Hey everyone, new member checking in. I just recently discovered Bass Resource and am loving it so far. I love the wealth of information available here for a noob like me.
As a little introduction on me, I live in Oregon and have always done the normal PNW stuff... fly fisherman/steelhead/salmon/kokes, etc. Last spring/summer I got into bass fishing after talking to one of my coworkers who was a tourney angler back home in New York. So far I have only really done any pond/small lake fishing from the bank and my kayak. I want to start doing some bigger water fishing, and do a lot more than fish the same 3 places this year.
So my question naturally is about the boat that I already have available to me. My dad (and by extension, me, since he lets me use it) has a 20' Thunder Jet jet boat/sled. Just like this one, only white: http://www.boats.com/power-boats/2001-thunder-jet-20-sportsman-5650969/#.WLXbXIsQxcQ. He gave me the go ahead to mount an electric trolling motor to it. But I'm wondering if there even is a way to mount a bow trolling motor to it. Based on the Minn Kota weight/length vs thrust rating chart, I'm guessing I would need a minimum of 70#, but a 100 ought to allow me to use it in the river as well. I found a 101# Maxxum Pro on craigslist for like 500 bucks, which seemed reasonable to me (or am I way off base?). I am also thinking that a long shaft would be best for this kind of boat?
My concern is around attaching the mount.. There is not a whole lot of real estate available on the front. Because of the low deck in the bow, plus the gunwales having the rail running down them I am not sure if there is enough room to drill and bolt down the mount. So I defer to you guys, who are much more knowledgeable about this stuff! I was thinking mount it off to the left of the anchor cleat, and have the shaft run up along the rail, but I'm not sure if that would work.
What do you guys think? Waste of time? Ruining the resale of our boat? Even possible?
Thank you all in advance!
Ryan
