Rivet Nuts in Gunwale

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MrGiggles

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I started mounting a Minn Kota powerdrive to my Tracker V17 and ran into a bit of an issue.

These electric steer motors really hang over the gunnel. There is not much purchase over the bow plate. Conveniently, two screw holes line up perfectly with the flat gunnel.

I initially tried a self tapping screw, but I think they will loosen up over time, and they aren't the right material in the first place.

Has anyone tried a rivnut in the gunnel? I think a 1/4" bolt will hold it just fine, and will be much more likely to stay tight.
 
A buddy of mine is in airframe maintenance, and when I asked him what he thought of rivnuts when I was planning out my boat he did not speak highly of the aluminum rivnuts, saying the threads were too weak to set the nut too often.

He recommended the stainless ones but i didn't want stainless in the ribs below the decking because I would never know if there was corrosion until it was too late.

On the gunwale though you could wrap the rivnut in electrical tape to isolate it so it doesn't contact the aluminum directly which should stop any issues, but you will still be able to see it to tell if it shows signs of corrosion long before it's a major issue. Most trolling motor mounting hardware is stainless anyway, so really not any riskier going this route.

I will be attaching my trolling motor mounting plate with stainless rivnuts on my current build when I get to that point
 
I've used rivnuts in my job in the past but I would never trust them with the amount of stress that a trolling motor would put on them. In a short period of time, they will loosen up and pull out. If it were me, I'd buy a Minn Kota quick release bracket. Drill new mounting holes in the lower half of the bracket that will not go into the gunnel, mount the motor to the upper half and you should be good.
 
i used riv nuts to attach an undermounted battery tray and a group 31 deep cycle battery to a trailer frame we use at work every day.used some red thread locker and it's still holding strong after a little over 4 years.
 
Scott F said:
I've used rivnuts in my job in the past but I would never trust them with the amount of stress that a trolling motor would put on them. In a short period of time, they will loosen up and pull out. If it were me, I'd buy a Minn Kota quick release bracket. Drill new mounting holes in the lower half of the bracket that will not go into the gunnel, mount the motor to the upper half and you should be good.

Totally agree. I went this route with both my boats. It gives you so many more mounting options.
 
I used rivnuts to attach all of my seat mounts and rod holders. The rod holders are in the gunwale.

I'm not sure about a trolling motor, as at full throttle turned to the side completely, that's a *lot* of torque around the mounting bolts. With that said, for my application, its been two+ years and everything is rock-solid.
 

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