Hey folks,

I'm trying to mount my new TM but it seems to stick out off the bow 3 or 4 inches in order for shaft to clear the bow by 1". I am not a big fan of it sticking this far out. Do they make a type of quick release or movable bracket that can slide the TM back and forth 3 or 4 that you have had experience with?

Part 2. On my front deck there is a plate with 3 openings. 1 is a TM receptacle, the middle is a light, and the last one was empty/open. Something was there before by the looks of it but i'm not sure what. Can anyone give any insight as to what this 3rd opening might have had in it (it is cut out round like the TM receptacle). Its a 2004 1860cc alumacraft.

Minn Kota makes a sliding bracket. You can also check out LiftSaver mounts. Videos of both on Youtube. The designer of the LiftSaver is a local guy named Ron Duran. Good guy.

It was most likely a battery gauge for your TM batteries. That is what my 3rd one is.

Also, I replaced my cranking battery recently and am thinking of wiring up the old one to my TM battery in parallel to get a little more juice. Is this a good idea? Will they both charge well wired this way?

Cranking batteries are not meant to be drawn down and recharged like trolling batteries are. Plus, you will have 2 different battery types, so they may charge back up differently. Can you do it...sure you can...but I would not recommend it.

The plats on he cranking battery will go in short order.

I noticed my deck has 12 holes that i believe are from previous owners' trolling motors. Unfortunately none of them line up with my motor (there is one set that does line up but I have to have the TM 6" out past the edge). Would it be bad or weaken the structure if i drilled my own?

A very bad idea. When two batteries are placed in parallel, they want to equalize energy/voltage. As soon as a charger is disconnected, the weaker/older battery in less prime condition will immediately begin to draw down the good battery. If the older battery is in so-so shape, in short order you'll likely have two batteries in parallel that have less energy than if you had not connected them together in the first place. The life of the newer battery will be diminished as well - count on it.

Mine has holes from 2 previous trolling motors. Either find a sliding mount to use older holes and still be able to slide the trolling motor forward or drill the new holes and fill in the old ones

I was not sure what to with the black washers. I put them between the deck and TM since the TM mount wasn't not flush with the deck. Any advice?

Talk to David at shut up and fish. He is on the forum.

There are brackets that allow it to slide back or lift back when not in use. The 2 mentioned earlier should do it