Simple modification reduces friction and wear
Breaking the pull rope on a trolling motor is madding, especially since it makes getting the motor up and down difficult for the rest of the trip.
However, replacing the ropes is a herculean job, as well — it’s almost as if the manufacturers don’t want you to be able to do the job yourself.
So Louisiana’s Tim Bye wants to ensure his rope last just as long as possible, and he’s come up with a way to do that using a piece of flexible rubber tubing.
First, Bye has replaced the factory rope with a piece of nylon rope. But you don’t have to replace the standard rope.
He then ran that rope through a length of rubber tubing that is long enough to cover the rope from the hole in the trolling motor bracket out a few inches past the stainless steel bar against which the rope would otherwise rub.
Next, Bye pushes on a washer that is just larger than the tubing diameter, and then he ties a knot in the rope to hold that washer in place.
“You get all that friction when the rope rubs on that bar, and that’s what eventually breaks it,” he said.
Now he has a rubber cushion minimizing wear on the rope, and he’s had no problems with it breaking.
