Trolling Motor Mount 222 Sportfish

I have been following all of the past posts for mounting trolling motors on a 222 Sportfish. All of the existing threads deal with a 197 Sportfish and I wanted to start the discussion with the 222... I have been working on a template to create a mounting bracket for the standard Minn Kota quick release mounting puck. My layout includes having the metal mounting bracket fulling covering the trolling motor bottom plate. I have seen many brackets that do not provide any support for the full trolling motor mounting bracket where just the puck has some kind of structural bracket below. For those that have these sorts of mounting brackets, do you see any drawbacks? Is there any flexing when the motor is driving in the opposite direction or do you pretty much count on the fact that current will always make sure the torque on the bottom plate will always be putting more force on the back side of the mount?

I think the trolling motor works best opposite of the anchor locker door swing which is why I decided to mount the motor on the starboard side. I made a "rubbing" of the non-skid surface up near the starboard side of the anchor locker to come up with a good fit. I am able to reach under the surface through the anchor locker to be able to attach the mounting nuts on the bottom of the bots I plan to use. I made a plywood prototype to make sure that the shaft and everything would be clear of the side of the gunnel and all seems to work well.

I am working with a local metal shop to try and stamp out the bracket I need. I was planning on using 1/2" aluminum for the bracket. My metal shop thinks that is overkill but I want to make sure that flexing is limited. I was curious if anyone else would be interested in this bracket as it may be beneficial if my metal shop can stamp out several of these from one stock plate of aluminum. If so, let me know. It may be more economical to get many cut out versus just one...

This image is my latest thoughts on my bracket design:



I am considering limiting the metal bracket extents only to what is required to accommodate the quick release puck but was hoping for some feedback from others before I do... Right now this outline includes the entire base of the trolling motor mounting bracket. Also, the actual boat perimeter extends 3 or 4 inches outside of the non-skid surface so not that much will be protruding over the gunnel. Also, the angle of the puck allows the shaft that extends back towards the stern to not impede using the seat on that side.

Just looking for some thoughts before I pull the trigger. Trolling motor will be here next week and I plan on getting this done pretty quick!

... I was planning on using 1/2" aluminum for the bracket. My metal shop thinks that is overkill but I want to make sure that flexing is limited. I was curious if anyone else would be interested in this bracket as it may be beneficial if my metal shop can stamp out several of these from one stock plate of aluminum. If so, let me know. It may be more economical to get many cut out versus just one...
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As you probably already know I have built two of these. If I remember correctly I gave my template to someone with a 222SF that was going to modify it a little to fit. These plates are not too hard to make nor require fancy tools unless you tap holes (I did). They just take time to cut slowly "massage" the aluminum corners. I built my template shape with cardboard first. Measured and aligned 100 times then went directly to the aluminum. Having someone machine one is definitely a lot easier. But I had more time than $$ There are two key items: First you want to have it aligned in a way that when stowed the unit the unit is out of the way on both sides so it doesn't interfere with people sitting in the bow nor hitting the dock side walls when docked. Second is for it to be able to drop with the shaft 1/2" to 1" from the bump rail.
As for the aluminum I highly recommend at least 5/8". I used 1/2" on my last one and works perfectly (you can see on my videos) but I liked more the 5/8". As far as covering the whole base of the TM I know it is not necessary. The shapes I used were totally defined for the amount of holding thru bolts I wanted to use and not that. Build few and you will be able to sell them for sure. Would be great also if you make a template of the shape and share here. I have provided mine to over 10-15 people over last three years and have shared pictures of some of those built. Let me know if I can be of help. God luck!

I should have done a little more research... I didn't realize that Minn Kota says you cannot use the quick mount bracket on the 112# 72" shaft units. I spoke with them today and they said that due to the added distance of the extra foot that the torque is much greater at the mount. Shortly after they released the 72" units, the quick release brackets started to fail and people were losing their motors over the side! The pins basically fail and shear out of the quick release puck. So this mounting bracket needs to allow for the trolling motor to be permanently mounted on it.

Hope the mods get the spam under control...

I reworked the bracket for a direct mount of the motor to the bracket without the quick connect. My metal shop said they were having a hard time finding the marine grade aluminum in 5/8" so they are going to use 3/4" which is probably overkill. I should have it this week and hopefully have the motor mounted for the weekend.

The image earlier in this thread was updated with the latest layout...

If the puck was weak for that TM then 3/4" aluminum would be good insurance to flex.

Project completed. Bracket was made from 3/4" marine grade aluminum. I used 3/8" countersunk screws with lock washers and nuts to attach the bracket to the boat and used the 1/4" for attaching the trolling motor to the mount. Again, since Minn Kota does not recommend using the quick release brackets on the 112 lbs 72" shaft, I have mounted the motor directly to the mount and to the boat permanently. There is one 1/4" bolt that goes through all of the way through the trolling motor , bracket and the boat deck. Not sure how to secure the unit from theft except they would have to disassemble the trolling motor sides to get to the through bolt... Maybe I should use a specialty or keyed screw?

That looks great. I really doubt someone will go all the effort to try to unscrew the whole thing to steal it. Maybe only at Miami.

My puck started breaking as Minn Kota said it would. I had a puck made out of aluminum and no more issues. Plan on welding it to my bracket to make it one piece then powder coating to make it pleasing to the eyes when I don't have the trolling motor on and to avoid corrosion.

They told me it was the metal rods in the u-shaped insert piece that locked the motor onto the mount that was shearing and failing. Was it the plastic puck that is failing or the metal insert? Did you just take the Minn Kota mounting puck and have it duplicated out of aluminum?