Hello,

 

This summer I purchased a trolling motor for my canoe and have been having a blast.

 

The only thing is that I would like to move the battery towards the front of the canoe.

 

In it's current location (towards the rear) the boat is a little back end heavy, and the wind pushes the front around something fierce.

 

Rather than add extra weight to the front (since it is a small 1 man canoe) I was thinking that I could purchase a set of jumper cables from Pep Boys and use that as sort of an extension cord. 

 

Bad idea ? any input would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

Thank you

 

 

 

A better idea would be to buy the correct sized wire and run a permanent connection making sure it's fused near the battery. The voltage and thrust of the motor will determine the wire and fuse size. Without knowing any more info about the motor, I'm going to guess you will need a 50 amp fuse or circuit breaker and #8 wire. Check out this link http://www.minnkotamotors.com/_docs/Condutor-Gauge-and-Circuit-Table_1-21-14.pdf

That's a handy chart. I'm going to get the corrrect size wire and run a permanent connection along the rim of the canoe. Thank you for taking the time for posting the chart and giving the advice about the fuse.

yes you can use the jumper cable but they may rust. marine cable is pretty cheap by the foot. i did the same thing as you and bought from http://www.genuinedealz.com/.

it's cheap and the guys is really nice and will help you on the phone. i didn't have to worry about a fuse b/c i bought a minn kota power box that has the fuses installed.  the guy from genuine also gave me great connection advice. buy a butt connector one size larger than ur largest wire ie buy a 4 ga butt conn if ur joining a 6 ga and 8 ga wires, push the wires in the tube from opposite end and crimp shut (slide heat shrink on before crimping). it was a great permanent suggestion. they also sell nylon tubing (like rod covers) to keep everything together. 

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/CTI0/84512/N0211.oap?ck=Search_N0211_-1_-1&pt=N0211&ppt=C0189

Edited September 1, 201411 yr by ClackerBuzz

i used a set of jumper cables (good ones and ran them to the front of my canoe, easy connect/disconnect and helps with weight issue.  i have a pole on bottom of my canoe that runs fron to back to help keep its shape si used that to help hide the wires and attached the connectors under my seats.   and if you want you can cut off one set of the grippers and connect a trolling motor plug.  moving my battery to the front greatly improved the handling of the canoe. i have a 16 ft canoe and its a huge sail when i dont have any weight up front.  evn when i dont use my motor ill put my battery up front just for weight.    hope this helped!

 

 http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Navigation?storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&searchTerm=trolling+motor+plug