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When I mounted my trolling motor at the bow I did As Binkie suggested using epoxy and pre drilled for lag bolts . Worked so well that when I didn't lock motor up, at full throttle the motor dropped I thought in that split second everything would be gone but it stayed and bent that stainless shaft like nothing . When I removed the motor I filled the holes with tinted epoxy and you can hardly notice it . Ive used that technique several times since .