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Post by suprasteve on Apr 9, 2023 18:33:11 GMT -5
I've been working on this pet project with the help of a friend who can weld aluminum over the past several weeks. Happy with the way it turned out, and figured I'd share on here. I wanted to add a trolling motor to my boat, but the bow of my 2660 slopes down for the last couple inches all around the bow, and I also didn't want to lose my anchor and windlass in the process of adding a trolling motor. My solution was to elevate it slightly and extend to the edge of the rail, so the anchor rode and pulpit piece ran under the motor mount. Initial concept was something along these lines: Rather than immediately jump to trying to fabricate out of aluminum, I made a plywood and 2x4 template to get my angles and dimensions right: Once I was happy with the template, I ordered aluminum, spent some time with a jigsaw and router, and got the pieces cut out. Enter my friend who welded the aluminum for me. Prior to powdercoat, drilled both the holes to mount to the bow and the holes for the motor's "puck": After powdercoat, mounting and installing the puck, it looked like this: And with the motor itself mounted: Ready for the initial water test, fingers crossed that it works the way I intended...
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Post by fishnfool on Apr 9, 2023 20:42:34 GMT -5
Nice work!
Let us know how it goes.
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jerryk
Captain
When not online I'm likely on Knot Online
Posts: 599
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Post by jerryk on Apr 10, 2023 6:48:29 GMT -5
Well done!
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Post by abouttime2fish on Apr 10, 2023 17:57:27 GMT -5
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Post by finatic on Apr 11, 2023 6:01:59 GMT -5
Awesome job.
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Post by nickbhw on Apr 21, 2023 9:46:56 GMT -5
Looks great. Nice work.
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MDM
Seaman
Posts: 8
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Post by MDM on Sept 11, 2023 12:24:12 GMT -5
Just curious how it worked out? Anything you would change? Do you happen to have the dimensions you used?
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Post by fishnfool on Sept 11, 2023 13:35:21 GMT -5
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MDM
Seaman
Posts: 8
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Post by MDM on Sept 12, 2023 9:26:10 GMT -5
I was really interested in the part about keeping the windless, believe me I have looked all over the web for mounting on a 2660
As much as I dislike my v600 it does have it's uses, I love the idea of how in the original thread it is mounted over the windless.
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Post by suprasteve on Sept 24, 2023 15:58:07 GMT -5
Hi MDM, sorry, I don't log on here all that often. So far, so good. When the anchor gets to the roller, the chain "slaps" the underside of the plate at that instant (due to the anchor's shank elevating the rode mid-transition), but only at the very end of the retrieve and hasn't caused any damage/issues yet. I'll keep checking it for potential wear on the powder coat. I actually just threw away the plywood template I had made to start a couple weeks ago, figured "nobody is ever going to need this thing". I could have gotten away with making it ~1/2" shorter than I did and still cleared the pulpit roller without issue. Probably not a big difference either way, but a hair more shaft depth and a hair less to look over when driving the boat. On choppy days, my 87" Minn Kota will still pop out of the water every now and then. I suppose nobody ever says "man, I wish I went shorter on my trolling motor shaft", but I'd probably go bigger than an 84" in any case if you elevate it at all. My top plate is 3/8". Again, so far so good, but I noticed afterwards that most people doing something similar go with 1/2" plate thickness. More couldn't hurt anything. I don't recall exactly, but I believe the plate I cut it out of was 11" x 18". The mounts were just 2"x3" box channel. Any other questions, let me know!
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MDM
Seaman
Posts: 8
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Post by MDM on Sept 27, 2023 15:31:03 GMT -5
Thanks for the reply - really glad to hear it is working well.
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