Video · Kayak Motors & Power

AutoBoat GPS Adapter Install: Turning a Tiller Motor Smart

I walk through installing the AutoBoat Smart Head adapter kit, which turns a plain tiller trolling motor into a GPS motor you run from a remote.

Published May 9, 2026 · 4:46 · Watch on YouTube

What’s in this video

This is the Gen 2 AutoBoat adapter kit going onto a basic five-speed tiller trolling motor. The Gen 3 kit installs very similar and looks the same. First I pull the bolt through the motor head and take the head off. Tip: when in doubt, film it, so you know how it goes back together. Then I pull all the terminal connections. The red and black wires carry main power, and those are the ones you need. I snip the thin yellow and white wires since I don’t need them.

Next the auto drive (the motorized collar) slides over the wires and down the shaft. Line it up and put the steering lock T-bolt back in, but not so tight that the motor can’t turn. The depth collar is a clamshell, so it wraps around the shaft and you crank the T-bolt down. I strip the red and black wires about a half inch. Do not twist them. Open the quick connects, press the wires in, clamp them down. That’s it. Push the wires back up and seat the head, and make sure the arrow on top points in the direction of travel.

In a few minutes that dumb tiller motor is a smart head GPS motor. No more tiller, I run everything from the remote or the app.

Quick takeaways

  • Film the motor head while you take it apart so you can put it back together.
  • Strip the red and black power wires about a half inch and do not twist them before pressing them into the quick connects.
  • Snug the steering lock T-bolt, but not so tight the motor can't turn.
  • The arrow on top of the smart head has to point in the direction of travel.

Gear from this video

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