2014 SS231 Trolling motor mounting questions

njm130

Hurricane support, 

How do you mount a trolling motor to the bow of a SS231 so it clears the anchor locker and stows safely and out of the way? 

Is there a swivel-lock mounting plate that allows you to retrieve the motor and turn it to the side before laying it down?

Can I have the three trolling motor batteries double as house batteries or when wired in series will it over-volt the 12v electronics? 

Thanks for the help.

M99

Here's how I set up a trolling motor on my new 2016 2200 DC OB.  There really was no room for a foot control or to fold the Trolling motor down unless I wanted it sticking way out the side off the boat.  I also wanted it removable since I only use it occasionally.  The dealer showed me the various options and he recommended that instead of one of the high tech trolling motors, I just go with a simple 80# Pontoon Boat Trolling motor that is easily removable on the left side of the bow opposite the swim step. It required a long reach to the water. Then he installed 2 x 12V batteries exclusive to the trolling motor and an on board charger for the 24V motor. There is an external outlet installed to plug the Trolling Motor into instead of connecting directly to the batteries, and there is a second outlet that is convenient to plug an extension cord into to charge the batteries.  I didn't want to connect these extra batteries to the alternator because I already had 2 house and starting batteries and didn't feel that a 50 amp alternator would be able to keep up with 4 batteries. That set up worked out very nicely and is very neat and clean.  The 80# Trolling motor is adequate if not ideal for this size boat. It weighs around 4500 all up.  Madisonville Marine sold me the boat and did this installation for me.

Also for the above poster that asked about using his 3 Trolling Motor batteries for back up starting batteries or house batteries, it doesn't matter how many batteries you have in series or what the total voltage available is.  Since they are each still 12V batteries, you can only use 1 of them at a time for starting or house since you have a 12V boat system. You do that by attaching the wires to the Boat across the Pos and Neg terminals of ONLY ONE battery, either the first or last one in the series of 3. If you go across multiple batteries as you do for the actual Trolling Motor that needs 36V, you will burn up a lot of stuff on the boat.

njm130

Thanks for the help.  Have you had any issues holding the boat in place in a 3-4kt current, or have you tried?   I intend on using it around an intercoastal pass and am scared 80v may not be enough or may operate at a higher draw and drain the batteries quicker than desired.  

M99

I would say that the 80 Amp motor is just enough, but it is enough. In 3 or 4 knots, you shouldn't have any problem. In 10 knots, no way will it hold.  For a pro fisherman, it would be a different story, but for occasional fishing its fine.