Minn-kota trolling motor plug

Since I bought my boat 10 years ago. I’ve been going to replace the Atwood plug, with something better. This week I noticed was showing signs of having been warm enough to melt rubber a bit. It just looks like a good idea, that the Minn-kota hangs down. Rather than having the weight of the cord flexing on the plug. The contacts don’t seem to be very heavy but might be ok not having the stress like other plugs. We put a Marinco plug in my brothers boat last year. The contacts look better but you still have the weight of the cord. Plus, it hangs out over the deck a little. More apt to catch a foot stepping in or out of the boat. Or getting tweaked by a tackle bag. Or 80# Labrador. Anyone had experience with one. At $125 it’s twice the price of other plugs. But I’m ok with that if it will serve me well.

I had the same problem with one of my connections getting loose and making the wires hot. I went to this new style Minn Kota has that has a screw on collar and seems much stronger. It was a kit that comes with everything needed to splice in to both the boat side and the trolling motor side.

You can just hard wire it in. No plug needed.

super_do wrote:

You can just hard wire it in. No plug needed.

Hard wiring it in will work but it makes it difficult to remove your trolling motor if you ever want to and I’ve removed mine several times over the years for various reasons.
I don’t want mine plugged in all of the time for other reasons as well.
I may be in the minority, but when I’m not using my trolling motor, I always unplug it. I see no need to run power to it when not needed and I want to eliminate any room for error. I especially don’t want it plugged in when charging my batteries.
I know you’ll say you’ve never had any issues but I’ve worked around electronics long enough to know that eliminating power is the only way to completely insure that there won’t be any issues.

I love the screw on collar idea.
Mine is ALWAYS taken off the boat. It sits is storage and I would rather not advertise. THere are lights, Barbed wire fence and cameras but I still take it with me.
One of the boats next to me that is advertising can get visited instead if that happens to be the case.
Gonna look into that screw on collar – thanks Michael

I recommend the Battery Tender plug.

I recommend the Atwood or similar large type. When you plug the male end into the female, you twist to the right a bit and it locks. They also make these for RV’s and we use them on our Ambulances for block heaters, charging, and keeping the Pt compartment heated. I had the same problem, burned out a small style Atwood when I upgraded from 12 volt to 24 volt years ago. I upgraded to the style listed above and no problems. I have used the same on my last couple rigs with 36 volt trolling motors and those motors work hard in the current. They do not even get hot. Also make sure you have the correct amp circuit breaker installed on your trolling motor feed. Good luck.

I picked up the Minn-Kota. Thanks for the reminder I need to add a circuit breaker as well. The Battery Tender looked good, but the Minn-Kota fits tight to the deck face. My bow gets crowded with my 80# furry helper. He has 4 left feet. Hard wire isn’t an option. I fish from Rainy Lake to the Ozarks. Most vacations are 1,000 round trip. For that reason, along with parking in hotels in bigger cities on the way. My cover also doesn’t accommodate it. Thanks for all the replies.

Steve,
I use both the 2 and 3 prong on my boat for the trolling motor and front graft.
Marinco 2 Wire ConnectPro Receptacle and Plug, 12VCP
Marinco 3 Wire ConnectPro Receptacle and Plug, 12VCP