Which bow mount and why

[Lucky_Phill]

Hi team,

I am considering installing a bow mount on my 4.25 Allycraft. Reel Mate

I fish saltwater 99% of the time and in Moreton Bay, Hervey Bay, Gold Coast and offshore, so I fish current, swell and wind.

The questions I have are :-

1.... will a spotlock hold the boat in the position and direction I deployed the motor, despite wind and current ?

2... is there significant differences in brands, besides cost ?

3... suggestion on what I should be looking at in terms of thrust, leg length ?

4... Ideally and apart from manufacturer options, what battery set up should I consider. I would most likely use the bow mount for say 2 - 4 hours a trip. ?

5... It seems ideal to have an alloy extension welded to the bow by a professional.... is this necessary ?

all and any further info appreciated .............. also photos would be nice of your set-up


cheers LP

[stevej]

Every motorguide x 15 ive owned has been a bucket of crap and mercury's service was woeful

i have had a few riptides and gone through multiple pedals, but ive had 2 minnkota terrova units and they were fautless.

ive only ever had one of the early jarvis units 20 years ago and it was basic but corroded pretty quickly.

my time and the cost to go fishing is too valuable to buy a cheap unit and have my trp wrecked

[tunaticer]

Spotlocking will depend on current regardless of size....no bowmount will hold you in Thirsty Sound on a big tide. Tide rips there at 15 knots.

I had one motorguide....soon swapped that out for a powerdrive, now with a Terrova.....Terrova for the win for me.

So many reports of failures with the Ultrex.....for those dollars I would opt for the Garmin Force.

I suppose it will also come down to what sounder you run to link with it as well.

On a 4.2m boat offshore I would want a minimum of 60"

They are all reliable and they all have failures and they all work. Trust your gut.

[Dignity]

Spotlocking will depend on current regardless of size....no bowmount will hold you in Thirsty Sound on a big tide. Tide rips there at 15 knots.

I had one motorguide....soon swapped that out for a powerdrive, now with a Terrova.....Terrova for the win for me.

So many reports of failures with the Ultrex.....for those dollars I would opt for the Garmin Force.

I suppose it will also come down to what sounder you run to link with it as well.

On a 4.2m boat offshore I would want a minimum of 60"

They are all reliable and they all have failures and they all work. Trust your gut.

Agree with most of that but offshore I would definitely go for a longet shaft.
I had an Allison Vision 195 and a Motorguide with their longest shaft, it held surprisingly well in 15knots and 1.2m of sea. I had to go for a Lowrance unit to link it as Motorguide only connects to Lowrance/Simrad. Minn Kota to Hummingbird, Garmin to Garmin, don't know about the others.
May or may not influence your choices but in the Allison it was definitely easier to control the unit from the MFD, tell it to go to a WP and it did. In a tinnie, not such an issue but still a consideration. The Motorguide does have one failing, the threaded shaft the prop goes on is too short and do NOT put the split washer on as per instructions. Also use loctite on the nut. Too many lost props attest to this issue, I don't know why they haven't fixed it.
To be honest though, take the side plates off and you wonder how these things can operate in a water environment let alone salty one, albeit I was surprised how well it worked.

The Motorguide does run a 3 blade prop which does seem to make a diffetence. What you will need to work out is how you are going to power it. This is the point I would start at in a tinnie.

[chris69]

I think with this spot lock business its depends on you hull and how good it tracks and how centre its mounted all ok in fresh or little run but windage and tide and placment would play a big part on how good any brand locks you on the spot and how you think its holding you,ive seen that it can be anything from a meter to 3 meters or 5 meter with in the spot you locked onto.

And ive all ways not liked the fact that you dont know how much power is being used the do what want do,i dont own but for some types of fishing i think the spot lock is good and other situations i think they might be a pain when the head unit just rapes around the shaft and the extra price.

[Lovey80]

If you plan on taking it off shore a lot I’d definitely go 24v.

[ranmar850]

1.... will a spotlock hold the boat in the position and direction I deployed the motor, despite wind and current ?

if , by direction, you mean the actual direction the boat is pointed, it cannot, unless you were pointed directly into any wind / tide when you set the spot. or there is zero wind/tide. Think of the spotlocker as holding the spot, and the boat pivoting around it, as wind and tide play their part.

[Dignity]

if , by direction, you mean the actual direction the boat is pointed, it cannot, unless you were pointed directly into any wind / tide when you set the spot. or there is zero wind/tide. Think of the spotlocker as holding the spot, and the boat pivoting around it, as wind and tide play their part.

Or almost the equivalent of an anchor with the advantage it doesn't swing about as much.
4.
Another issue that's just been raised by a boaty I was just talking to and he is getting a new boat and can't get insurance the moment he mentioned he was putting lithium batteries in for the leccy. Seemed strange to me.

5.
Yes, ensure they are using the correct alum alloy 5083 mostly due to its strength and corrosion resistance. There is significant streeses at that point, I've seen boats having their plates rewelded as some places only use a few spot welds. One place here on the sunny coast had to change their design due to that fact.

3.
Which brand is like asking how long a piece of string is, everyone will have an opinion. I've only owned an MK and a Motorguide. The Motorguide was brilliant but you had to be able to see the little LED lights on the motor to have any idea if the thing was on etc. No idea of what speed the prop was doing, etc. Linked mine to a Lowrance unit to cater for this and while there was the advantage of marking a spot and then deploying the Motorguide to it there was still a lot of info missing.
The MK on the other hand is a 2013 model abd still going strong, I believe things lke spot lock, etc has improved significantly but the kicker for me is that the remote has a screen and you know exactly what you are doing, maybe it's my old brain but I like it that way.

[chris69]

That’s very interesting about the insurance in the US it can cost 6 k a year for EV insurance so I expect that it won’t be long before it’s here for boats too with any sort of lithium battery onboard.

[chris69]

That’s very interesting about the insurance in the US it can cost 6 k a year for EV insurance so I expect that it won’t be long before it’s here for boats too with any sort of lithium battery onboard.

[Alchemy]

Here’s some insight into motorguide. https://fb.watch/qqVcG_VLHo/?

[chris69]

Here’s some insight into motorguide. https://fb.watch/qqVcG_VLHo/?

That looks like an old motorglide you would think that the modern ones would be better built because once you play with it the warrant is gone.

[Corry]

We've just got our new 4.2 boat LP, and going through the same thing for it.
I've been looking at the Garmin Kracken, mainly as I'm planning on running Garmin MFD's and really want to be able to set a track and waypoint on the MFD and send it to the lecky. Currently I'm running a 12v 55lb MK, I manually record tracks and set spot lock points. Isn't a drama in an open boat, but really looking to have them talk to each other.
My current MK is now 10 years old, I've never had a drama with it, this is an influence for me to go MK again, and I haven't seen a Kracken in real life yet to see how big the base actually is. If it is too awkward, I'd then look at MK and Humminbird. But he Kracken looks to have a much better deploy and retrieve than the MK, can be done standing up I believe.
With my current set up, I've just bolted the quick release bracket to the front of the boat, there is no lecky mount welded to it, did that on the previous little boat as well, didn't really seem to hurt anything, new one has the bracket so will mount it going down the side instead of across. Not sure I'd mount a 24v motor without a dedicated bracket for it, unless a good size plate was also used if mounting straight to the front.
Battery wise, I used to just used a 12v Deep Cycle 100amp, it would run a whole day, even 2 without issues. The new set up is going to be lithium, purely for weight, and at this stage is going to be 2x12v batteries as I'm thinking the lecky should be 24v instead of 12v.

[Lucky_Phill]

Thanks all,

Seems it is complicated.

Linking things, seeing things, options... blah blah blah.........

My take is..... I want to motor ( outboard ) to an area.... cruise and find my anchoring spot....( spot i want to boat to stay in ) ... deploy " lecky " and hold position.

Linking it to ?? sounder / GPS / phone is not happening. Technology and me have a seriously flawed relationship and no amount of counseling will help.

I have asked this question on a FB page and am getting similar results.........

So, fit lecky, fit battery........... when I get to spot X, use remote control to deploy and then possibly make minor positional adjustments... firstly putting in new batteries to remote because sure as shit, when I go to use it, flat !

Now, if I was looking at a 2nd hand one, what am I looking out for and considerations ? age, model that has had issues, strength / robustness, ease of fitment ?


Cheers LP

[bluefin59]

Thanks all,

Seems it is complicated.

Linking things, seeing things, options... blah blah blah.........

My take is..... I want to motor ( outboard ) to an area.... cruise and find my anchoring spot....( spot i want to boat to stay in ) ... deploy " lecky " and hold position.

Linking it to ?? sounder / GPS / phone is not happening. Technology and me have a seriously flawed relationship and no amount of counseling will help.

I have asked this question on a FB page and am getting similar results.........

So, fit lecky, fit battery........... when I get to spot X, use remote control to deploy and then possibly make minor positional adjustments... firstly putting in new batteries to remote because sure as shit, when I go to use it, flat !

Now, if I was looking at a 2nd hand one, what am I looking out for and considerations ? age, model that has had issues, strength / robustness, ease of fitment ?


Cheers LP

I’m in the same boat as you, I looked into a Bowmount for my new secondhand boat and it is looking like a 6k exercise at minimum these days. The right size Bowmount , a decent battery and welding a bracket on the bow plus a decent charger that will do the job it’s totally bizarre