Being the newbie that I am, I thought it would be easy to switch from a Maxxum to a Terrova. Whooboy, lesson learned. I wanted a Terrova for the iPilot, since I'm unable to get to the front of the boat, my wife has had to do all the TM driving and she's kinda tired of it, so the remote sounded perfect.

I read up on it and thought that I had ordered all the parts to just do a quick switch, I mistakenly thought the "adapter" plate would "adapt" a Maxxum mount to a Terrova mount. Hah! All it does is adapt a Terrova to a quick disconnect Terrova plate.

So, I got my best friend and brother to come over to help do the switch. We took off the Maxxum to find this underneath. Also, the boat deck was specifically reinforced directly underneath the Maxxum mount holes, and nowhere else.



If I disregarded the ugliness and just mounted the Terrova, 2 of the 4 bolts(can't use all 6, 2 of them hang over the bow) would be in non-reinforced deck. Plus I couldn't disregard the ugliness anyway. So we spent hours, doing nothing but making 2 cardboard cutouts. One was a match for the Maxxum mount and would only be 1/8" thick, and matching the deck lines on outside edge. This was needed because the original Maxxum had compressed the deck to where there was a ridge line lower than the rest of the deck, so we needed to fill it up. We could only use 5 of the 6 bolts, as 1 would be in the way for the Terrova bolts. The other cutout was the "top plate" and would also match the 5 Maxxum bolt holes and countersunk, plus have 4 bolts facing up to mount the Terrova onto, countersunk from below and would overhang the other plate on 1 side to get the alignment I wanted for the Terrova when stowed.

cardboard cutouts





Ok, cool, now al I need is to get a machine shop to make my plates. Hah! I spent a month finding a shop that would take on the job. Seems all the shops I tried were either too small to tackle it, or too big and didn't want to mess with it. I finally found one to do it, but their laser was down and they would have to outsource to another shop for cutting, making it about a 4 week turnaround. Man, can't catch a break. So, a week later they call and say they have the drawings ready, so they emailed them to me, and printed out fullsize copies for me to verify. My brother and I convinced ourselves that we had them correct, without removing the Maxxum again, and I gave them the go ahead.

I got them back early this week, the only thing I didn't plan for was weight, I had chosen SS since so much of it was going to be showing, and the fact I picked 3/8" thick for top plate(was gonna use 1/4" but got worried about all the countersinking), made the package about 15lbs. Oh well, they look good. I'll just have to lose some weight.

Left one is bottom "filler" plate









Today(saturday) was the moment of truth on whether we got it all right.
1. Did they match the lines we wanted? Yes.
2. Did the 5 holes for both plates line up with holes in boat? Yes.
3. Did the 4 studs fit the Terrova? Almost. The shop tack welded them in for me, and they were not exactly straight. Had to ream out the Terrova holes a 1/16" to get it on.
4. Did the Terrova head line up where I had wanted it, inside the rubrail when stowed? Yes.
5. Did the shaft clear the boat when deployed? Yes.

Got a 4.5 out of 5, I call that a homerun.

It took us about 4 hrs to remove the Maxxum, mount the Terrova, run the Humminbird DI transducer wire thru the Terrova, and clean things all up. I have to say, it looks great, and am still kinda amazed that it all worked out, coming from a couple cardboard cutouts with bolt holes pierced thru them.







We tested both the remote and foot pedal, turning on prop and left/right. Can't wait to try it out on the water.

Yes sir, mine was a pain too and I didn't install it anywheres near as good as you did! The biggest complaint I have with the Terrova is the mounting system and the fact bass boats can only use 4 bolts, I had to use 3 bolts and a big wood screw. I sure hope mine never pulls off the deck.

I designed a plate that extends out to the end of the TM and protects the front. It uses all 6 of the holes in the boat and uses all 6 of the holes in Terrova. I had it made from aluminum. I coated it with a rubber coating like spray in bed liner and it works great.

You guys are making me rethink my mounting option! I might have to go the aluminum route so it's stronger.

Grout-scout, couldn't hurt. Is the deck you attached to reinforced underneath? If so, you probably won't have a problem, but if not I might be worried.

Tb1107, that is a good looking solution? Did you use studs facing up like mine for the Terrova bolts? After we mounted it I had the thought of could have made te plate go out to use al 6, but too late. And for me at least, I needed a different angle than the original, to keep the Terrova inside the edge when stowed, but I bought a 54" model also.

Do either of you guys use a Ram mount or something, to support/lock the head area when stowed? I think it will be a pain in the butt for my wife to always have to slide the lock ring down to "zero" to lock in stowed position.

I used SS screws and had the 6 holes for mounting the terrova threaded. I offset the mount some to keep the head inside the boat when stored as well as give it more space when unloading boat from trailer on steep ramps. I have not used any ram mounts to secure the head but have thought about installing a Velcro strap on the boat deck to secure while moving across the lake.

I made a bracket that swivels up and around the shaft (picture a stick with the letter U on top) and I have velcro that goes around the shaft to secure it. Ram would have been easier but I'd rather save a little and my contraption works just as well, maybe easier than the ram. It keeps the head from bouncing while running in rough water and it can't ever accidently deploy. Something simple like a bungee would even work but the head would still bounce and for the price of these things I want mine to last as long as possible.

I have the same setup just be very careful coming off the trailer:) Once I figured that part out I was ok, but let's just say I had a couple of scary moments. The good news is you will love Ipilot or should I say your wife will.

The quick release mount Minn Kota sells does everything you need...

Awesome work and nice job, but the quick release solved alot of the problems you faced for me.

Mxbubs - I bought both the MKA-21 quick release mount and the MKA-022 "adapter plate" mount for the Terrova. Neither one did anything related to the Maxxum mount holes. Not sure how it helped you out. Thanks for kind words.

BassinBilly - I was wondering about coming off trailer with that longer overhang, I will be paying attention for sure the first few times.

Grout-scout/Tb1107 - thanks for ideas, guess I will look into some form of head support/lock.

It looks like we have the same boat. I have the saltwater base, drilled holes through the bow and dropped bolts thru the holes, and removed my front console and spun on the bolts..

I dont like how far it sticks out though.

Really appreciate this thread as I received my Terrova Friday and planned on installing it Sunday. tb1107...I took your drawing to a machine shop this morning to get the plate built. It looks like with only 2 small modifications it is exactly what I need to replace my Maxxum with the Terrova. You would think that Minn Kota would provide such a part as this seems a common installation challange. Thanks again...will try to post pictures later of my install.

Yeah Deerfarmer, I was kind of amazed that they didn't have something for this. Glad this thread is proving useful to people, good luck.

Glad it helped...good luck.

Very impressive....