MinKota steering on a pontoon boat

D
darthintel
0
I have purchased a 9' pontoon boat and also a MinKota trolling motor .
The steering handle is behind your back - which is very inconvenient . I have installed a swivel base to the seat which helps a lot - but still a pain . I contacted MinKota to see if they had a remote steering kit - and the answer was no .

So - I'm thinking about designing a remote steering system that uses a cable .....but before I do - maybe someone has designed one already?
 
Electrics

Electrics

No, I haven't heard of anyone doing it...but I am about ready to attempt the same thing. Keep us posted...take pictures - before and after. I know they make giant electrics (Bass Boats) that are controlled by wire; but those are huge. Probably weigh more than the toon. Really keep us in the loop. Have you given any thought to putting it in the front, or to one side or the other..

Chuck
 
the twist throttle part is 1 piece... i would guess you could remove the entire handle, lenghten the wires and mount it somehow down low in front of you.. then make a cover for the hole in the motor where the handle was..
 
I have just extended the handle and tucked it under my arm. When the motors on, i am just going straight line A to B or slight jig-jags. For steering and fine stuff, my oars are there, or fins.

and for speed? I mostly do either "get me over there" or "slow troll" speeds, hardly ever change speeds whilst running
 
I do troll in reverse and use my fins as a rudder for steering . But when going from point "A" to "B" high speed ....it would be nice to have a steering lever at your side .
I know of others that have mounted the motor up front ....but I don't want that near my feet .
The speed control is no problem with the extended handle .
I'm just looking into a very simple cable system for steering ......have some ideas ....:)
 
Have givin thought to the situation myself have a very old 2 speed w/a switch so am gonna try what you are suggesting with it then all I will have to figure out is the steering . Thinkin that a gear shifter off a bike might solve the twist throttle problem for the minnkota have one of those too gonna spend my winter down time getting it figured out for next season !
 
I have a 10 foot pontoon with a Minnkota also. I always wear my fins. If the wind isn't blowing too hard, I can usually set my motor in a straight line at trolling speed, turn sideways a little bit and put one foot on top of the pontoon and the other foot in the water with a fin on it. I move this foot to either side to steer the boat, leaving both hands free. I can't imagine anything that will allow you to rotate the shaft as far as is often necessary when reversing direction to retrieve a snagged line or avoid submerged objects. The fact that pontoons have no keel makes them difficult to maneuver at times, especially in the wind. Mine does have an off center motor mount which also helps. If the wind picks up, I hold my rod in one hand and use one oar to push or pull as needed to maintain a straight line, without touching the motor's steering lever.
 
Here is an idea! Get an old outboard throttle control and shorten the cable, attach control handle to the frame and think "like a lawn mower". The hard part will be figuring out how to secure the control to the motor bracket and still let the motor tilt or slid up and down the shaft. I'll give it some more though.... maybe there is a entrepreneurial opper-toon-ity here.

GD
 
One of my ideas does use a throttle cable ..and it would allow for the tilting of the shaft assy .....and allows it to slide up and down ...could be a great opportunity to have a patent which I told Minkota I would do
 
darthintel said:
One of my ideas does use a throttle cable ..and it would allow for the tilting of the shaft assy .....and allows it to slide up and down ...could be a great opportunity to have a patent which I told Minkota I would do
Click to expand...

I'm glad you'll take care of that! Now can I go back to fishing?

GD
 
Good luck with the cable idea. I'm sure there's a way to make that work. I use an oar as a rudder whether trolling (which I do in reverse) or going fast from A to B (going forward.) One can set the throttle handle a bit off center for quicker grabbing if need be. But I hear you: it's darn awkward to reach. I guess I've just grown used to it. But I am now managing two poles pretty well. I have bait or lure in the water 90% of the time now. Just wish it was the one the fish wanted!
 
This subject is a little dated but I have the same problem with using an electric trolling motor on a pontoon float boat. The product designers need to use the equipment their company sells and they will soon see that the control handle of the trolling motor is directly behind the seat. My fishing partner uses a SeaEagle frameless pontoon boat and a Minn Kota electric trolling motor with a twist control handle. In order to make the boat and motor more comfortable we basically moved the motor to the left and extended the motor handle. We moved the motor to the side by attaching a two foot 2x6 board to the existing mount. We next extended the twist control handle with a ¾” pvc plastic pipe. The pipe slips over the handle once the foam grip is removed. We used a few wraps of duct tape to increase the diameter of the control handle and then pressed the pvc pipe in place. Once the snow melts on our favorite Sierra lake we will try out our rig and provide the forum with feedback.
 
I have found that not having a keel is a pain in the arse as well when I'm trying to row in a straight line. I am going to set up a keel on my toon that attaches to the frame work under the seat and can swing up out of the way. I will post pics when I get it done.
 
Keels are not really important. It just takes a bit of practice to even out your rowing... you can do it.
 
if you got some small diameter flat stock you could bend this at a 90 degree angle u would make two of these with the length being being 6" by 2" maybe a little longer attach them to the motor shaft with a couple hose clamps or pree drill stock to except a pipe clamp you now have leverage for turning your motor on one of these brackets you could attach a spring or bungee cord the other end attach to your frame the other bracket you could run a wire to the front of your boat and attach to a foot pedal made with a hollow bushing like a pipe nipple to slip over your foot rest to this nipple you would attach another piece of flat stock 6 to8 inch useing another pipe clamp over the nipple and through the stock attach your wire and walla you steering by the way a have not tried this but seems like it would work as far as your speed control good luck with that
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar Threads

Back
Top Bottom