djenks
New Member
Hello - I am a brand new member here, and have my first need of accessing the collective wisdom of Sea Ray owners who may have encountered the same situation I have.
I just purchased a 1998 215 Express Cruiser. It currently has a very cool trolling motor setup with remote control steering, electric start, etc. that is great for fishing. The mount (made by Remote Troll), situates the motor a fair distance aft of the swim deck to accommodate the remote steering mechanism. When the motor is raised out of the water, it adds a full 3 feet to the overall length of the boat.
I have a 25' slip in Roche Harbor. With this motor mount and the motor up, I use every inch of the 25' (no room for any motion while tied up at the dock since moving even an inch will overstep my paint marks at one end or the other. So.... looking at how I can re-mount this motor on a scissors type mount minimizing the amount the kicker adds to the overall boat length. I am OK with sacrificing the remote trolling capability, since fishing will not be my primary use of the boat.
Thus far, all kicker motor mounts I've seen create issues that rule them out. There is a swim platform on the back of the boat. This means there is no flat, vertical surface to which a motor mount can be attached. A mount that uses the swim platform, (horizontal mount), does not allow a motor to be positioned low enough to avoid constant cavitation, even with a long shaft motor. Even if I found one that provided a motor position low enough to work, when the motor is tipped forward to raise it out of the water, the added length exceeds the slip space. Scissor mount will be the way to go so raising the motor out of the water is done by vertical motion as opposed to tipping it, but I've not found any that provide enough vertical travel AND have a horizontal mounting plate.
I can't imagine other SeaRay owners with swim platforms have not encountered this problem, so would appreciate any insights gained in solving it. I'm leaning toward a custom fabricated bracket, but have to wonder if SeaRay or others haven't already solved this problem with something that's already on the market.
Please don't tell me to get a bigger slip, or leave the motor in the water. The slip cost goes through the roof over 25', and marine growth and corrosion resulting from leaving the motor in the water is not a good solution for me.
Thanks!
David
I just purchased a 1998 215 Express Cruiser. It currently has a very cool trolling motor setup with remote control steering, electric start, etc. that is great for fishing. The mount (made by Remote Troll), situates the motor a fair distance aft of the swim deck to accommodate the remote steering mechanism. When the motor is raised out of the water, it adds a full 3 feet to the overall length of the boat.
I have a 25' slip in Roche Harbor. With this motor mount and the motor up, I use every inch of the 25' (no room for any motion while tied up at the dock since moving even an inch will overstep my paint marks at one end or the other. So.... looking at how I can re-mount this motor on a scissors type mount minimizing the amount the kicker adds to the overall boat length. I am OK with sacrificing the remote trolling capability, since fishing will not be my primary use of the boat.
Thus far, all kicker motor mounts I've seen create issues that rule them out. There is a swim platform on the back of the boat. This means there is no flat, vertical surface to which a motor mount can be attached. A mount that uses the swim platform, (horizontal mount), does not allow a motor to be positioned low enough to avoid constant cavitation, even with a long shaft motor. Even if I found one that provided a motor position low enough to work, when the motor is tipped forward to raise it out of the water, the added length exceeds the slip space. Scissor mount will be the way to go so raising the motor out of the water is done by vertical motion as opposed to tipping it, but I've not found any that provide enough vertical travel AND have a horizontal mounting plate.
I can't imagine other SeaRay owners with swim platforms have not encountered this problem, so would appreciate any insights gained in solving it. I'm leaning toward a custom fabricated bracket, but have to wonder if SeaRay or others haven't already solved this problem with something that's already on the market.
Please don't tell me to get a bigger slip, or leave the motor in the water. The slip cost goes through the roof over 25', and marine growth and corrosion resulting from leaving the motor in the water is not a good solution for me.
Thanks!
David