Gator Mount Upgrade

[Paul P]

Right now I have the stock trolling motor and bracket that came with my 2001 188 Sport. The motor is a Motorguide Tracker ProSeries 60 and is 67 lb thrust, 24 volt. The bracket is pretty noisy the motor turns on at higher speeds since it seems to twist a fair amount.



I'm assuming a Gator Mount would cure this problem. The bracket itself mounts to an aluminum plate that mounts to the boat to make the motor removable. The aluminum plate is as solid as the boat itself so thats fine. I'm hoping this should make for an easy braket removable and installation. So ...



Will a Gator Mount eliminate any twist and resulting banging noise when the motor is turned on?



Are there different models of Gator Mounts?



Will the bolt pattern match the pattern on the existing bracket?



Any other info you may think pertinent is appreciated!



Following are pictures of the current trolling motor, bracket, and aluminum plate.



Thanks!



Paul

 

[Paul P]

 

[Bill Gintzel]

Go to



www.motorguide.com/index.pl/mounts



I just bought a Tour and it has the Gator 21. Looks very large until you mount it on boat. It is incredible.
http://www.motorguide.com/index.pl/mounts

 

[Paul P]

I checked the Motorguide site out. Looks like there are a number of models:



20.5 Gator Breakaway

23.5 Gator Breakaway XL

21 Gator Spring

24 Gator Spring XL



What do the numbers represent in the mount name?

 

[Paul P]

Any info on what the differnces are between these mounts would be much appreciated! Is there a specific one that fits my trolling motor which is a Motorguide Tracker ProSeries 60 and is 67 lb thrust, 24 volt?



Thanks



Paul

 

[Bill Gintzel]

The XL's are for long (60") shafts. The Gators will hold all of the newer Motorguides. They all have the hinged door for the shaft. My 21 locks in the stored position so there is no need for a tiedown or strap.

 

[Paul P]

Does the "21 Gator Spring" sound like the right mount for my motor? Is this also referred to as a "Gator Mount II"?



Thanks,



Paul

 

[Bill Gintzel]

I believe if you want to spend the bucks you will like the 21 Gator spring. It has the same bolt hole pattern as my old "standard" mount plus xtra holes if needed. I have seen the Gator Mount II term before but I am not sure where. I expect it may mean the same.

 

[Paul P]

So now the big question is ... where can I find a 21 Gator Spring at a reasonable price?

 

[Bill Gintzel]

Only place I have seen them online is link below;



Online Super Store



They are pricy!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.outdoorsuperstore.com/st...GUIDE~21+GATOR%99+SPRING~productID~318675.htm

 

[William H. (Bill) Barham]

Look on E-Bay.. I see them there all the time. Do a search on "Gator Mount"..



Bill

 

[Paul P]

Holy so and so ... A 21 Gator Spring is $302.25 on the Outdoorsuperstore site. A 20.5 Gator Breakaway is $245.25. As mentioned above, I can buy a new trolling motor with the bracket for $400 at BPS. Much more money than I can spend on this. I guess I will have to wait on an ebay opportunity.



Paul

 

[Paul P]

Does anyone have comments on how big of a difference there is between the 20.5 Gator Breakaway and the 21 Gator Spring? My research seems to indicate that the 20.5 Gator Breakaway is the original Gator Mount and the 21 Gator Spring is the improved Gator II mount.



Thanks



Paul

 

[William H. (Bill) Barham]

I think you're right Paul. As far as I know, the original breakaway did just that, it would breakaway and then you would have to put it back in place. The spring does it for you. I believe the numbers in front of the model stands for how long the base mount is. 20.5 inches - 21 inches, etc.

I may be wrong but this is what I was told when I was looking for a Gator Mount.



Bill

 

[Paul P]

Outside of the brakaway feature, are they both equivalent as far as stability (i.e. holds the trolling motor solidly in place and does not twist and clank)?



Thanks



Paul

 

[Bill Gintzel]

I would guess so.



Bill

 

[Paul P]

I've been on Ebay and can't determine if either of these are the right size for my trolling motor. I have a Motorguide Tracker ProSeries 60 and is 67 lb thrust, 24 volt, 40 inch shaft.



Can someone tell me if this is a 21 Gator Spring or 24 GAtor Spring XL?



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1,1&item=4537740966&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT



And how about this one. I'm not sure which model it is.



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1,1&item=4538098640&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT



Thanks!



Paul
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...d=1,1&item=4537740966&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT

 

[Paul P]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...d=1,1&item=4538098640&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT

 

[Paul P]

I found out the first mount listed above is a 24 Gator Spring XL so its not the right size for my motor.



Any comments on
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...d=1,1&item=4538098640&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT

 

[Bill Gintzel]

Paul, the gator mount shown is NOT a spring. It would work for you but just be a little longer. The spring mounts have only been out for a couple of years. The spring is not really that big of a deal unless your motor breaks away a lot. I doubt my motor will ever break away enough that the springs will save me any effort. My Tour motor just came with it.

 

[Paul P]

Bill,



Thanks very much for the info.



The mount that I thought was a breakaway and a 24 Gator Spring XL is listed as a breakaway. I listed 2 mounts above so it might have been confusing. Is this the one that you do not think is a breakaway? Any idea if the bolt hole pattern will be the same as the smaller size mount?



Let's refer to this one a MOUNT #1:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...d=1,1&item=4537740966&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT

 

[Paul P]

Bill



The other mount below says Gator on it but does not look like the Gator Mounts I have seen on the Motorguide site. Is this an old Gator Mount model?



Thanks!



Let's refer to this as Mount #2
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...d=1,1&item=4538098640&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT

 

[Bill Gintzel]

Mount #1 is a gator spring but I'm not sure whether its a 21 or 24. Guess its a 21. My 21 had a series of holes which matched up with my old standard mount holes perfectly. I would guess that the 24 is set up the same way. My 21 came with six mounts but I am going to just use the same four I had unless I see undue stress on the mount. On a glass boat(mine is tin) I would use all six.



If you can get the gator spring mount for a real good price, I'd go for it. You saw how much they are new. Now I know why the Tour I bought was so expensive.

 

[Paul P]

On Mount #1, I got more info from the seller. It is a mount used to hold a 60 inch shaft motor so it must be a 24.

 

[Bill Gintzel]

Sounds like it to me. It is just a little longer mount.

 

[Paul P]

Hey Dave Sawiki,



Did you buy the MotorGuide
http://www.basspro.com/servlet/cata...arClassCode=2&hvarSubCode=1&hvarTarget=browse

 

[Paul P]

Looks like they no longer have the 45 inch available its not listed.



Any harm using a trollng motor with a shaft that is longer than necessary? Mine currently is a 40 inch or so.



Thanks



Paul

 

[Paul P]

Thanks Dave!



I'm assuming shaft length is the measurement of exposed stainless and not including any of the flanges. Shaft on my current motor is 40 inches but from top of lower housing to bottom of top housing is 42 inch. Based on this I'm assuming a 45 inch would be right.

 

[Christopher Laurencio]

Paul, Just like Dave said you can order from the Cicni store, it cost me only $18 to ship to NJ and no sales tax. I have not used mine yet but someone in my club got the same for his 19' Nitro, he said the mount was awesome and the TM moved the boat very well. He said I should get up on plane in my 185 with it.

 

[Paul P]

Thanks Chris. I have a call into the Cinci store and they are supposed to call me back.



I called the 1-800-BASSPRO number (Missouri) and the price is still 399.88 for the 45 in shaft with shipping cost of 25.95 to Mass. They are out of stock but more are due in the next couple of days.



I'll see if Cinci or some of the closer stores have them to see if shipping will be cheaper.



Paul

 

[Paul P]

I did find out that shaft length is the measurement from the top of the cylindrical lower unit to the bottom surface of the top housing.

 

[Paul P]

So the current plan is I will sell my current trolling motor on ebay. Looks like I should be able to get at least $250. Price of new motor is $400, so the net is $150 (worst case hopefully) for a brand new motor and Gator breakaway mount. What a deal!!!



Thanks for all the info!



Paul

 

[Paul P]

I heard back from the Cinci BPS and they no longer have the sale price. The MotorGuide