Rhodan on 88 Trophy Pro - Cool Upgrade 2

[Finest Kind]

Recently completed installation of my new Rhodan 96" shaft trolling motor on my classic Grady...the spot lock feature is a game changer!




96" Rhodan on custom fabricated aluminum packing plate.



Losiggy 36 volt 100 amp Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePo4) battery mounted in stbd under bunk compartment.




2 gauge wire run through anchor locker and attached to Battery Tender trolling motor connector




All I need now is free time to use the boat and cooperating sea conditions to occur at the same time!

 

[A&J Outdoors]

This is the same setup I'd like to use on my 282, nice work. You wouldn't happen to have the measurements for the metal plate it is mounted to, would you?

 

[Finest Kind]

This is the same setup I'd like to use on my 282, nice work. You wouldn't happen to have the measurements for the metal plate it is mounted to, would you?

My measurements probably won’t work on your boat.
But Rhodan includes a template for the mounting puck (bracket) which by the way now has a cool integral locking feature on the new models. You will need to get the Aluminum plate separately and custom fabricate it after you dry fit it exactly where you need it to be before you drill holes through your Boat.
Here is a great video to watch that clarifies what goes into properly mounting a trolling motor:

In my application we had to cut the bow rail and install a hinge, collar and locking pin. Although the shaft and head of the unit did slide under the bow rail without the cut, retrieving that LONG shaft with the weight of the motor on the end had the leverage working against us, and trying to pull it back in at the exact angle needed to fit back under the rail was VERY difficult at the dock, and would be impossible in rough seas. With the rail cut, now the shaft and motor can easily be lifted straight up, then folded over and secured in the stored position.

We also had to relocate the port nav light from where the trolling motor sits forward to the base of the pulpit so that it could still be visible at night per USCG specs.

Please let me know if I can be of further help.

 

[ROBERTH]

Nice work! This looks like same install would work for my 92 252G Sailfish. What type of charger and where did you mount it?
I think I could mount a 36v in my forward locker as it comes back pretty far and is very deep.
To me, the hardest part is trying to figure out the rails and parts to make it hinge back and reconnect.

 

[Finest Kind]

Nice work! This looks like same install would work for my 92 252G Sailfish. What type of charger and where did you mount it?
I think I could mount a 36v in my forward locker as it comes back pretty far and is very deep.
To me, the hardest part is trying to figure out the rails and parts to make it hinge back and reconnect.

Thanks Robert, gotta give props to Ryan at RK Yacht Tender Maintenance at 954-649-5138 who is a local Rhodan distributor here in the Ft. Lauderdale area. He supplied the trolling motor and did the installation right here at my dock. I helped him as needed, did the wiring, and purchased the battery, circuit breaker, switch and trolling motor plug prior to his arrival.

Yes, mounting the battery in the forward locker under the starboard bunk is exactly where I put mine. Although the battery is much lighter than 3 lead acid batteries would be, its still around 70 pounds of added weight...but as it turns out, that weight (plus the deep drop fishing weights and other heavy gear I keep in my port forward compartments to balance the other side) actually HELPS the ride in a chop.

Here is a link to the battery I bought.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5HZWCNG/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B0C5HZWCNG&pd_rd_w=a2vVb&content-id=amzn1.sym.d81b167d-1f9e-48b6-87d8-8aa5e473ea8c&pf_rd_p=d81b167d-1f9e-48b6-87d8-8aa5e473ea8c&pf_rd_r=V81W55ATKPTTT3XJ2R9G&pd_rd_wg=bBDWb&pd_rd_r=27798cb9-e188-4d8e-abaf-ca7dcb349c2f&s=automotive&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWxfdGhlbWF0aWM

The package I bought came with a battery charger, and since these LiFePo4 batteries hold a charge for several fishing trips, there is no need to mount the charger permanently
I simply clip the leads onto the battery studs, plug it in with an extension cord and the battery is ready to go again overnight.

Regarding the bow rail, zoom in on the pic of the rail above and you can see on the left side of the pic that there is a stainless steel hinge we added on top of the rail, which allows the cut section to fold backwards on top of the section aft of the cut. I secure that with a velcro strap while the Rhodan is being used.
When underway, the Rhodan is secured to the support bracket alongside the outside cabin wall with that same velcro strap, and the gap in between the cut sections of the rail is secured with a piece of pvc pipe (also visible in that same pic), which slides over the gap and is held in place with a stainless steel pin.

As I said, I love the upgrade but this weather down here sucks so far this season and between the wind and other responsibilities, I haven't had time to enjoy it much so far....

 

[DennisG01]

Very nice install! I like the split bow rail - that's ingenious using the PVC pipe

Just out of curiosity, how much run time could a battery like that provide and how would that compare to something like (3) group 27 lead acids? I realize there are other benefits of lithium that may outweigh a lesser run time (if there is a lower run time) - just curious!

One quick side note on the nav light... it looks like you're actually still illegal? It needs to be visible to 112.5* aft. If you don't boat at night, it's a moot point. But at night I could see a situation where another boater, coming from your port side, would mistake you for being at anchor and possibly cause a collision. One solution would be to install a combo light up on the front of the bow rail.

 

[ROBERTH]

Maybe one could add a small mounting area to the aluminum mounting plate just out to the side and mount the nav light there where it could be seen fully. Hard to see how that would work based on the pics, but something to think about.

 

[Finest Kind]

Very nice install! I like the split bow rail - that's ingenious using the PVC pipe

Just out of curiosity, how much run time could a battery like that provide and how would that compare to something like (3) group 27 lead acids? I realize there are other benefits of lithium that may outweigh a lesser run time (if there is a lower run time) - just curious!

One quick side note on the nav light... it looks like you're actually still illegal? It needs to be visible to 112.5* aft. If you don't boat at night, it's a moot point. But at night I could see a situation where another boater, coming from your port side, would mistake you for being at anchor and possibly cause a collision. One solution would be to install a combo light up on the front of the bow rail.

This LiFePo4 battery is great....is comes with bluetooth and connects to my iphone with an app...I can see the exact state of charge and performance specs of the battery right from the helm as I navigate. see pic:



I only use about 10% of the battery capacity per hour at spot-lock in rough seas and typically get 3 fishing trips out of a single charge. When its down to 25% or so, I clip on the portable charger overnight, plug it into my electrical service on the dock, and its back to 100% in a few hours. The charger is "smart" and cuts off the power once the battery is fully charged, and for long term storage, it would come back on again to keep the battery topped off if needed.

One of the biggest benefits however is that these batteries continue to provide full voltage as the battery charge is depleted...all the way down to less than 5% of capacity!
Lead/acid and/or AGM batteries will not supply full voltage as the charge depletes, in fact once they go below 50% of charge, the voltage drops to the point the trolling motor would be inoperable.

Thanks for the compliments, all I need is for this damn wind to die down so I can go out and enjoy it!

 

[DennisG01]

Wow, that's some impressive battery life - especially what you said about the minimal draw during the spot lock. I would have thought that that would have drawn the battery down much more. Nice!