Shortest Fishing Trip Ever..........

[Rojo]

Well got some chores done, headed back to the river, stopped at the first tree and dropped the trolling motor over. The wind was really blowing so one quick turn of the trolling motor and Pop, the steering cable broke.



No fishing for me today. Loaded the boat back up and to the shop I went. Back in 2020 when the trolling motors got hard to get I ordered a few for the shop. I just happened to have a spare.



Seems these were discontinued, 55# Digital Motorguide 36in shaft Foot Control. The short shaft is great for flatboats. The rebuild of this TM will be posted when I get all the parts in.

[SuperDave336]

Hate the cable broke on you. It’s nice to have options when something happens like that.

[Rojo]

I'm finding out parts are available but not some of the main parts like the control boards. Cables are ordered, I ordered a spare. The spare TM has a longer shaft than the broken one. Seems these 2 TM's will need to be kept up as there are no replacements made under any brand. Smaller aluminum boats won't be able to carry the heavy TM's well. Maybe another manufacturer will see the void.

[Rojo]

I used Minn-Kota motors for years before switching to the X3 Digital 36in shaft for a shorter shaft and reduced weight up front. The X3's are lighter & use a lot less amps to do the same work. After the first switch to the X3 from a Minn-Kota Maxium I noticed right off the battery charger was turning off in at least 1/3rd the time, maybe closer to half. Second thing was the base latches are composite so they were quieter. Last night on EBay I found a factory service manual for the X3/X5 for $9. I think I will wait till it arrives to order as many wear parts as I can to fix the old TM. The replacement will be pickled, wrapped in visqueen, and returned to storage when I'm done.

[BuckeyeCrappie]

Awesome to have a spare! Now go catch that 4 lb Slab!