Trolling Motor Mounting

[harold_kistner]

I am mounting my trolling motor with the Bass Cat supplied hardware and have a question. The plastic plate with the rubber washers which way do the rubber washers go, against the boat or up against the bracket??

[harold_kistner]

The rubber washers are imbedded into the plastics plate on one side which fits across the mount. I think that I’ll place the washers against the boat.

[Kevin Short]

Negative, Boss Man. Black plates go down first with rubber washers on top. TM bracket sits on washers. Should have two aluminum backer plates that go under the deck as reinforcement. Tighten everything up tight and hit the pond.

[harold_kistner]

Okay Kevin thanks for the information got it done now on to the next chore.

[Bass Cat Boats]

One more thought and things you need to do…

When decks are set they raise, twist and flex before the mounts are installed.

When mounting a trolling motor bracket you absolutely MUST level the bracket. That can mean a bushing spacer, extra rubber washer or other system to level the bracket. The top edge of the extruded bracket, not the scissor arms and upper bracket, must be Set on one plane.

 

The front and rear of the bracket must be on a parallel plane and this may require spacing the bracket on one corner, adjusting tension or loosening one bolt over the others to prevent preloading twist into the bracket.

Twist is what makes the brackets hard to deploy and why you have to ‘step’ on some brackets to lift them up.

Just keep the front and rear on one plane.

BCB

[harold_kistner]

Ok thanks for the info. I did notice that the base plate of my Lift Saver mount for the MotorGuide Xi5 did not set level on the plastic pad rubber washers so I did shim the low side to take the wobble out of the base plate across the mounting pads. I used a suggestion I read somewhere of gluing the flat washers and lock nuts to the aluminum plates and that hint really worked fine when it became time to install them on the underneath side of the deck with the bolts.

 

[Gasbasser]

I don’t have the black plate Kevin and you guys are referring to.  My MK fortrex sat on my deck with black rubber washers between the boat and the mount.  Does this sound right?  2010 Jag

 

Britt

[Bass Cat Boats]

The 2010 Jaguar was before we started making the 1/2” black plastic spacer with insets in the plastic for rubber washers. In that era we cut the Wellnut off and used the top rectangular rubber head as a bumper.

[Gasbasser]

Ok, thanks.  Mine were round rubber washer looking things.

Britt

[Author]

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