I was looking through a BPS catalog the other day, and I saw a bracket that makes mounting a bow-mount motor possible on a Jonboat.  It is made out of polymer, and it slips through the carrying handle on the front of the boat.  There is no support for the motor other than that provided by the handle, and I was wondering if this could put too much stress on the construction of my 14' lowe jonboat and could possibly bend/stretch the metal (like if I bumped the shaft it into a stump at trolling motor speeds)?  If you think it would or have heard of this happening please let me know.  If this is too risky, there is also a metal version that bolts to the front seat and has a mounting bracket that hangs off the bow.  Also, the motor I am planning on using is a cheap minn-kota.  Could a guy take off the handle/head section of the motor and turn it around to make it a sort of "redneck bow mount?"  I'm not sure what the motor looks like inside and I would rather not take it apart if this won't work.  Thanks for your input!

I wouldn't worry about doing any damage to your boat.  I would worry more about that mount not being able to support any amount of weight for an extended period of time.

As far as I know (and it isn't all that far  ;D ), you can turn the head on your motor around.

You should be able to remove the bolt at the bottom of the motor control box and turn the head around.  Do it slowly so the wires don't bind.

Tom D.

When I wanted to flip the head on my Motor Guide trolling motor, I called Motor Guide and they faxed me directions on how to do it. They were very helpful. I'm guessing MK would do the same for you.

I use that trolling motor mount that you're looking at, and have for a couple of seasons. I bolted mine to the boat and it works ok, not great. It has a lot of flex, but it's not hurting the boat at all. I've seen other guys bolt a small piece of 2 x 6 to the bow, and that seems to work well, and is probably a more solid fix.

Good luck,

Dan

I didn't like the plastic jon boat TM mount that BPS sells.   It has A LOT of flex in it.  Also if you ever hit anything that lifts your TM up, it can push the bracket out of the handle on the front of your boat and SPLASH!  You'll be fishing your TM out of the water by the cord.  The metal one the BPS sells isn't much better.  The quick release bracket and the adjustable extension arm make it too flimsy.  You'd be better off fabricating a metal bracket and bolting it to the boat.  The head on you TM can be flipped around easily.  I have the same TM and have mine flipped around.

I did mine the same way. You can sorta see it in the photos below. You just take one bolt out where the shaft meets the controller head, flip the head 180 degrees, put the bolt back in, and you're ready to rock.

As for the mounting, I used a 1/4-inch steel angle iron about 4 inches wide by 4 inches tall and drilled 4, 1/4-inch bolt holes through it. It's best if you can put a flat metal plate on the underside of the bow with holes matching the angle iron bracket. That helps reduce the stress. If you don't use a plate on the underside, use big washers and put little rubber spacers between the washer and the underside of the bow. The spacers act as a cushion.