Need Mounting Help

[CaptainDucky]

I'm attaching a couple of photos of my Mark Twain 1977 sterndrive on the bow side. I just purchased a Minn Kota Powerdrive v2 55lb thrust with a 48" shaft and from the picture you can see where I am going to put it. I also purchased the Minn Kota composite pd quick release MKA-21 for easy removal and I also purchased the Minn Kota trolling motor plug and receptacle. Now comes the tricky part, it says in the paperwork for the receptacle to check the Minn Kota paperwork for optional fuse placement on power line, and when I did it says that I need a 60amp breaker fuse of some sort. Have you heard of those?

I just need a picture guide of how to do this since the installation instructions are kinda hard to follow. I can follow them, but pictures and ideas of other people with these already mounted will give me ideas as well. I have always had great help from you guys on here, so any ideas and suggestions are accepted.

Thanks again
CaptainDucky

 

[CaptainDucky]

Re: Need Mounting Help

Should I use rubber well nuts? and what size if so?

What would the purpose of these be?

DD

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Need Mounting Help

Well Nuts provide two things for you. 1) they eliminate the need to reach under the deck to attach washers, lockwashers and nuts. 2) The rubber provides noise isolation from the deck. The well nuts provided in the kit from MinnKota are the right size.

You need a 60 amp circuit breaker OR fuse in the POSITIVE wire running from the trolling motor battery to the receptacle. That fuse or circuit breaker needs to be within six inches of the battery. Here is a diagram of simple trolling motor wiring. The circuit breaker is available right here on iBoats. Heres the link to it.

http://www.iboats.com/60-AMP-Marine...2601145--**********.810037835--view_id.390978

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Need Mounting Help

I'm not a big fan of well nuts as I had to drill all of them out while replacing my last TM... SS screws were corroded to the brass insert of the well nuts and stripped out the rubber plug when trying to back out the screws. I made some 1 1/2 " x 3/8" thick rubber washers (out of a Fernco plumbing no-hub coupler) when I installed the new TM, then through bolted to the bow. If you are installing into a blind area then well nuts are your only real choice though.

SS has a great diagram for the wiring. Check out this place for the wire and terminal connectors.

http://genuinedealz.com/

I'd go with 6ga wire, though you might get away with 8ga if it's a short run. Look at Minn Kota's or Blue Seas website for their wire size calculator.

 

[CaptainDucky]

Re: Need Mounting Help

Thanks for the ideas!

The paperwork for the installtion says to go with either #8 or #10 gauge wire. I chose #10 since it was a little less expensive. Now I am thinking that the 60amp breaker should have been purchased with all other materials, but they never say to do that.

I also got a package of yellow 12-10 ring terminals to put on the ends where the batteries are. Does it matter if they are the same color as long as I put them on the correct terminals?

The run on the cable will be at least 10 feet so does that mean I need #6 instead?

Thanks for the picture it really helped. I don't have great access to the front, but I think it is manageable so if you guys think we could get rid of the well nuts we could go with something else?

DD

 

[CaptainDucky]

Re: Need Mounting Help

Ok...here is where I'm at. I originally purchased 8/3 guage to run about 16ft of line to the receptacle. mmmmmmmkmm,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I took back the 8/3 guage wire to home depot that it was 25ft for almost $50 and as I was at the boat store looking to purchase 6 guage wire I realized that I was going to have to get red and black at $3/ft and that is when it hit me that I was fixing to spend around $90-$100 on just battery lead.

So it dawned on me that I would just get another battery and put it up in the bow and have it fixed to the seat when we are fishing. This then poses another problem, I still need the 50amp on the post circuit breaker and need to know where to get them? Boat stores around here don't have them. Secondly, going this route I will then only need roughly 1 - 2 feet of battery lead to run from motor to new battery via the plug and receptacle.
Would I be able to get 10/2or3 guage wire to run that short of a distance through the 50amp breaker? That would cut my cost almost in half if I can do it this way. Any thoughts and ideas?

Thanks
DD

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Need Mounting Help

A source for the circuit breaker (like right here on iBoats) was provided in my last post. Also, 10 gauge wire is too small for a 20 foot run (10 feet up and 10 feet back). And if you intended to run that troller off the starting battery you had best have a tow rope with you. YES -- you need a second battery, and an on-board charger to charge that second battery. A 55# MinnKota draws a maximum of 46 amps of power. Your starting battery would be toast in a couple of hours. As for well nuts -- a dab of "anti seize" on the bolts will prevent corrosion.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Need Mounting Help

Forget the Home Depot wire and check out the link I posted to Genuine Dealz, the wire is inexpensive, but high quality tinned marine wire. You will spend less there than at Home Depot and have it in 2-3 days.

I'm not sure if this type of breaker is available in a 60 amp size, but they are a lot cheaper than the one SS posted, $10 instead of $40. It's cheaper though, so you get what you pay for.

http://www.iboats.com/24-Volt-Marin...35058247--**********.082647855--view_id.39527

Here are a couple links to figure out what size of wire you'll need:
http://www.minnkotamotors.com/what_gauge_wire_for_trolling_motor.aspx?__taxonomyid=977

http://beta.circuitwizard.bluesea.com/

 

[CaptainDucky]

Re: Need Mounting Help

Thanks for all the advice. After some deliberation, I decided to bypass the wiring etc... and go with the minn kota power center. This will be easy to remove from boat and it has the 60amp breaker in it along with an aux 15amp for powering the fishfinder if I so choose to make it portable.

I do have one question, After looking at the pictures in my original post, do you see any problems with putting the motor on the bow decking. I know it is large enough to handle the motor, but the lip going out is what I'm concerned with. Does anyone see a problem with this at all? In all the pictures I've been able to find it doesn't seem as though it will but before I mount I need some helpful tips if there are any?

Thanks
DD

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Need Mounting Help

The reason for the difference in price on breakers is called "quality". The cheap one is an auto-reset type whereas the more expensive one has a lever (off-reset) on it to turn the system off if desired and to reset the breaker should it trip. It is also made with better quality rather than old bean cans.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Need Mounting Help

ST, that's a manual reset breaker I posted, the reset plunger is kind of hidden on the LH side. I agree it's not as good of quality as the one you posted, but I'd be $200 into breakers if I bought the high dollar ones...

the lip going out is what I'm concerned with.

You'll have to mount it temporarily and see how it fits, some of the MK's have a small foot print and the angled face could cause clearance problems. My old boat had an angled face like that and I had to make a mounting plate to offset the TM, so the TM's base hung out past the bow a bit (not past the rub rail, but past the top of the bow).