (Jun 8, 2010)

If you wanna go crazy you could do away with the threaded rod clamps and just thrubolt it. But thts a bit much


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

Actually I might, I can't do away with them as they aren't removable without cutting them, but last time I just drilled 2 holes through the mount and bolted it on as well as clamped. This mount is a hell of alot better then that POS motorguide, but it is still plastic and flexes just enough to limit grip.


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

Well I think I got it licked now. I added some seadek to the back, and I routed out some material around the clamps.

Here is a shot of the back, you can see the blue seadek peeking out. you can also see I added another layer of cutting board to make up for the material I will be removing on the other side.









It's hard to see, but I routed out 2 circles for the clamps to sit in so they can't slide any. They are about 1/8" deep.









I'll hopefully get to use it in the next few days and see if it works. I'm also relocating the plug, Where I had it I kept kicking it, so it will be more foward on the deck.


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## DHS (Sep 26, 2010)

Your mount looks awesome!


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