Minn Kota Endura C2-30 Mods

After patching and repairing our old 1985 Minn Kota Model 65 (from 1985) over the last couple of years, Debbie got us a new trolling motor for the Jon Boat for my Birthday. It's the Minn Kota Endura C2-30 with the composite shaft. WOW! What a huge improvement over our old unit, it is! 

During the time we've run the old unit, I modified a number of things, so I set about to modify the new one in the same way. Here's a few pics...

I modified the old unit so I could leave the mount on the boat (so as to now have to deal with tightening and loosening those clamps every time). On the new one, I pressed out the pivot pin that coupled the motor unit to the mount assembly, and reinstalled a 3/8" x 4" long stainless steel shank bolt in it's place. I drilled and fitted a cotter pin to the opposie end of the bolt, so it's easy to pop on and off. 

Boy, the control head is super sleek, handles great, and has smooth motor speed control. 

 Here's the other side of the mount with the pivot modified. I drilled the end of the 3/8" x 4" stainless steel sahank bolt and use a cotter pin for retention.

The next snag was the motor height control collar. I like to raise and lower the motor a lot, because of the super skinny water we run in sometimes. It comes with an allen bolt, so you have to keep a allen wrench in your pocket. Negative.... I found a longer 1/4-20 bolt, cut the head off, ground a couple of flats with 90 degree separation, and installed a knob. Then, a nylon washer was slipped on, and the whole mess was screwed into the 1/4-20 nut that's in the collar. Now, I just simply give the knob a twist, and raise / lower the motor as needed. O also wrap black tape around the shaft, just above the collar at the deepest setting I use, so I have a built-in default for depth.

Lastly, I installed another quick connect to the power wire like I had on the old motor. The wiring harness is permanently installed in the boat, so it makes a quick motor install when we're ready to launch. 

 

Old Minn Kota 28 repairs

Once again, I'm patching up my old Minn Kota 65, 28 lbs of thrust. This was made back around 1985, so it has a lot of miles on it. When I got it with our old Jon boat, it looked like it had been dropped on it's top, and a bunch of glue was poured into cracks. The two front screws had nothing to screw into, chunks were missing out of the cover around the edge, and the FWD-REV switch was bad. 

I found an exact replacement for the switch at Walmart, popped it in, and used it like it was. I really didn't expect it to last for the better part of 2 years, as hard as we run it. But it did :-) . The aluminum mount was broken, so I welded it and built it up in the corners a bit, and mounted it to the boat. I modified the mount so I could pull a single pin, and lift the motor off the boat without having to bother with the clamp bolts on the transom. I also installed a quick connect to the power leads, and fabricated a weed guard to help keep stuff from getting wrapped around the prop shaft. Despite how it looked, it held up pretty good. 

Recently, I decided to take the cover off and try to repair / clean it up a bit. I sanded the old glue down, filled a bunch of holes and places where chunks were broken out, and installed a bit of wood to allow the front screws somewhere to attach. I also beefed up a few of the smaller wires that were overheating when I'd make a 2+ mile run at full throttle to get back to the landings. Here's a few pics of my now Black Special Edition Minn Kota 65 :-)

The above 2 pics were after the work...

Filling and sanding the cover a bit...

Lots of cracks to repair...

The cover looked pretty bad from the outside...

Forming up around the edges before filling and shaping. Also, I added a hardwood  block, then drilled it fro the screws to attach to from below.

Minn Kota Quik Connect

Every time we take out the Jon Boat, it never fails that the battery clamps for the trolling motor get tangled up in the anchor rope or hung up under the seat, while pulling the wiring to and from the battery. I poked around in the shop and found a set of Anderson SB50 50 amp rated DC power quick connectors, and decided to put them to use. I already use a pin to quickly install or remove the trolling motor from the mount, leaving the transom mount on the boat all the time. Now, with the power harness permanently installed, I only have to plug the motor in, once it's snapped into the mount. A pair of Anderson SB50 50 amp connectors go for around $5 on ebay or Amazon. The photos are self-explanatory...

Minn Kota Weedless Mod

We have an OLD Minn Kota Weedless 65 5 speed trolling motor. It seems to be missing a spacer or shroud between the motor or prop, but I've never been successful in finding a parts list or parts to correct it. So, after looking at newer motors, Deb and I started looking around the workshop for something to make a shroud from. She found an old plant fertilizer container with the correct ID, so I grabbed up the Dremel tool and got to work. I cut and fitted the shroud you see i the following pics, epoxied it in place, and it has been working perfectly to stop all that stuff from getting wrapped around the motor shaft. Another cheap fix to keep an antique trolling motor in operation :-)

1st Check Run...

We were dying to get this thing in the water, so we loaded it up and took off to a private pond we have access to (since we didn't have our registration numbers and such, yet). It was a good shakedown run, and we found several things that needed attention. Just like when building a motorcycle, never make those first runs too far from home, or too far out...

1- This boat is STABLE! I was concerned about a 10' boat with the two of us, and was even considering building outriggers for it...but after a couple of times out on this boat, I wouldn't think of having outriggers now. Deb and I talk to each other before we stand up, but this 48" wide hull is wonderfully stable. It didn't take long to get used to small amount of roll it has when we move around in it. 

2- This is a riveted hull...and a couple of the rivets leaked. Not bad, but I took care of that with silicone caulking when we returned.

3- The previous owner had the rear seat all the way to the left, and intended the battery to go all the way to the right to balance it, but that is a miserable setup. I decided to move the seat to the middle, and that 60lb series 27 battery had to go!

4- We burned the forward / reverse switch out of that ancient Minn Kota trolling motor on the first run. It was difficult to switch, and probably had oxidation and was making bad contact, as it was getting pretty hot. Walmart had an exact replacement on the shaft in the boating section for a couple of bucks. Replaced it when I got home, and it's been working perfectly ever since.

5- Those HARD plastic, non-folding seats had to go. My butt was on fire back the time we got back to the ramp. 

All in all, it was a great first time out and shakedown run, and we caught a few fish to boot! Now, back to the house and work on some of these issues...