Bow rail vs trolling motor

[GoneFission]

Daniel - don't forget to fill the little section of rail you take out with foam so it will float!     Otherwise, Mr. Murphy will ensure it's dropped overboard and sinks the next time you take it out.  

[daniel123]

Good thought, but the 1" dia sleeve has to remain hollow to slide over the 7/8" dia original bow railing to open the slot.

[GoneFission]

Keeper chain?

[daniel123]

There's a thought...Ideas?

[MarshMarlowe196]

I installed a Riptide on the bow of my '99 Osprey and kept the bow rail. The project is detailed in an article coming out in the next issue of BoatUS magazine

Looks like the article was published last month. What a great writeup, and a novel workaround

http://www.boatus.com/magazine/traileri ... -motor.asp

[daniel123]

Thanks for saying so. That's not me in the BoatUS article pictures, BTW, but my buddy, who is a union electrician and a resourceful dude who does all the heavy lifting and let's me take his picture doing so. That 200 Osprey is a project boat I use for DIY articles in BoatUS, Boating, Heartland Boating and other boating pubs I contribute to (I'm a freelance outdoor writer, based in Ohio). I'll be documenting a rubrail insert replacement, adding a swim ladder, installing hatch latches, adding U/W LEDS, upgrading to SeaStar hydraulic steering and replacing the fuel lines in upcoming articles and will try to share links to them here, since they all feature an Aquasport. I'll try to paste in a photo of the bow rail job here that show it better on the Asport. Having this forum as a resource is why I am in my third Aquasport and we are lucky to have these guys who run it and our fellow members who contribute.

Oh well. Even when I save the shots to their lowest res available (57 KB!) I can't get them to upload and post here. Something about them being too many pixels high. I'll try to place them in my album for anyone interested.

[daniel123]

OK, the two photos showing the bow rail adaptation on the Osprey are the first two appearing in My (daniel123) Albums.





As Steely Dan so aptly stated: "FM"

[daniel123]

Whoever accomplished that photo paste-in is painting me as more tech savvy than the reality...but thanks!

[gran398]

Excellent work Dan!

[daniel123]

Thanks, gran!

[Aquamaniac]

Hey Daniel123,
I am the OP and have to say, great solution and great write up.....very helpful! I had been designing a slide mechanism, but this is so simple and gets the job done.  Looks like I will go with it instead!

Wonder if you would share the specifics on the trolling motor you mounted on the 200. Thrust? Length of shaft?
Seeing as how I have a 1990 200 Striper.....it would definitely help me out.  ;)
Thanks!

[uglystick]

On my 200 Osprey I have both. The bow rail is split so the TM fits in the front. I like the rail it is a little safety margin when at the bow.
The trolling motor is much better in front because of maneuvering It is much easier to pull your bow around than to push it around from the stern. I have had both. That is one reason why large boats have bow thrusters.  Another point is when a stern mounted TM is stowed it is usually in the way of things like fish wells, stern storage, etc.

[Aquamaniac]

Figured a pic or two was in order......considering the wonderful resource this thread has been for me.
Finally got this installed on my 1990 200 Striper.





Thanks!!!!

[RickK]

Nicely done 

[CTsalt12]

OK, the two photos showing the bow rail adaptation on the Osprey are the first two appearing in My (daniel123) Albums.





As Steely Dan so aptly stated: "FM" <!-- s:mrgreen: --><!-- s:mrgreen: -->

Hey Daniel-I'm wondering where you put the batteries for this trolling motor on your 175?  You'll see I have another chain talking about this.  I am debating the bow vs. the console, love to hear your thoughts?