Sea Eagle Packfish7 DIY Trolling Motor Mount Pt 1 

Glad it proved helpful. I look forward to hearing how it went for you. - Schmutz

The STS10 has the mounts attached to the hull on top. I would think they could have attached them to the PF7, but they didn't. That mount is dedicated to that one model, I guess.

@@SchmutzieOutdoors thanks for the reply. After I asked the question, I called them and they said doing this would void the warranty because the material they use to make this boat is different than the one on the 285 and sts10 model. They claim this boat is not suited to add a trolling motor

@@getore100 And yet, it says ON THE HULL that's rated for a 1HP motor. It behaves just fine with my little MinnKota. No problems, except of course for facing backwards. I've already gotten used to it.

Thanks. Glad to help! I've got work stuff early this week and then I'll shoot an assembly vid. I wrestled with the decision on whether to use the PVC glue or screws at the joints. Settled on screws so I can break it down.

Well done! The smallest MinnKota is plenty of thrust. And $25 estimate may have been a little low but still, it's yours and you made it. The first time your trolling motor gives you a push you'll feel a rush of satisfaction! Okay maybe a little over-the-top w that last part. Happy trolling.

(I spent at least 2 weeks at first, and then a bunch of fine tuning after that. Plan on doing some tweaking)

@@SchmutzieOutdoors I spent $25 just in hardware but it was worth it.

Bandit- It's fun. The maneuverability is unbelievable but I still leave the paddles hanging over the side when drifting so I can adjust direction. I was close to changing inflatables when the idea hit me.

(now I have to go see if you upped a video of your seat. that may be next for me. the narrow opening makes for slim picking on the seat market)

@@SchmutzieOutdoors The PK7 is a fun little boat but I got it for ninja missions into the water district holding ponds and camping. I use my kayak more but the drought in CA and life in general has been complicated. I don't get out on the water as much as I'd like.

So I can disassemble it and pack it down into a bag. Easier to load into the car than when it's rigid.

It'll work fine. The Minn Kota Endura 30 is almost too much thrust. I never go above setting 3 (out of 5)

@@SchmutzieOutdoors This little thing was designed for Kayakers and they also have a 24. It's just 24" and also good for the salt. I figure with my 19 lb lithium 50 amp, it should troll for up to 7 hours. Speeds are either high or low, no variable. I've seen prices from $142 to about $170. Most expensive part of this setup is the Battle Born battery at about $550. But I like this battery.

@@chrisbarclay6127 Minn Kota 30 gets about 5 hours on a VMAX 35 Ah deep cycle if I run it at the top speed setting (5) which I never do. It's 25 pounds, which in this case is a good thing because it's more than the motor weighs, so with it on the floor there's no flexing up and down when changing speeds. Know what I mean? A heavier battery makes the whole thing more stable. And, since I'm car camping, at the end of the day I just hook the battery to a charger, which I plug into an inverter, which I plug into the power port in the car, and recharge it that way. (engine running of course)

Lifepo4's are so good, I can't go back to a lead core battery. Nowadays you can pick up a 12v 100ah for like $400.

I'm planning on doing a build video but too damned busy at work. The parts you need: 1 1/2" pvc pipe. 10 feet seems to be the shortest Menards sells. 8 1/2" - 2 pcs- those come up from the floor 8 3/4"- 1 pc. This connects the two sides and holds the piece of wood for the motor. 14 1/2"- 2 pcs- those are the horizontals 11 1/2" - 2 pcs- those go down into the water 2- Reducing t-couplings (or 90deg elbows) to connect the verticals from the floor to the horizontals. 2-90 degree elbows with socket. Those are the forward connections. One points down to the water, the other towards its counterpart on the other side. 2 U-bolts to hold the... 7" x 7" piece of wood to hold the motor. 15 1/2" x 13 1/2" piece of marine plywood (sanded very smooth to avoid splinter puncturing floor!) 2" arbor drill to make the holes in the floor. Usually found in big box millwork sections. Used for drilling for doorknobs. 2 (NIBCO) PVC Sch 80 Flange- the big things that connect everything to the floor. 6 -2" cone headed screws with wingnuts- Finally got to use wing nut in a sentence. Counter-sink these upwards through the floor to anchor the flange. I'll have a build video up eventually. Going back to Crescent Lake on Memorial Day and want to fine tune the mount before then. Stay tuned. Thx for watching. M-

@@SchmutzieOutdoors this is awesome - SO helpful!!! Thank you so much! I'm gonna gather my parts and be ready for the instructions! Good luck with your busy week!

I think the original floor pressing down on the new section adds a ton of extra stability. That said, I'm not worried about fitting all my stuff on a motorcycle. I guess if you can give it a try with just the small motor-mount section of floor that you made. With your battery (and the heels of your boots) pressing down on it the chances of the whole thing shifting around aren't too high. I'd suggest getting your arbor hole cutouts just right so the thing fits over the two stubs coming up from the floor. As snug as you can so it eliminates slop. I cut mine so that the front edge of the new floor piece touches the hull. When I want to go in reverse (forward as we sit in the boat) and I hit the throttle, that floor piece doesn't move at all. It transfers the momentum to the boat without wiggling even a little bit. That's what you're after Chris. No slop. If you can do it with the new floor piece only, all the better.

@@SchmutzieOutdoors Might add two pool noodles at the ends for a better fit.

Mine started life as a circle too. I cut them to a rough rectangle to fit on the sides. I have all of the stuff here and should probably just shoot a how-to vid now. Check back in about an hour.

New assembly video is up. Rushed but you'll get the idea.

I knew I forgot something! The circular rod holders in the wall of your Packfish7 are not perfectly circular. If you look into it you see the straight edge coming in from the side. I rasped all of that away for the 2" PVC pipe to fit. You have to do that. Not necessarily a rasp, but you have to remove that material completely or the 2" pipe won't fit.

The right oarlock broke after the 3rd use. I fixed it, but it was one of the things that convinced me to try the motor mount build.

I've used a kayak paddle with it. Because you sit so low in the boat your range of motion is impeded by the side-walls of the hull. You bang your elbows on the pontoon with every stroke. The 18" cutdown on the Sea Eagle (garbage) paddles did the trick. I actually use them to rotate the boat while anchored rather than bumping the Minn Kota.

@@SchmutzieOutdoors What did you use to fix the broken oar lock?

@@patrickhawkinson8399 P-Tex ski repair sticks. Mine was cracked clean through, so it was just matter of holding the two segments together tight while the P-Tex cooled. Duct tape around that as a backup.