Poormans Boatright
Well-known member
I decided to start using my trolling motor on the boat, only problem was with the rails and the raised front casting deck the stock shaft was too short. So what I decided to do was lengthen the shaft. It really was not a big deal doing it and a heck of a lot cheaper than buying a longer shaft. What I did was take a 3/4" aluminum threaded coupling and bore out one side to exactly 1-1/8", the od of the stock shaft is 1-1/8". I then removed the cover off the controller and labeled where each wire went. Then removed the entire tiller controller. The bored out coupling now slips over the shaft and secured with a stainless screw. I was going to use some silicone here, but the coupling fit real snug so I decided not to. I then bought some wire the same gauge as the stock wires and soldered them to the shorter stock wires. Once all the wires were soldered and heat shrink fitted I fed them through the piece of 3/4" aluminum pipe I screwed onto the threaded coupling, I believe I wound up using a 22" long piece. Once the pipe is tightened all you have to do is mark and drill another hole for the 1/4-20 stainless screw that holds the tiller handle on and install the tiller handle onto the aluminum pipe & reconnect the wires where you labeled earlier. Also I had to use some shim stock on the aluminum pipe where it fits into the tiller control as the od of the 3/4" is 1-1/16" and not 1-1/8" as the shorter shaft is. I think my shaft is around 63" long now. I also made a brace for the longer shaft and secured it to the top rail on my boat. I took another coupling and bored it out a little bigger than the 1-1/16" od of the aluminum pipe so it would swivel without binding up. Then I took a solid piece of aluminum stock and bent it to a L shape and cut a piece of 1" aluminum pipe in half to bolt onto the rail. Here's the pics of this trolling motor mod.
Link to my boat build:https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=19816
Link to my boat build:https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=19816
Attachments
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shaft brace 3.jpg50.3 KB · Views: 379
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shaft brace 2.jpg53.5 KB · Views: 379
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braced shaft.jpg58.1 KB · Views: 379
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new longer shaft.jpg63.1 KB · Views: 379
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long shaft.jpg58.8 KB · Views: 379
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lengthned wires.jpg58 KB · Views: 379
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soldered wires.jpg50.2 KB · Views: 379
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shaft.jpg51.7 KB · Views: 379
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boring coupling.jpg62 KB · Views: 379
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coupling.jpg48.2 KB · Views: 379
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labeled wires.jpg55.8 KB · Views: 379
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wires in shaft 2.jpg52 KB · Views: 379
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inside cover.jpg55.9 KB · Views: 379
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removing motor controls.jpg51.2 KB · Views: 379
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rope water line.jpg53.3 KB · Views: 379
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before lengthning.jpg56.6 KB · Views: 379