MCHammer40

Before I go wild drilling holes I want to bounce this off you folks. I picked up a Minn Kota PD55 for my 17ft Express aluminum boat. Looking at the mounting instructions I need to secure the bolts from the underside - which seems logical, however the aluminum welded front platform and flanges are sealed preventing me from getting underneath. There is a "glove box" that I removed but I still can't reach that far even with special tools. It looks like the old TM was mounted using something like threaded drywall anchors into which the bolts are screwed - but assume they are specially designed for marine use? I was looking in my local Home Depot and found heavy duty drywall toggle bolts, and another type that cinch up behind the wall as you screw through. I found them in 1/4" bolt size so they seem heavy duty enough to keep the TM in place and they are zinc coated but they are designed for drywall. Is there a better way to do this? Or is there a special anchoring device that I should use on an aluminum boat?

I am about to give my '97 Express a make-over and was thinking of just skipping the radio during the refit. My son thinks its cool to crank the tunes just as my line hits the water which may explain my catch count this year. We fish mostly small electric lakes so its not like we have long runs to get to the fishing holes... Anyone else use a radio on the water?

Thanks guys - appreciate the feedback.

Hi All - fairly new to fishing and boating. Last year I picked up a used Xpress 17 ft alluminum with a 9.9hp outboard, remote steering, etc. Thing is - I live in an area of SE PA where all my local lakes are electric only. The closest power lake is over an hour away and I'm not likely to be heading there any time soon. I have a Minn Kota 55lb transom and an old 30lb bow motorguide that is on its last legs. My question - is it worth keeping the outboard on the boat "just in case" or would I be better off to remove the weight? Also - since the trolling motors are my only propulsion, I was leaning towards a 70lb for the bow. I "crawled" across the lake the last time I was out. Any advice would be appreciated. - Mike