Bow Mount Motor and Balance Issues

So I finally did it, I pulled the trigger on a 1987 14' Mirrocraft. The boat has the middle seat removed, with a 1/4" aluminum plate floor. It currently has a 25 horse Evinrude but no trolling motor. I would like to put a bow mount motor on the boat, but I'm curious as to the recommended placement of the battery to help balance the boat. Any advice would be much appreciated. I am also wondering about recommended wiring for boat lights. Thanks guys!
~Pikeslayer

Well it is hard to make a recommendation not knowing where everything else will be, like fuel cell, gear, how many people will be in it, where they will sit, where you are sitting.....etc. I would run the boat first how you plan to have everything and then place the bowmount on the side that needs more ballist. I know each time I do a mod on my boat it seems like I am shifting weight accordingly so it is a constant adjustment who or what I have in the boat on each given day.

Only way to balance the boat is get it in the water and use it.

Yah, I figured that it would be most easily accomplished with the boat in the water. Unfortunately, the water here is Wisconsin is gonna be pretty hard for a while! I think I know which side I want to mount the bow mount on just based off the fact that I'll be sitting more towards the right of the boat when operating the tiller. I'll attach a very bad picture of the boat, taken last night when I had my family (minus the little one) sitting in it with me with a glass of champagne, christening her as our rig You can see that there are 3 pedistal seats all mounted in the center of the boat. The forward most seat is on the small casting deck up front, and the way the seats were mounted, you can't have just the seat and base, the extension rod is what connects the 2. This means during cruise, I'll have the seats pulled out and be sitting on the bench. More than likely, I'll be with at least 1 adult, maybe 2 and possibly my 4 year old (less than 50lbs.) so I would probably have the adult sit on the casting deck. With the weight of a 25 horse on the back and a bow mount and adult up front, I'm hoping it balances out pretty well. If I use a bow mount and want to run the battery in the back, then I plan to run the wiring through some conduit mounted under the upper rail of the boat along with the wiring for the boat lights, to the battery in the back. Is this realistic?

What ever you do, make it temporary until you have her in the water to check weight distribution. I have my battery up front to offset the motor (130lbs), me (200lbs), and fuel tank (50lbs) in the back. I also have a 14ft aluminum boat.

I think I read your post correctly...in that you do NOT anticipate anyone sitting on a raised fishing seat while running. They can sit there while you are trolling along, but not when the engine is at any significant speed.

Wire in PVC or conduit is fine if you leave the TM battery in the stern.

Moving a filled five gallon bucket around the boat...with its top fastened on and it tied down...can be a good way to see what weight distribution changes you need. Water weighs around 8 lbs per gallon.

R

Well I did it! I may have gone a bit overboard, but I took some measurements, talked to a local marina, and was told to go with no less than a 46-48" shaft trolling motor. I ended up ordering a Minn Kota 45 Edge with a 50" shaft. Should have it by late next week. I hope I didn't get a motor too large for my boat, but with the aluminum floor and 25 horse motor, it is a bit heavier than a standard 14' boat. I'm also wondering about wiring for an extension to my bow mount motor power cables. I know I've yet to determine the exact placement of my battery, but I think that either way I'll need an extension to the motor cables. What is the recommended wiring gauge for a 12 volt motor of this size? Thanks guys!!!!

45lb thrust sounds about right for the setup you got going (which sounds similar to what I am going to get) And I would go with as heavy a cable as the motor comes with and no smaller. If you are going a long distance then get larger cable which will cause less resistance. The farther you extend the cable the more resistance you will have so get larger cable. Motor prob has 8 gauge? So go 8 gauge for short extension and maybe 6 gauge for a long extension? That would be my opinion.

Why guess re wire gauge? Here you go... Rich

https://boatstuff.awardspace.com/awgcalc.html

One big decision on side of motor for me was the ramp and dock set up of my most fished lakes. Usually I tie the boat off on the STBD side, so I put the TM on the port so it wouldn't be slamming into the dock, and I guess it also helps w/ weight distrubution.

No such thing as a trolling motor too big or too many batteries. 45lb should do a good job though. My 12V 54lb does pretty well on my 16' except when it's real windy. Then it gets tired pretty fast, which is a battery issue. Considering parallelling two deep cycle batteries for starting and trolling. I now have a small starting battery and one deep cycle for the TM. I wouldn't do that with anything I didn't have the option of rope starting, but I've got a 25 also.

Another consideration of .....which side to mount the TM......is...what kind of fishing do you do? If you spend a lot of time casting to the banks, and you usually go clockwise around the lake...then a PORT mount is the best (for me, casting with my right arm).

If one happened to cast with their left hand (not me), AND they traveled around the lake/shoreline counter-clockwise... putting the TM on the Starboard side might help keep it out of the way.

Different strokes for different folks.... R

So my motor arrived today, almost a week ahead of schedule. Unfortunately I've got quite a bit on my plate this weekend which may keep me away from my project If time permits, I plan to hunt down my cables and switch etc... for my boat lights and trolling motor power wire extensions. For putting an inline fuse in my system, I'm trying to remember, do you put the fuse on the positive wire or the negative? I want to say its positive because the negative is your ground, but I want to make sure before I get it set up. Thanks guys! This is a great resource and a needed release for my boating anxiety since we just got another 5 or 6 inches of snow today!!! :roll:

You need a CIRCUIT BREAKER ..(30 40 50 60 amps??) not a fuse. Check your manual. It goes on the Positive side. Auto parts stores often have them. Under $5.00 normally.

Mount it as close to the battery as possible. It is not there to protect your trolling motor, it is there to protect the wires running to the trolling motor.

If you need something to make you relax and think about Spring, and boating and fishing...check out my earlier post this morning.. regards, R

https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=24085

So using the AWG chart, I ended up getting 8 gage wire for my trolling motor extensions and the smallest I could find at my local hardware store was 14 gage for my lights which is probably overkill. My lights say to use a 1 amp fuse, but since I will be running both through the same switch and 14 gage wire can more than handle the current, I figured I'd put a single 2 amp before the switch? Does that make sense? Also, I don't know if this is the best place to post this or if I should repost somewhere else, but being that this is my first boat, what type of things should I do to my outboard before the spring thaw and its first run on the lake? Thanks guys!

I want to see a pic of your 1/4" aluminum floor! :shock:

I KNOW! The floor is pretty sexy! :twisted: I'll try and post pics of it later today or tomorrow. I finally finished installing the motor and lights etc... Now I've just got to tune up the old motor (carb kit, new water pump, plugs, fuel lines etc...) and I'll be ready to hit the water!!!!!! Thanks for all the help guys. It's been invaluable to have you all as a resource.