On Dec 19, 12:39*pm, Wayne.B wrote:
On Mon, 19 Dec 2011 08:46:51 -0800 (PST), genius
wrote:









Hey all,

We have a 2000 caravelle 176 open bow and my dad wants to install a
trolling motor. *He got a Minnkota transom mount with 54" length (prop
to motor) and planned to just clamp it on the fiberglass siderails
behind driver or passenger seats. *The problem is the siderails are
tapered at the top where the tonneau cover goes and the trolling motor
keeps slipping off. *We want the trolling motor to be removable since
it will rarely be used and we don't want a bow mount because a lot of
times, in colder weather, we run with the front tonneau snapped in
place to reduce wind and the motor and/or bracket would interfere with
the tonneau. *We were really hoping to have a motor that we can run
right on the boat that's easy to remove and store without any
permanent brackets. *Does such a thing exist?

I was also thinking on the stern, there's a flat area near the ladder
that might be a good place for a permanently mounted motor that we can
lift in and out of the water, like a bow mounted. *However, my dad is
in his late 70's and having to crawl over the engine cover to get to
the trolling motor seems like a recipe for disaster to me!

===

You'll probably have to make a tapered shim out of something like teak
or *starboard and then screw it in place on the inside of the siderail
where you want the motor to be mounted. * *The idea of course is to
make the mounting surfaces parallel by having the taper of the shim
complimentary *to the taper of the siderail.

Thanks for the response. That is kinda what I was thinking but has a
couple downfalls, with one being drilling holes in the side of the
boat. I also can't seem to find anything prefabbed and my fab skills
are shotty to say the least.