Spent the week getting the old trolling motor off and the new one installed. The old one came off pretty easily, but it took a little work getting the new one on. First, I had to build up a space to get the height level with the top of the jon boat. For that I used a piece of 2x8 that I cut into the right size and angle for the front deck. Then, I used matching gray indoor/outdoor carpeting to cover the 2x8. This was attached using carpet glue and SS T150 staples. Everything was trimmed and attached nicely before doing a lot of drilling.
I used a combination of 4"-5" hex bolts with large toggles to get 4 base mounts installed. Three went in well, but one was a pain and ended up being wedged partway down, but it secured up anyway. Then to be safe and provide extra hold for the whole thing, I used a combination of 3" stainless and 3.5" hex screws (20 x 1/4) to secure the mount in 5 other places.
Next came swappping over the bow sonar transducer onto the new trolling motor head, and then finally the wiring of the new motor. Everything tested fine in the garage, but I was anxious to get it out on the water and really see how it all worked. I was able to do that on Sunday when I poppped over to the home lake for 2 hours. Everything worked like a charm, and the new motor seems to be performing flawlessly. Need to dial in the exact height, but I'm getting pretty close. Also need to reconfigure the trolling motor tie down strap. Other than that, I'm tickled wth the new setup. I even managed to catch a few bass in those 2 hours out on the water.
Now, if I can just get the wiring bug in my left trailer lighting fixed, I'll be ready to roll for good. A couple other quick reports I heard. Despite the horrible weather, there were 25 and 26 pounds sacks supposedly weighed in down at Patoka for the H.O.T. event. I believe that is a 6 fish limit though, not 5. Also heard it only took 6lbs to win at West Boggs on Saturday, which is way off for that lake this time of year. Early reports were cold, muddy water, so that might be hampering the bite. Also heard it was a bit of a struggle over at Morse Sunday with only a few guys weighing fish there. Looking like Geist or Patoka are the places to be for now.
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