Reply by: Bassackwards      Posted: 7/27/2010 10:18:35 PM     Points: 1516    

one more pic

 Reply by: bratfish      Posted: 7/27/2010 10:19:17 PM     Points: 426    

nice, i used to have a green one years ago. used a similar style mount to troll as well.

 Reply by: tatonka      Posted: 7/27/2010 10:37:20 PM     Points: 515    

Very cool nice work. Now get out there and test that dude out!

 Reply by: pbs      Posted: 7/27/2010 10:57:48 PM     Points: 1464    

Nice looking rig there, I'm sure you cant wait to try out the new toy on the
water. Let us know how it all works out and maybe hook us up with some
pics when you can.

 Reply by: peddin      Posted: 7/27/2010 11:10:27 PM     Points: 57    

Due to the weight of the motor it may tip the canoe a little, make sure you counter balance the weight equally. Just my2¢

 Reply by: Branch Doctor      Posted: 7/28/2010 2:08:47 AM     Points: 161    

That's awesome that you have a motor on your canoe now. I've got one on mine... and a fishfinder (all of which are detachable for travel purposes).

I like your design but it looks like it might be able to pop loose because of pressure pushing towards the rear of the canoe.... if that makes any sense. I can't tell from the pics if there is anything on the inside to create a lateral wedge or not but if it doesn't have one it'll need it.

It's a quick fix if ya don't have something already there.

 Reply by: Djfan      Posted: 7/28/2010 5:55:05 AM     Points: 250    

Beats the old 2x4 i used to c-clamp to my old coleman.

 Reply by: Bassackwards      Posted: 7/28/2010 8:30:09 AM     Points: 1516    

Branch doctor,

I too have considered the possiblilty that it could want to slip backwards, due to the pressure from the trolling motor. I believe that I will place two bolts through the gunnel, and that should aleviate any issues. With it being as tight as it is I doubt it will move, but better safe than sorry. I will also tie a cble to the motor to prevent losing it in case of emergency.

No need to worry about tipping the canoe over. I got a stabilizer system on it to prevent that. I will place the battery forward, and to the port side to promote balance.

Thanks for anyone's advice, sometimes it's clearer to look in the fishbowl, than it is looking out.

Anyone know where I can get cable extensions for the trolling motor. I really don't want to rig non flexible battery cable. I think I will use a jumper cable set , they are typically 6 gauge wires.

 Reply by: Fishful Thinker      Posted: 7/28/2010 8:43:37 AM     Points: 2511    

For extending your battery cables, get heavy guage SO cord off the bulk spools at a home improvement place. Very flexible with a tough jacket to prevent nicking. I second branch doctor's theory of locking the mount from moving forward based on my previous experience with T-motor rigs. It'll be a fun boat for you! CL

 Reply by: Bassackwards      Posted: 7/28/2010 8:57:16 AM     Points: 1516    

Chad,

What gauge would you recomend? Thanks for the advice. I will implement a sytem to prevent the mount from slippng back.

 Reply by: thrasher      Posted: 7/28/2010 10:30:32 AM     Points: 41    

Very nice. I did something similar just using pressure treated lumber and wingnuts to secure. Cost about $12 - most of that was in the hardware.

 Reply by: Gene80831      Posted: 7/28/2010 10:38:55 AM     Points: 93    

Gee, looks right side heavy. In the top pics the canoe is upright and in bottom one it looks like it flipped your whole garage on its side!!!!!!!!

J/K......Nicely Done. Nothing like building it yourself, huh?

 Reply by: Bassackwards      Posted: 7/28/2010 10:42:58 AM     Points: 1516    

yeah Gene if it does not work as a canoe, maybe it'll work for a submarine. LOL. Thanks.

 Reply by: fishinwfoos      Posted: 7/28/2010 11:25:04 AM     Points: 659    

Hell Mitch that thing would hold my 6 hp kicker!!! Great job.

 Reply by: Bassackwards      Posted: 7/28/2010 11:41:36 AM     Points: 1516    

Thanks Jake. We need to get together and smack some fish around.

 Reply by: flytroller      Posted: 7/29/2010 2:48:20 PM     Points: 34    

Nice work!!! I have the same canoe and will be copying your idea.
Here's an idea........Last weekend I went to wally-world and got 2 stadium style seats($16.88 ea)~they have "L" brackets for hooking under bleacher seats. I measured and drilled thru the aluminum seat supports, pushed the brackets through and secured them in with small cotter pins, now my canoe has seat backs and my back is not tight when I'm done fishing. Will post pics when I figure out how.
FT

 Reply by: Bassackwards      Posted: 7/29/2010 2:52:40 PM     Points: 1516    

Flytroller,

nice that is my next conquest. My wife really needs a seatback for sure. take a picture and let me see what you did. Seats made for canoea are expensive.

One modification I made was to place a bolt behind each side to ensure the bracket would not move back because of the pressure from the trolling motor.

 Reply by: Sleazy E      Posted: 7/29/2010 3:50:43 PM     Points: 529    

For any kind of battery that is 12 volts I would use one aught wiring. It is thick and heavy but you won't have any voltage drop from that size of wiring.
Anyone who wants to doubt this should try wiring a battery into the trunk of their car. Plus, Bmw's and Lincoln LS's etc. all use close to this size if not -1 gauge wiring.
Even grounding that battery you want to go huge if not double-up on the grounds. But this is boating.
You can find gauge dimensions for AWG online.

Also, it won't work with the small wires that comes with the trolling motor. I guess I got ahead of myself there. Unless you spliced them together properly and added a different style connector instead of the usual clamps from the motor.

 Reply by: Bassackwards      Posted: 7/29/2010 3:58:42 PM     Points: 1516    

I will be running a small trolling motor 36lbs of thrust. I will be running mostly on the first setting. I agree with your comment on the loss of power, but I can't run 1 aught cord, just to much money. I'm thinking about buying jumper cables and using those.

 Reply by: rdailey      Posted: 7/29/2010 4:35:44 PM     Points: 434    

I have a roughly 6' cheap jumper cable in our boat tool box for emergencies. Why not just get a short set, clip your cables off and one end of a set of them and solder them up?

That might be what you meant but I wasn't sure if you meant clip them to gether or solder. I have a really large solder gun if you don't have one handy. Think I have larger size shrink wrap left also, need to look.

 Reply by: Bassackwards      Posted: 7/29/2010 4:41:36 PM     Points: 1516    

Thats exactly what I was going to do. I have battery cable ends at home and a crimping tool. I also have shrink wrap for the ends.

 Reply by: albow      Posted: 7/29/2010 6:06:28 PM     Points: 68    

Nice job, very well done! Clean, simple, lightweight, sturdy and cheap.

 Reply by: Sleazy E      Posted: 7/30/2010 1:39:08 AM     Points: 529    

Soldering them up is one thing, but soldering them up properly is another. AThe best way to solder is by heating up the wire and then letting the solder drip into the wiring. To do this you need to heat up the wiring pretty easily and I can tell you that a Harbor Freight solder gun is not going to work in this situation.
Great idea, even if you decide to solder awesome connectors onto it. Thick-as-heck cable or wire is not THAT expensive. Call around at some auto or import custom shops to see if they have a few feet of extra "junk" and I gaurantee you that 10 bucks in their pocket for it would be more than they would expect all year from their trash.

 Reply by: flytroller      Posted: 7/30/2010 7:08:21 AM     Points: 34    

Here is what I did to extend my cables.
A. Cut the ends of some old jumper cables at differing lengths.
B. Stripped back about 3/4 inch on insulation.
C. Had a beer.
D. Used solid copper ground rod clamps-they look like acorns. $1 ea?
E. Zip tied part of an old mud flap to keep clips seperated.
F. Had a beer.
G. Went trolling.

FT

 Reply by: gatorjoe      Posted: 7/30/2010 7:47:34 AM     Points: 1599    

Personally, I think 1/0 is too big for what you're lookin for. Now I'm admittedly no genius with boats or boat motors. But I've been Doug steels in cars for 12 years. When you run an amp in the back of a car and that amp is pushing 12-1600 watts it takes a lot of juice. I run 6 gauge in my car now for my smaller stereo, but in my old car I used to run 4 gauge to my amp. Most jumper cables are gonna 4 gauge, at least most of the ones vie come in contact with. Why not just go with 4? Are jumper cables cheaper? It wouldn't surprise me if they were haha. I just really don't see the need for 1/0 I think that's the size of the main battery cables in all my cars.

 Reply by: Bassackwards      Posted: 7/30/2010 8:19:47 AM     Points: 1516    

I talked to a guy last night who was selling these. It's perfect and will look like a professional installation when I'm done. He's charging me $15.00 which is reasonable. 6 gauge cables, minnkota uses 4 gauge stock. I think these will be fine.

 Reply by: gatorjoe      Posted: 7/30/2010 9:09:17 AM     Points: 1599    

Agreed, those will work great. I really don't think you're going to lose much power with a 6 gauge. MAYBE 5% which is still really efficient. With stereos if we keep it under a 5% power loss we did really good. There's tons of calculators for wire size online too. I checked one out, I don't know the amperage of your motor, but for a 16 ft run, 6 gauge should lose you 3% or less at 30 amps and 12 volts.

 Reply by: bratfish      Posted: 7/30/2010 9:36:08 AM     Points: 426    

gj also think mostly he'll be trolling so power should last him.

 Reply by: Sleazy E      Posted: 7/30/2010 4:09:38 PM     Points: 529    

Sweet! That looks very desirable!
I wish I had a canoe now!