I haven't done anything to the boat in a while and the one thing I regret not adding was a recessed trolling motor. Standing on 1 leg all day really takes it's toll on your knee and back. I didn't add during the original build because there were support braces running right up the middle of the boat, but I'm over it and will brace it up as needed. I ordered the R&R Design recessed trolling motor tray from Hodges Marine this week. Total cost was $63 shipped and it arrived in 4 days. You can easily pay twice that much, but not sure why you would. It's aluminum and very well made.
This picture is standing at the front of the boat looking toward the back. If you cut too far back, you will end up cutting the divider for you storage compartment out of the boat. I made a cardboard template for the tray and made a few cuts within the template as I went to make sure I could still adjust toward the front or back if needed. In my head I kept thinking I had to maintain 4" of depth for the pan to clear the floor and was worried about the front of the boat where the bow tapers. In hindsight, I could have moved the tray forward another 3" since the pan is also tapered, so you don't really need to maintain that depth. May seem obvious, but I over looked it.
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I made most of my cuts an angle grinder. The support braces for the deck are 1 1/2" thick, so I had to finish the cuts with a sawzall. The grinder cuts through like a breeze, but it makes a big mess.
I had to remove a couple inches of foam to get the tray to sit flush. Best way to cut that is a little drywall saw if you have one. I was planning on running a drain hose into the bilge, but clearing a path for the water to drop straight into the bilge will work just as well. There is a small drain hole at the base of the storage divider, so drainage won't be a problem.
The deck feels like it will be solid enough once the recessed tray is in, but I'm going to work on bracing it up so I have some peace of mind that it won't have any flex.
