# where to mount a bow trolling motor on a 1542



## Leelatt (Jul 22, 2012)

So I got my 80# MK terrova this week and I'm trying to figure out the best place to mount it on the bow of my tracker 1542, the instructions say to mount it as close to the center line as possible but I've noticed that a large amount of builds on here have the TM mounted to one side or the other and it deploys on that side instead of the center line, is there an advantage to this versus mounting the motor in the middle of the bow? won't the boat pull to that side if the TM isn't in the center?


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## Buddychrist (Jul 22, 2012)

The boat will not pull to one side as long as you keep your engine's foot in the water straight to act as a rudder. 

I do not have a trolling motor on my Jon but my SeaPro has a motor guide wireless that is on the left side that drops over the bow onto the right side of the boat. It goes straight as an arrow as long as you keep the motor trimmed down enough to provide rear drag.


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## Buddychrist (Jul 22, 2012)

It's of to one side and it still tracks straight because of the motor being in the water acting as a rudder, I hope this helps


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## Leelatt (Jul 22, 2012)

hmm, the issue is the front of my boat is flat, and I don't have the gas motor on it yet and probably won't keep the motor on it as most lakes around here are electric only.


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## Buddychrist (Jul 22, 2012)

Well then make a clamp on fin for the rear to give it drag and keep the boat straight, shouldn't be too hard to make


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## J.P. (Jul 23, 2012)

Leelatt said:


> hmm, the issue is the front of my boat is flat,


i can't see the issue. you simply mount your TM so it drops down at the front, offset to port or starboard...
you may have the impression that TMs on pointy boats are mounted to side, but the reason for it is the hassle of mounting dead center....the tip/center of the bow could have a cleat, nav lights, bow/anchor line, a hatch, etc. etc...... a lot of stuff happening at the bow, so most boats have the TM mounted off center, where it doesn't interfere with anything.....

if an electric motor is your main propulsion, it's better to have a transom mount....you'd see most electric only boats have two motors.. one at the back for motoring, one at the front for fishing.....


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## Butthead (Jul 23, 2012)

I have mine off to the starboard side on my flat bottom 1648 and also had it that way on my previous Tracker 1436, and both are electric only rigs. I never had any problems with keeping it in a straight line so maybe it's just an issue for V hull boats.


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## Leelatt (Jul 24, 2012)

well I tested it out with it offset to the starboard side, with the motor pointed straight, the back of the boat swings out to the starboard side and the boat moves forward at an angle compared to the direction I'm moving. If you look at it like a clock, I'm moving in a straight line at 12 o clock but the boat is pointing at 1 o clock. I tried to correct for this by turning the motor the other direction, it lessens the angle of the boat but creates a lot of chop.


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## Buddychrist (Jul 24, 2012)

Create drag on the rear of the boat and you will fix that problem.

Get a piece of aluminum and clamp it to the transom dead center and you will create drag. All you need is 5-7" past the bottom of the hull and it will act as a rudder to keep the hull straight


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## Leelatt (Jul 29, 2012)

decided to use my 55# endura on the transom as well, going to keep that locked forward and have a big foot switch for it as well.

the issue I ran into now is that my 2 batteries are 6 months apart, can I still use these for the 24 volt system? I thought I had read somewhere that you should use 2 batteries that were manufactured at the same time. also, 1 says 125 amp hours and the other says 122 amp hours, they're the exact same battery; everstart marine, group 29 DC. the labels are both identical except for the amp hours, any thoughts on this?


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## rusty.hook (Jul 31, 2012)

I always mount my troll motor on the left side to provide more room to get in and of my boat. My last 5 boats have all been semi-vee models with exception of 1.
I use the hand operated fold out bracket model with big foot switch mounted on the floor. With the hand operated model I don't have the foot pedal and all the extra wires to fool with. Beside the hand operate model is about $100.00 less than the foot operated model. I bought an extension handle that is adjustable that slide off and on when you don't need it;
See pics below, just click on pics and they will get bigger.


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## Zum (Jul 31, 2012)

Sorry to kinda hyjack this thread but does that big foot switch just work like an on/off switch for the TM?
I'm thinking of going back to a tiller TM,the waters I fish are tea stained,rocks sneak up on me in a hurry and a tiller would be quicker then a foot control.


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## rusty.hook (Jul 31, 2012)

Zum said:


> Sorry to kinda hyjack this thread but does that big foot switch just work like an on/off switch for the TM?
> I'm thinking of going back to a tiller TM,the waters I fish are tea stained,rocks sneak up on me in a hurry and a tiller would be quicker then a foot control.


Yes, the big foot switch is an off and on switch you can mount anywhere. Just cut you negative/black wire from the troll motor to the battery and I use HD squeeze connectors and coat with liquid rubber. See my drawing below, just click on the drawing and it will get bigger. Hope this helps.


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## Zum (Aug 1, 2012)

Thanks,thats what I figured...


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## Leelatt (Aug 18, 2012)

soo took the boat out today, everything seemed to be working great until about a few minutes of full speed the motor ripped off the front of the boat, luckily I was quick enough to kill the power and grab it, but had to row back to shore.

the motor is mounted on the MK quick release bracket + puck, the puck ripped right out of the wood. it's screwed down with 4x 3inch #14 screws into 1 and 1/2 inch thick wood. any suggestions on a better way to mount the motor so this won't happen again?

I can't get under the motor, as there is a bench under where it mounts but no access to the inside of the bench, so bolting it down won't work.


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## Zum (Aug 18, 2012)

Glad to hear you saved the TM.
Shame you can't get underneath and bolt it on,try googling isolator bolts or well nuts.
I've read mixed reveiws on them though so maybe some members can give you some first hand experience...sorry I can't,bolted on.


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## Buddychrist (Aug 18, 2012)

The next time you install the puck put a nice coat of JB weld on the bottom before you screw it down.


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## Leelatt (Aug 18, 2012)

I was thinking about using the JB weld but the issue is the platform is carpeted, didn't think it would hold as well. 

if I were to remove the platform and epoxy a steel plate to it, then bolt the puck to the other side through said steel plate, then re-screw the platform down, do you think this would be enough to stop the puck from ripping up again?


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## Buddychrist (Aug 19, 2012)

Not steel because of galvanic corrosion

Put aluminum plates on both sides and you'll be set!


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## Leelatt (Aug 27, 2012)

well I got the aluminum plate under the platform and above it as well so the wood is just a filler, seems a bit more stable, tried pushing on the motor when it was deployed on the trailer, didn't feel like it would rip out but it does pull up a bit, the problem with the quick release bracket is that the puck is in the middle of the motor base so there's nothing holding the back portion of the motor base from lifting up, it's not a great design but I can't leave the motor on the boat 24/7 as someone already tried to steal my #55 endura c2 off the boat when I got it the first time last year, luckily having a very loud dog scares people away.

the issue I'm facing now is that the boat is still pulling driving at an angle, I have the motor mounted at the center line, it deploys dead center, but when I have it pointing forward trying to drive straight, the boat rides with the bow at 1 o'clock and the transom at 7 o'clock while moving towards 12 o'clock. I have the #55 endura c2 on the transom locked at 12 o'clock to act as a rudder as some of you have suggested but it's not working it seems. (also serves as an emergency motor if my bow one decides to rip off again, it was not fun paddling 100+ yards back to dock.) 

is there anything else that could be causing this?
and for the suggestion of clamping a piece of metal to the transom to act as a rudder, does anyone have pictures of one they've made?

how far down off the bow should the motor be? I had it about 8 inches under the surface of the water but the boat didn't seem to be moving all that much faster than when I used to use just the #55 motor to drive the boat. I figured the #80 TM would be much more powerful and faster than the #55, was this a misconception? I know I added about 100lbs of aluminum and wood to the boat but it should still go faster should it not? 

and finally, is there any bonus to running both the bow mount #80 terrova + the #55 endura at the same time? like have the 55 locked in the forward position at all times to propel the boat while the 80 pulls the boat and steers?

hoping to figure this all out as these problems have put a downer on how proud/excited I was about how good the boat looks after the decking modifications.


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## Zum (Aug 27, 2012)

Trolling motors aren't built for speed purposes,it's as simple as that.
Your 80lber is more powerful but speed and power are two different things,gearing and mostly your prop is whats limiting your speed.I bet your 80lbs will get you to the top speed quicker then the 55 but it's still only going to be around 3-6mph.
I've heard that someone does make a different style prop for some TM's but I've never tried one.

As far as your boat traveling at an angle,are you sure the stern TM is straight?
Only reason I say is because if my gas motor is alittle off center,the boat will travel at an angle(rudder).

Sorry can't help you with your mounting problem as I'm having a hard time understanding whats actually happening?
Maybe a picture would help us.


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## Leelatt (Aug 28, 2012)

I will try to get pictures up next week, I'm leaving later today for vacation.

in the mean time, maybe this will help:

https://store.minnkotamotors.com/products/392894/MKA-21_Quick_Release_Bracket

this is the bracket I'm curently using to attach my motor to the boat. that center "puck" with the 4 screws gets mounted to the deck of the boat, the outter rectangle piece gets attached to the motor's base. that little handle thing slides out to seperate the puck from the base. it's designed so you just drop the motor on top of the puck and then slide the handle in to lock them together.

the right side of the bracket in the image is the front, (where the motor would deploy over the bow). as you can see, there is a large space between the last 2 screws on the left side and the end of the bracket, this portion is what's pulling up when I deploy the motor and put any type of pressure on the deployed shaft/prop area.

I'm wondering if it's worth getting one of these instead:

https://store.minnkotamotors.com/products/392897/MKA-32_Quick_Release_Bracket_with_Cover

https://store.minnkotamotors.com/products/392893/MKA-16-02_Quick_Release_Bracket


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## nlester (Aug 28, 2012)

I think your tracking problem will require a bigger rudder. I only have a 32# minn Kota on the front of a 10' semi-v so I can get away with a small rudder on the back or have my 2.5 hp in the water to keep the boat alined. Think about it, a big part of the lower end of my motor is rudder shaped. Your 55# only has a small tab on the bottom that is rudder shaped, so I don't think it does you much good keeping the boat tracking straight when you are using the bow mount. I think that your 80# can cause a lot more torque on your boat than my little 32# and requires a bigger rudder than what you are providing. Play around with a simple one made of wood and some c-clamps to clamp it to your transom until you determine the size that you need, then make it pretty. Also, I think the futher your bow motor is off of the centerline, probably the torque involved and the more rudder you will need. 

Ever since I was out with a friend that ran head on into a stump with his 24v bow mount and crack his mounting bracket, I have used a safty line attaching my troling motor to the boat.


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## Buddychrist (Aug 28, 2012)

I say you could do a dual rudder setup using two fins from a hydrofoil mounted on the rear of the boat. 

You could put them on a bracket in the center and if you really wanted control install a small swivel, and a steering stick up front and you could swing the rear where you wanted as long as you are moving!


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## Leelatt (Sep 25, 2012)

Well I'm back from travelling and I figured out all of the issues,

for the mounting problem I switched over to the MKA-16-02, it's very stable and there is ZERO play/wiggle in the motor and it doesn't feel like it will rip up from the wood deck like the last one did, got to test it out the last few days at my aunt and uncle's lake house, hit a stump at full speed (not intentional and full speed of the trolling motor) and it didn't even phase the motor one bit, mount didn't even budge.

as for the driving at an angle problem I bolted a small piece of wood (sealed it first) to my endura 55# transom motor's shaft just above the motor housing and it's keeping the boat steering straight now. you were right, the little tab at the bottom wasn't enough.


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## T-MAN (Sep 25, 2012)

I have the tracker 1542 and mine is installed all the way to the right side as far as possible.. it pulls and drives great


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