Pond Prowler Set Up Help

Just obtained a 9 foot pond prowler. Though designed to be a two person boat I am using it solely as a single person. That being the case I have two question.
1). Weight distribution. Should I set up my primary sitting area in the front, back or dead center?
2). I am looking to get a fairly strong trolling motor 40-55# but I can't decide if it will control/run better hooked up to the bow or stern. If you have one an have experimented with this please help a brother man out.

Thanks in advance.

Ive fished one alone and it didnt really matter where I sat but I liked being in the middle best. It gave me room for a cooler on one side and gear on the other. I had a 30lb on the back and it seemed to do just fine. Take it out a couple times set up different and youll figure out what you like better real quick. Good luck and have fun brotha man!

I'll tell you what I've learned from the 3-4 or so of these I've had.

If you sit at the very front and go alone the butt of it will raise up. Not too big of a deal and you wouldn't know it unless you see a photo of yourself on the water. So with that I'd set it up with the trolling motor up front and keep my battery(ies) at the very back. I like to carry 2 batteries and a 9 footer will have plenty of weight capacity for you to do this. I also carry a large tackle bag, again knowing I'm trying to offset my weight on the front. You could even carry a pretty good sized ice-chest if you wanted. I think a 48 quart fits between the rails pretty good.

Some things I've learned for rigging... You need to buy a rear rudder. They are inexpensive but will do wonders for keeping you tracking straight. Here's a link:

http://busterboats.com/asccustompages/products.asp?productid=12

If you're going to use a pretty big trolling motor, say a 50 lb or so, you'll want to use rubber boots where it fits to the transom. You can find the flat rubber chair stops (bottoms) at Home Depot. They're about the size of a silver dollar and will help the transom mount stay tight. They fit between the flat tabs on the transom mount screws and the transom. This is important because if you go to turn with the trolling motor and have it on high it can climb up the transom on you. This isn't a problem with the 28-36 lb motors but it was a nuisance with my 50 lb'er.

I also like to use a trailer for it instead of loading it in the truck. That gets old because you have to load the boat, then put all your stuff in it. When you get to the lake you have to empty the stuff out, then take out the boat then put the stuff back in the boat. It can get pretty old. With a flat bed trailer you don't even have to get the tires wet. Push it off the trailer till part of the boat hits the water. It's so buoyant you can step sideways off the trailer and sit it on the bank. Loading this back up is much easier than putting it in a truck. A 4x8 Flat bed trailer can be purchased at Northern Tool for about $299.

If you don't know it, any factory chair at Academy will bolt right to the seat base. They use a universal mount so you don't have to sit on the hard plastic seats that it comes with.

That should get you started. Here's a photo of my last one to give you some ideas.

Thanks gentlemen.

The reason I was asking about the trolling motor placement was because I am considering a foot controlled trolling motor which would free up my hands. I will also be running two batteries just for safety and have my Kayak paddles in tow. The 80# of battery weight in the rear and me in the center should make this little guy stable as all get out.

I got a steal on this bugger with a trailer for 300.00, I like the way you loaded your boat bak`erds hahahaha. That's exactly what I am going to do.

Good advice above. I have one that I used the heck out of until recently and if you can rig it up with a foot control it would be nice. Hand control can be a little bit of a chore on a windy day.