THIS THREAD is the greatest thing!
I've ordered the stock. I made a few modification, but for the most part it's the same. 150 all black-anodized parts shipped to Michigan. (black is worth the extra 20 dollars in material)
First:
A big thank you KeithB (May whatever non-sailing adventures you've been up to be 100% amazing at all times!)
A slightly smaller,
but still big thank you to Weekendwarrior's Variations (
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... 6jKCsiDahs) which helped me get some good dimensions based on your extensive photos. I'll be using Weekendwarrior's Crossbar mount with KeithB's original fixed Strut.
I've got a 55lb-thrust Trolling motor on the way, a 35Ah LiFEPO4, and ample gauge wiring on the way. I only need to move the boat 0.5 miles out of a channel to get to open water, so the 36Ah pack should be more than adequate for my powered sailing. 55lbs because I'll be maneuvering near massive powerboats coming in and out of the channel, and want to be able to keep up (and exceed) their no-wake speeds, rather than pegging it at at 35lb-thrust motor,
and hoping the 38ft Bayliner Skipper can see me from his 3rd floor flybridge. I can always buy a second battery if more range is needed.
Thanks to the bolt-together, reconfigurable nature of this mount I can make adjustments to make it all work in the end.
A few thoughts, which the reconfigurability will allow me to solve:
1) I'm worried about the 'Tiller Arch' when the motor is folded flat, and rudders are lock-to-lock. Hopefully this is just a non-issue.
2) I'm worried that with motor folded, there will be no easy way to raise the rudders without making the prop stick wayyy-out the rear.
3) I'm planning to explore mounting the motor sideways on the motor strut and then vectoring the motor aft, to propel the boat forward. This means the motor swings
sideways to horizontal, at level with the rear crossbar and remains 100% clear of interference, while also being above the waterline. (and a bonus benefit, being able to clear and service the propeller from the tramp- or at least the rear of the Hull.
Anyway, I'll share a google drive's worth of photos to this thread when I'm done.
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)