getting line tangled in your trolling motor

[jwmiller33]

ok, so last summer i got a minnkota maxxum 55lb transom mount trolling motor. i bought it used from a guy and got a good deal on it, and it was in brand new condition. when i got it, i took off the prop and found a ton of line wrapped around the shaft. im talking a lot.. 3-4 different kinds/types of line.. anyways, i got my line wrapped in there once or twice over last fishing season but i always removed it RIGHT after it happen.. take the prop off, get all the line off, good to go..

i ended up getting some water in the lower unit and it froze solid and wouldnt work when temps got below 32. so i bought new seals and brought it to a minnkota licensed dealer and they had to clean up my armature cuz it was so dirty from water being in there so long. it ended up costing me 65 bucks to get it all cleaned, and assembled with the new seals (bought the seals directly from minnkota for 3-4 bucks).

so after paying a ton of money into getting my trolling motor back into 100% working condition, i swore to myself this year i was going to be super anal about people fishing in my boat and getting their line close to the trolling motor, as i JUST got it fixed.. so i let a buddy use my trolling motor on his boat when we went out on the river because my boat was getting fixed and we wanted more lbs of thrust to tackle the river current... so i let my buddy put it on his boat, but i was still in the boat. he ended up getting his line all wrapped in the trolling motor.. he told me it got caught in the big motor. i asked him a couple more times if he was sure it was the big motor and not the trolling motor..

anyways, that was our first time out with my newly repaired trolling motor.. we used it 3-4 more times on the river and i had it in the garage tonight and decided to take the prop off "just to check and make sure" there was no line there.. take off the prop, lo and behold, a bunch of line wrapped around the shaft and i am p*ssed!!! if i would have known there was line in my motor, i would have taken it out RIGHT away and not taken it back on the river 4 more times with line still on the shaft.

do you guys think i need to replace the seals again after having line on there for multiple trips on the water? i dont want water to get into the lower unit again, because it makes the trolling motor go slower and not perform like it should. i would like some input as to what i should do. i havent even put my trolling motor back on my boat yet and it might need to be sent back to the shop to get another set of seals before any [more] water gets in there

/rant

[traveler]

JW...I tink dat motor got some bad mojo...better tink along da lines of a virgin sacrifice:)

[Legend_89]

JW,

Whats cheaper, and Three or Four bucks for new seals or the $65 for Minnekota to fix the unit. I'd replace because you just don't know how much damage (if any) has been done. Plus this is the best time to do it when you aren't missin and fishen. JMO

[jwmiller33]

thanks for the input. is there anyway to tell if water got in there without actually taking the armature out? the thing is, i can replace the seals myself.. it's just i don't know how to get the armature back into where it's supposed to be. i don't know if you have ever taken the armature out of a trolling motor, but to put it back in, you have to push apart the two wire bushels on the very inside to get the bearing (or whatever it is) into correct place. i didn't know how to do this when i took it apart the first time.. so if i redo the seals, i guess i gotta bring it back to those guys to redo the entire thing

[jwmiller33]

what do you guys do if someone in the boat gets line in the trolling motor? do you wait til you get home to fix it, or do you take the prop off on the water and get it out right away? how bad is it to leave line tangled in there for a short period of time?

[mn_bowhunter]

I throw them in the lake and let em untangle it. Maybe that's why it's only happened a couple times.

[jwmiller33]

ya its hard to untangle the line and get ALL of it out of the motor without actually taking off the prop to get it all off.. you can think you got it all off by pulling the line out, but chances are there is still some line around the shaft. so do you guys take the prop off at any point after getting line caught in there to check and make sure you got it all off?

[Esox_Magnum]

In 20+ years of running a bowmount I have had line in mine once. I do pull the prop a couple times a year on all my motors just to check though. Took a lower unit out once due to line on the shaft, lesson learned there.

[Jim Almquist]

If you are the operator of the boat it is really your job to let people know that there is a chance that there line my be in danger of getting in the motor. If it looks like it might happen shut off the motor and everybody should reel in. as far as when to pull the line I usually get as much out as possible right away and when I get home I will then pull the prop and clean it thoroughly.

[harvey lee]

I have never got line in my bow mount. When I had a trolling motor on the transon, well thats a different story. I pull my props at least once a month at the most if not every two weeks if fishing alot to check the trolling motor prop and the big motor.

Only takes a few minutes to check and one can save alot.