Mounting trolling motor on uneven surface is a common problem when placing a new one. You must mount your trolling motor horizontally and close to the hull’s edge for proper installation, any raised or uneven surfaces will affect proper installation and operation.
Most of the boats out in the market are built specifically to fit trolling motors. For example, bass boats have beautiful flat arches ideal for mounting a trolling motor. But others don’t have that set up to fit your trolling motor.
This article is for them for people who want to set up their trolling motor on an uneven surface. Also, we will discuss more similar information regarding this, which will help you for sure!
Does a trolling motor need to be mounted level?
No, this is not necessary. Every corner of your engine seems to waste power pulling the boat up or down instead of just forward.
You need to level this as it doesn’t crush anything. Also, don’t level it at an extreme angle, so pressure loss isn’t an issue to level up or down. Try to make it heavy, level, and straight.
The reason is that pushing the engine does the work of pulling the boat instead of wasting much effort. Try throwing the engine shaft into a dead end on the bow if possible.
Thus, there is no attempt to turn to one side. Whichever direction you have to go, it will flow the same way. And it ensures longer battery life with every charge. If you place it on one side, it may pull better in a straight line than in the opposite direction.
The engine must not idle. It must land utterly perpendicular to the nose. The angle you show with the board will create unfavorable push angles when cornering.
The thrust angle of the engine will be straight and horizontal even at this set-up angle when moving forward. If you have carpentry skills, you can easily design a bracket to match the boat’s outline where the engine should be. Polish the mount and paint it like your boat. Click here to learn how deep should your trolling motor be in the water.
Mounting Trolling Motor On Uneven Surface
Here are some relatively simple tips to help you properly mount your trolling motor on an uneven surface.
Step 1: Mount height adjustment
Raised edges of 1-3 inches are probably a common problem as boats often include some protrusion along the hull. Usually, this is a simple solution.
The apparent purpose is to extend the back of the bogie motor base to flush with the raised body. We recommend right-hand delivery cutting boards or rigid wedge-shaped foam boards to ensure a level surface. You can also use aluminum or steel if you like. In general, any rigid waterproof material will work.
Step 2: Use the mounting brackets
Sometimes it’s easier to utilize the brackets in these cases, even if you don’t intend to remove the trolling motor from the boat. Anyway, the center section of the quick escape bracket is more straightforward to install and aligns to the center of the raised support surface and requires only four bolts to attach instead of six.
Use your mounting bracket template to drill your bolt holes. Attach the template to your hull, secure it with tape, and drill the base’s perfect “trouble-free” holes.
Step 3: Adjust the bolts
When you keep material under the engine, you must consider the material. All motors and arms have mounting hardware, but the bolts will not belong to the mounting surface height. If so, you can buy some stainless steel bolts instead.
Step 4: Level the surface
After creating a new mounting surface, level it and ensure it stays within a reasonable limit. However, it doesn’t have to be perfect; just avoid 45-degree corners.
Step 5: Finish it off
If your boat is not prepared for a bow engine, make the adjustments if necessary. If you’re feeling swamped, swearing, and throwing away your tools, take help from an expert. After assembling the trolling motor, ensure that it is securely attached to the boat and works as intended.
How do you shim a trolling motor
To shim a trolling motor.
- Level the boat in the garage. Then adjust the tongue slot on the trailer to level it with the floor.
- After that, place the level on a unfolded trolling motor and make sure the rod is upright by adjusting your motor base.
- In the case of a motor base, you should place a shim between your boat’s motor base and bow.
- Any aluminum or stainless steel shim will work best.
For specialty, measure the bow and shim you need. Then explore the device shop and get the aluminum shim to fit the contour of your boat’s bow and lower mount.
But in general, large stainless steel materials can block a tracked engine well. If it’s enough for you to point the engine in any direction, use a piece of aluminum of the right thickness to fill the gap and distribute power over the wider bow of the boat. You try out an Aluminum bracket as well.
Where is the best place to mount a trolling motor?
If you wish to have the most from a trolling motor, you have to install it in the best position for the type and purpose of your boat. It’s better to set your trolling motor close to the stern’s center without meddling with the main engine’s operation.
You should flush your bracket’s top with the stern’s top. Also, there are 4 more points to install the trolling motor.
- Transom mount
- Engine mount
- Bow mount
- Side mount
Of those four, people widely use the transom mount and bow mount, making up over 90% of the trolling motor base.
How do I stop my trolling motor from bouncing?
Many trolling motors bounce at waves at high speeds. The ways to control the bounces are given below.
Ram mount:
It is screwed to the trunk or the floor and then attached to the shaft ball. You can try out MotorGuide Mount Trolling Motor Stabilizer.
Velcro Straps:
Velcro straps are attached to the floor or handrail. With a half-turn, it rolled over the shaft to stick to itself.
An inverted U-bolt:
It pierced spark plug with an elastic cord attached to the U-bolt and above the shaft head.
But perhaps the easiest and most economical way to reduce bouncing the boat. It applies to double-lever motors, as with all cable motors, motor mount brackets, bow mount, and Minnkota motors.
Final Thoughts
Mounting a trolling motor on an even surface is relatively easy for anyone. But mounting trolling motor on uneven surface can be pretty complex at first. I hope if you follow what I’ve said above, your fishing experience will be more effortless. Happy fishing!
