mounting my minn-kota in the anchor nest

[dragonfly]

after drawing out but before cutting any metal I make a jig, and test fit and function. with the front railing and the CR anchor nest I want to keep I decided to make a receiver for the anchor nest so it will be above everything. the thing I needed was to be able to swing and lock it port, center, and starboard. so depending what I was doing, I could move it out of the way, plus it will be in the center of the boat when deployed. after cutting out the plywood and figured out the swivel point I screwed it together and mounted it in the nest and screwed down the minn=kota

this is it stood up

this is it starboard

center

and port

this is it deployed

now that I know it will work I will modify the mounting plates for the locks and round the corners and add the hold down's to keep it in place. when adding the skeg I noticed I needed to narrow the sides by a 1/2 inch to fit into the minn-kota motor lock saddles. so all in all it will fit my boat with the anchor nest. now off to order the aluminum and parts. dfly

 

[autorick]

Nice! Show us more pics as you build it. I went with a quick mount but have thinking of doing the same as you.

 

[dragonfly]

while I am waiting on the aluminum to get here I decided to work on the electrical starting with the plugs. I don't intend on leaving the TM on the boat so I needed a hi amperage male and female connection that would take 100 amps continuous and the 2 prong plugs we use on the semi trailers with lift gates are just what I needed. they have 4 ga wire terminals and the pins are huge so they will easily take the load

I didn't like the way the bottom stuck out

so I dissembled it and took it over to the mill and made it parallel

then reassembled it

now it is ready for installation minus the sealing rings. now off to the lathe to make the swivel pin for the TM bracket. dfly

 

[dragonfly]

I setup on boat to lay out for welding and check for fit





now I have to weld drill holes to mount and lay out for the left center and right locks. dfly

 

[dragonfly]

I picked up the aluminum today and started with the swivel base and turned the SS hub


then started on the side pieces and beveled to fit and weld

then laid out the bottom and drilled for the hub

the set up the top plate and machined for the hub first the bore then the step


now to arc and bevel the end

here's the pieces ready for test fitting

next to setup on the boat. dfly

 

[Mharri333]

Beautiful work. Thanks for sharing the pics.

 

[dragonfly]

thanx mharri333, this could be mounted flat on the deck if you didn't have railing or an anchor nest so you could have the trolling motor on ether side, that way you can move it to the opposite side so you don't have to step over it when at the dock no mater what side of the dock you load. obviously this works better with larger boats with walk thru cabs and not really needed with smaller or open boats. but it dose put the motor in the center of the boat so you are pulling straight on instead off to the side which might be a big thing but I feel the I-pilot doesn't work as hard. dfly

 

[dragonfly]

now that the motor is mounted I needed to make the battery holder so I got some aluminum angle and cut to size and welded together

and fit the boxes

like I said I want this setup to be able to be removed easily so I need to make a trip to town to find some non skid rubber for the bottom I will set this in the bow


and I will strap it down so it doesn't move around. almost ready to hit the water. dfly

 

[kok-head]

now that the motor is mounted I needed to make the battery holder so I got some aluminum angle and cut to size and welded together

and fit the boxes

like I said I want this setup to be able to be removed easily so I need to make a trip to town to find some non skid rubber for the bottom I will set this in the bow


and I will strap it down so it doesn't move around. almost ready to hit the water. dfly

nice looking setup, it prolly doesn't matter too much in Oregon but here in Idaho my batteries heat up quick in the sun so i shot some white spray paint onto my battery box to keep it a bit cooler, i've heard mild heat doesn't drain batt life too badly but i know extreme heat or cold will drain it down substantially

 

[dragonfly]

yea we have to cover them to keep the rain off laugh hyst it usually doesn't get that hot but thanx I do have some white snow roof/tool handle type coating I will put on there just incase. thanx again for the idea. dfly

 

[Mharri333]

Very clean work. I wish I had your skills Dfly.

 

[bdogdt47]

Nice job, Dragonfly. What type and group of batteries? Do you have an onboard charger?

 

[dragonfly]

thanx guys, for now I run the schwab group 27 DC lead acid and just going to use my 24v battery charger this year to get going and see how it performs . then if it works out well I will make a spot mount the batts under the bow and get a on board charger for those batts and maybe go to a set of group 31 AGMs but until then that will be another winter project. I got to go fishing tooexcited