Mounting a Bowmount Minn Kota PD55 Power Drive Trolling Motor on a 1979, 17', Boston Whaler, Newport

I purchased the PD55 for $419 from Bass Pro. I did not buy the Riptide because of price.

I had a Power Drive on my 15 GLS with no problems in saltwater. I did purchase the zinc anode propeller nut that the Riptide uses to ward off the corrosion demons.

All bolts are SS and nuts are self locking. Lock washers would not work because of the clearance within the sliding bracket.

I used the rubber spacer washers Minn Kota provided between the deck and the mount.

Lining up and drilling the first hole, always nerve racking.

I ground down the head of the bolt so it fit nice and snug under the deck lip. Finished off with silicone.

The toggle bolt plastic thingy I'm holding broke off, so I had to improvise and attached 30lb. mono fishing line to it to hold in place. I also found the use of curved surgical forceps very useful.

Clean out the foam in the hole otherwise it won't seat evenly.

The other two bolts were bolting through the Newport deck and large SS washers used to back them.

I bought the Marinco plug and socket from Bass Pro for $14.99, but did not mount the socket part onto the boat.

After looking at how far the plug stuck out I opted for a cleaner look.

The plug gives me the option to disconnect and take the motor off.

I had to mount the quick mount backwards because the motor would not clear the rail and windshield when I would remove the motor from the boat. Note: Minn Kota zinc anode propeller nut.

Mounting backwards meant moving the motor forward on the sliding bracket, so I had to drill two new holes in the sliding bracket to mount the motor with four screws.

Clearance was a problem as you can see. The Newport affords a lot more deck space than the Montauk would. Railings are set back further than Montauk.

I replaced the wing nut set screw for the sliding mount with SS philips screw.