Troll-Eze installed in my TR-185 with photos

[Bassinkorea]

The last few times I was out fishing my knees were experiencing some pain due to operating my Motor Guide trolling motor foot pedal. As you can see in the first photo, my pedal was just screwed to the deck of my boat and the pedal sat several inches high, so my legs were at uneven heights all day long when fishing. So I decided to add a trolleze recessed pedal tray.

Photos of the install below...........



Here's the deck after I unscrewed the pedal from the deck.


I made a cardboard template of the tray and taped it to the deck in the position I wanted the tray.


Then I removed the carpet from inside the template with a sharp knife.


I drilled each corner with a 3/8" drill-bit to start the cutting with the jigsaw.


This was probably one of the hardest things I have done. It took me quite some time to build up the guts to start cutting a big hole in the deck of my boat, but I got started eventually 


Ok, the Tritons have a vertical centre support brace. This was the trickiest part of the job. I wanted to keep the brace in place to keep support below the Troll-Eze tray so that I didn't lose any deck strength.


The depth of the pedal tray was just less than 4", so I cut the brace out at the distance so that the tray would sit on top of the brace. I also had to cut a slot for the tray drain hose.


Here's the tray installed and complete. I haven't tried fishing with it yet, but just testing on the deck feels sooooooo much better.

[pawpaw]

That looks great Steve, and  really good instructions and pictures.

[BHubb]

Looks really good Steve, I'll bet you'll enjoy the comfort of having the foot lowered.  Sure makes a difference from having to stand with one leg up all day.

[Mike Noble]

Looks great Steve.  You are all set now!

[Donald Garner]

Great job Steve, thanks for sharing the pictures and instructions.

[Mike Cork]

Fantastic tutorial, thanks for sharing. You'll love the recess tray, it helps a ton with back and knee pain. Plus you'll find that on days with a lot of wave action your more stable on the deck. Which in turn reduces stress on the back and knees.

Good Job, looks great

[Bigwrench]

Steve ,
     Awesome post ! I am considering installing one on my Ranger and this post was just what I needed ! Probably will be my next project after the blue water led kit install ! Thanks again ! I have some experience drilling holes in my boat ( my structure scan module install almost turned out disastrous)  he he he. so this should be a piece of cake now .


Bass Fishin & Banjer Pickin !

[Bassinkorea]

This is the very same tray I had in my old "foldy" boat, so I know first hand how beneficiary these trays can be. I have a big tournament next weekend and I can't wait to get out there and try it out for 2 full days on the water.

[BassBUFF]

  Excellent job Steve! You're going to really appreciate it about 4 hours into your next tourney!

[SpartanBass]

Have you noticed any stability loss on the deck due to cutting the main brace?


Please do not use Outdoor Hub Mobile, Please find and use TapaTalk for your phone

[Bassinkorea]

Have you noticed any stability loss on the deck due to cutting the main brace?

After I cut the hole the deck had some very small flexes either side of the hole, but now with the tray in place and secured there is no flexing at all. The tray is sitting directly on top of the existing stringer.

[Bassinkorea]

Excellent job Steve! You're going to really appreciate it about 4 hours into your next tourney!

You were so right Steve, I fished for 2 days solid this past weekend and never felt a single pain in my knees like previous weeks. What an amazing difference this tray makes.

And..........there wasn't a single amount of flex in the deck at all, no loss of deck strength.

[Eric L.]

I know this is an older post, but the write up was really good and with fishing season on us I'm feeling it in the lower back..lol.  I replaced the carpet and seat upholstery on the ranger last year, but didn't get to the front deck with carpet yet so during this down season (mid summer for me) will be installing one of these with the new carpet.  Here's the new grey carpet on the back deck.  Also added some of the boat recover, Bernadette(my wife) is a master seamstress I've come to realize...one of her test fitting and one of the almost complete

[Bassinkorea]

Your new carpet looks great Eric.....now time to fit the trolling pedal tray and new carpet on the front deck 

[Eric L.]

Your new carpet looks great Eric.....now time to fit the trolling pedal tray and new carpet on the front deck 

lol, i'm hoping we have at least another month of bearable temps before the 100+ degree days set in...