How to Use an Electric Trolling Motor on a Canoe

Canoes can be the end or the means. If you want to canoe for the simple pleasure of paddling a traditional watercraft, grab your paddle and go. However, if your use of a canoe is simply for transportation to the other side of a lake or to a fishing spot, equip the boat with an electric motor to make getting there less tasking. Changing a canoe from a paddle-powered boat to a power boat is a simple task requiring making and mounting a bracket to which to attach an electric motor.

Things You'll Need

  • Tape measure
  • 3 feet of 1½-inch angle iron
  • 6 inches of two-by-six lumber
  • 2 3/8-by-7-inch carriage bolts and nuts
  • 3 5/16-by-1-inch hex head bolts, washers, nuts
  • Drill
  • 8-inch long 3/8-inch drill bit
  • 5/16-inch drill bit
  • Pencil
  • Welder
  • Hacksaw
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Instructions

  1. Measure, Cut, Drill

    • 1

      Determine where on the canoe you wish to mount the motor. A good location is just behind the seat you plan to use most of the time. If you plan to be solo most of the time, use the seat closest to the midpoint of the canoe for better balance. If you will usually have a passenger, plan to mount the motor just behind the seat closest to the stern of the canoe.

    • 2

      Measure the distance from the gunnel (the upper edge of the side of the canoe) on one side to the gunnel on the opposite side at the point you plan to position the motor mount.

    • 3

      Use a hacksaw to cut a piece of 1½-inch angle iron 8 inches longer than the distance between the gunnels.

    • 4

      Cut a second piece of angle iron 8 inches long.

    • 5

      Bore a 5/16-inch hole 3/4 inch from each the end of the 8-inch angle iron centered from the angle to the edge.

    • 6

      Drill a 5/16-inch hole 1 inch from the end of the piece of angle iron cut to be 8 inches longer than the width of the canoe. Again, center the hole from the edge of the steel to the angle of the steel.

    • 7

      Bore two holes in the two-by-six piece of wood, using a long, 3/8-inch bit. Center the hole on the narrow side of the board, 1 inch from each end, being careful to drill down through the piece of wood so the bit exits the board on the opposite edge, still centered and still an inch from each end.

    • 8

      Drill two 3/8-inch holes in the long piece of angle iron 1 inch and 5 inches from the end opposite the 5/16-inch hole and on the same side of the angle. These holes will eventually match up with the two holes drilled in the two-by-six.

    Assemble and Mount

    • 9

      Lay the 8-inch piece of angle iron on the gunnel so the midpoint of the steel is at the location you measured the width of the canoe. The sides of the angle iron with the 5/16-inch holes should be flat on the gunnel; the other side of the angle should protrude down on the inside of the gunnel and tight to the gunnel strip.

    • 10

      Lay the longer piece of angle iron across the gunnels. Center the 5/16-inch hole at one end on the gunnel on the opposite side from where you positioned the short piece of angle iron. The long piece of angle iron will lie across the short piece, lying on the gunnel, and the end with the 3/8-inch holes will extend out to the side of the canoe.

    • 11

      Mark the angle and location where these two pieces of angle iron meet so they can be removed, taken to the welding table and repositioned exactly.

    • 12

      Weld the two pieces of angle iron together exactly as they fit on the canoe. Allow the welds to cool.

    • 13

      Drop the 7-inch carriage bolts through the holes in the board, fit the board and bolts onto the end of the angle iron and fasten tight, using the 3/8-inch nuts.

    • 14

      Set the motor mount in position across the gunnels of the canoe, then use the 5/16-inch holes in the steel angles as pilot holes to drill 5/16-inch holes through the metal of the gunnels.

    • 15

      Attach with 5/16-inch hex head bolts, washers and nuts.

    • 16

      Mount the electric motor onto the two-by-six board and adjust the depth of the motor so the propeller won’t hit the bottom of the canoe.