Taking Troller Motor Off

[PotomacBassin]

So when I was winterizing my boat I decided I wanted to take my trolling motor off for the winter.  This was my first attempt at doing this since I just got the boat this year and I'm not sure how BPS or Tracker mounted this thing on there.  I unscrewed the bolts, which seemed to be thread locked on there, and they would just move in the counterclockwise direction but they wouldn't come out.  There was no give in the mount at all when putting a little bit of leverage on it at all.  Any idea how they mounted this thing?  And when I attempted to tighten them back up, they just turn and turn and turn but never fully tighten.  There is no give at all still when I put any pressure on it.  I just don't want to put this thing down and it come flying off.  I've tested it pretty hard and it seems to still be on there pretty good.  Any thoughts?

[Glenn]

Those are bolts my friend, with locking nuts.

 

You need to remove the panel at the front - where the depthfinder is - to get to the access area underneath the trolling motor.  Then you just use a socket wrench to hold the nut in place while you unscrew it from above.

 

TIP!  Place a bunch of paper towels or old t-shirts in the bottom of the access area before doing any of this.  That way you won't lose a nut if accidentally falls out.

[BassnChris]

Can you not just loosen the clamp and remove the trolling motor and leave the mount on there?

[PotomacBassin]

Those are bolts my friend, with locking nuts.

 

You need to remove the panel at the front - where the depthfinder is - to get to the access area underneath the trolling motor.  Then you just use a socket wrench to hold the nut in place while you unscrew it from above.

 

TIP!  Place a bunch of paper towels or old t-shirts in the bottom of the access area before doing any of this.  That way you won't lose a nut if accidentally falls out.

Ok, I feel kind of silly asking this.  I don't have a depth-finder on the bow. I'll have to check it out later so basically I didn't harm anything is what I'm worried about.  The nuts on the underside are likely still intact since they probably just turned with the screw I was attempting to loosen.  Am I right in understanding your description?  

[PotomacBassin]

Can you not just loosen the clamp and remove the trolling motor and leave the mount on there?

 

This would make too much sense.  Ha.  But I guess I'm just worried that I messed something up now.  My jon boat was so simple before.  And I definitely want to know how to take the mount of now for future reference.

[BassnChris]

Probably not. There is a panel with a couple of switches and what not at he bow of most if not all bass boats.

Mine has 6 screws and comes off easy.

I recommend long sleeves to protect your arms. Just have to reach under and find the nuts to get a wrench on them....not very tough really.

My new MG has rubber isolator s with a threaded brass piece so it can be installed without having to reach under and use nuts.......I am kind of worried about not having nuts on it. I guess it works like an expansion bolt in concrete.

But yeah.....I doubt you busted anything.

[BassnChris]

An FYI.....the cleats on my boat have nuts on them as well.

[PotomacBassin]

So those bolts probably didnt loosen at all right. They probably were just turning with the above screw. Ill double check to make sure they're tight though.

[mudkart]

I do not feel a need to "winterize" at our latitude.  ?????

 

Lots of fishable water throughout the year.  

 

Running your outboard at least 2X a month goes a long way to keeping it healthy this time of year, IMO.  Keep the gas fresh and use your preferred cocktail of fuel additives.

[PotomacBassin]

Well we have 10 degree weather coming up and if I didn't winterize and ran my boat this week I would be concerned of any expanding frozen water in the internals of the motor. Main reason for this post is for removing and making sure the trolling motor is tight. But I'm probably going to leave it on from now on and just not worry about it

[Glenn]

Ok, I feel kind of silly asking this.  I don't have a depth-finder on the bow. I'll have to check it out later so basically I didn't harm anything is what I'm worried about.  The nuts on the underside are likely still intact since they probably just turned with the screw I was attempting to loosen.  Am I right in understanding your description?  

 

Yup, you're spot on.

 

You should have some sort of panel in the bow of the boat, It probably has switches, and is where the wires for the trolling motor come out of.  It should have several screws to hold it in place.  Just unscrew them and pull the panel off.

 

And like somebody said above, wear a sweatshirt or coat when reaching in there. There's a lot of unfinished fiberglass that can stick you.