Trolling motor mount for Big Yellow Float tube

Ok, after ordering a couple different inflatable motor mounts and them not being flexible enough to accommodate the curves of the big yellow tube. I decided to take a stab at making my own.

Here it is in progress.

I am working on coating the transom with waterproof coating and will post pics of it with the completed project.

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Wow nice work so far looking forward to the end result keep us posted.

That’s-some high quality looking DIY motor mount you did!
I like it!  

I look forward to your trial run and it’s review.

SP Dan

Very cool looking project.
Are you using a heat gun to fab those curves?

Yes, heat gun. It is a lot cheaper that fittings

Project completed.

Here is the final photos

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Very nice looking forward to your report on how it goes for you.

I LIKE IT!!
Thank you for sharing your DIY project with all of us.
Great self explaining pictures!

SP Dan

msav, what MK trolling motor/thrust/shaft length are you running?

Curado wrote:msav, what MK trolling motor/thrust/shaft length are you running?

it is a Minn kota 30 force endura c2 30" shaft

right now it is onsale for $99.

I bought mine used


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Thanks!  A great price, too!  It is $150 in Canada!

msav, which battery are you running? Do you use a fish finder, too?

This is actually the Other half's Float tube,

I have a maxon xpw 240. I have a hawkeye fish finder

I think we are leaning toward a deeper pro for her.

She is using a a deep cycle group 24 battery that came with the motor. need to get a smaller battery box cause the one that came with it will not it behind the seat being 17" wide.

The motor mount looks great!  A bit more effort than I am willing to tackle so I did some digging & found this YouTube video with a different version.  Jump to 2:20 in the video to see his mount.  Sergei sounds Russian but you can see it’s simple, solid & easy to install!

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Curado wrote:The motor mount looks great!  A bit more effort than I am willing to tackle so I did some digging & found this YouTube video with a different version.  Jump to 2:20 in the video to see his mount.  Sergei sounds Russian but you can see it’s simple, solid & easy to install!

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I saw that video. There was not much info on how he did it. I could only speculate that he cut slits in the bottom to get the straps through. I worried about doing that and causing the cuts to run or rip further, especially with the weight of the battery going back there.

I decided that gluing mounts would strengthen more and not weaken the float tube like making cuts in the bottom would.

I watched many videos and many ways of doing this and I felt this would be the best way.

I am very happy with the strength of the mount. and felt that the mounts I glued to the bottom were not really necessary as  when I put weight on the transom it takes quite a bit of weight to see any transfer to the bottom mounts and that is without the battery sitting on the PVC.

Only real reason I went with 4 mounts and that is what every other trolling motor mount uses and they has to be a reason that they do not use just 2.

Also in investigating the strap mount method. I noticed that on my float tube that the back curved up on both sides. putting straps there seemed to be no way to keep the straps from sliding down on each side. If the Float tube did not have the stinger (the point in the rear) I would most probably went that route.

msav, my Cumberland has an opening in the bow, already.  I have a Scotty anchor mount with a 3.5 lb anchor attached there right now.  It is very stable on the bow with the 2 straps supplied.  
I saw somewhere a set up with 2 really large curved brackets that hooked over the pontoons.  They were rubber coated & looked very secure.  I’ve been trying to find that photo again . . .

yes, cumberland is a completely different beast with it's own limitations. I do not know if glueing motor mounts is even a viable option since it has bladders with a fabric cover. probably is the best bet to use the strap method

Curado wrote:msav, my Cumberland has an opening in the bow, already.  I have a Scotty anchor mount with a 3.5 lb anchor attached there right now.  It is very stable on the bow with the 2 straps supplied.  
I saw somewhere a set up with 2 really large curved brackets that hooked over the pontoons.  They were rubber coated & looked very secure.  I’ve been trying to find that photo again . . .

I would be interested to see that as well might have to look that up also.