Pontoon boats are a great option for boaters and families looking to enjoy the water. They are a versatile and stable boat, they are popular to use for fishing, relaxing or getting together with friends. However, these large boats come with drawbacks, most common is handling. Whether you plan to use it for fishing or you are having trouble docking, a trolling motor is a great auxiliary motor to have on a pontoon boat. The decision to add a trolling motor is easy, but more important is the decision on how and where to mount your pontoons trolling motor.

Stern

The stern is a common location to mount a trolling motor, but that’s only if there is enough room. The most common and affordable trolling motors are designed for transom mounting. Their brackets make it simple and easy to mount onto any mounting surface that is at minimum 6” wide, 3” long and 1.5” thick. This position is great for easy access and finer adjustments in maneuvering compared to gas outboards. Operating the trolling motor from the stern does give you better control, but not as well as a bow mounted motor. Plus, depending on your pontoon boat, you may already have a gas outboard taking up most of the room on your stern.

Bow

Using a bow mounted pontoon trolling motor has many advantages over stern mounted motors. A bow mounted pontoon trolling motor give you better control and allows you to more easily maneuver your pontoon boat. This is ideal trolling motor placement when trolling while dragging a fishing line, or docking your ungraceful deck boat. Bow mount specific trolling motors on the market can be very expensive and many don’t allow hand tiller control. Luckily Newport Vessels is coming out with a pontoon trolling motor in the near future. This will cut your trolling motor costs in half and allow you to make adjustments by hand instead of stomping the floor for your foot pedal or smacking your malfunctioning wireless bluetooth motor.

Another issue with bow mounting your trolling motor is that pontoon boats will not have a specific mounting surface on the bow. Typically there isn’t a lip in front of the gate for mounting and the floor is thicker than 3” (the maximum a transom mount bracket can fit). A common, but risky solution is DIY mounts or modifying your railing to make room for the motor. A simpler and less risky solution is a pontoon mount. In the near future, Newport Vessels will also be releasing a Pontoon mount to be paired with our Pontoon trolling motor! Extremely sturdy, durable and only requires 6 screws to mount. Less time modifying and more time fishing.

Summary

A trolling motor can become a great addition to your pontoon boat. Useful for fine adjustments or parking and especially for use while fishing. Determining whether to mount it on your stern or bow depends on your application and available space.