Side mounted electric motor

[Lotech Joe]

I fish out of a 12' Jon boat. I also use an electric trolling motor. I'd really like to sit in the middle seat, but even with an extension handle for the motor it's too much of a stretch. Can anyone lend some information on what kind of performance I would loose with the motor mounted on the side of the boat rather than the stern?
Thanks,

[HillbillyGeek]

I fish out of a 12' Jon boat. I also use an electric trolling motor. I'd really like to sit in the middle seat, but even with an extension handle for the motor it's too much of a stretch. Can anyone lend some information on what kind of performance I would loose with the motor mounted on the side of the boat rather than the stern?
Thanks,

The motor would have to be pushing away from the boat just to keep it pointed in the right direction. This would definitely impact performance because your boat would be going forward and slightly sideways at the same time. Kind of like a car that is way out of alignment.
Hmm... you could set up a push-rod system on the transom using a lawn mower throttle cable, but that would only control left/right with no speed control.
It might even be a better idea to mount a small trolling motor on both sides of the boat (2 motors).
I like to sit in the middle of my 10' jon boat, and yesterday I bought a cool trolling motor extension handle that is adjustable in length from 18 to 24 inches. If 24" isn't long enough, you could always daisy-chain a couple of them together. Joe's has them on sale right now for $17.

[Mike Carey]

how about buying PVC piping to make an inexpensive tiller extension? Side mounting a motor doesn't work very well as noted already and confirmed by my experiences.

[cavdad45]

...or a dowel rod that is bevelled to fit alongside the tiller held in place with a couple hose clamps. Worked for me for a number of years.