G'day all,

This is my first post on the ABA forum. I have just got myself a new (second hand) boat. It has got full floors front and rear casting decks.
It is a Stessco 3.75m Squire, 2003 model. The previous owner has done a heap of work on it.

Anyway my question is how would people advise me as to the best way to get the Bow mount electric on.
I have to get under the front deck and reach about 70 cm from the hatch to where the bolts should go in. The space under the front deck is pretty small.

I have thought that instead of the bolts going down I would poke them up using a long set of BBQ tongs.
Any ideas or knowledge of a specialised tool I could use would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Bassport.

If there is one thing I have learnt in life its this...

Trying to do things the easy way only makes it harder...Is it possible to remove some of the casting deck/flooring to make access a little easier? When I fitted my bowmount I battled frustratingly trying to get the four bolts tight in such a confined space, but after spending 10mins removing some of the decking, it went together easy as pie.

Sometimes a little more work makes the original job a lot easier.

Any chance of posting a picture of your boat and Bow inquestion, may have gone down the same path once or twice before.

Cheers Tony

Don't forget to mount in on somethingbetween the motor & the hull. I think most use a piece of nylony(a new word) cutting board cut to size.
TT

Thanks fellas,
I can't seem to get the images from computer to the forum at the moment. I will keep trying.

I have a piece of plastic cutting board ready and the stainless steel bolts ready to go. I'm beginning to think it might be better to take it to the marine place and let them tell me how much it will cost me for them to do it properly.

It looks a bit tricky to me. With my drill skills it might just be a safer prospect.

Thanks for taking the time.

HI and welcome to the ABA.
I found early on with my first Bow mount that if you have a few dollars avaliable get your local aluminium fabricator to weld a bow mount plate to the front deck of your boat, ensure he knows how it is to be fitted so when your bow mount is retracted to the traveling possition it is not protruding into the vessl for every one including your self ,tripping over or knee capping yourself on the bastard ,its best to have the head unit (in the stowed location ) over your gunnel neat tidy and importantly out of the way when not in use.And the bow mount plate makes it dead easy to bolt to.Stessco are a good little boat the manufacturer will have a standard bow mount plate design to suit your boat so if I were you I would get in contact with them and see what they have available .Minn Kota ?Motor guide ,Water snake jarvis walker type? you willneed to specific.
good luck
Shawn.

Thanks everyone,
I took it down to the place where I bought the boat and got the job done. The bloke has done a top job. The motor is stowed over the gunnel. It didn't cost that much to get it done properly.
I ended up with a Water Snake 44lb bow mount. My research said that while it isn't the top of the market it will do the job.
I am really happy with the outcome. Thanks for the advice.