Transom or bow mount

Bow Mount Hand Controlled. But that's just my opinion and suits my style of fishing.
I had a Birdsall mount and upgraded to a bow mount. I will never look back.

 

You've got to think about your fishing situation. I was all about bow mounts but realized that if I bought a transom mount and a Birdsall-type adapter, I could also use the troller on the back of my other boat for poll and troll zones. Also, not all mounts have to be as expensive as the Birdsall ones.

 

if you have the room for a bow mount i would go that route, if you dont then the transom mount w/ birdsall mount is your next best option, on my boat i really dont have the room for a bow mount so i've got the transom mount attached with a birdsall mount,  put a backing plate of such made out of marine ply or starboard for the birdsall mount to spread the load on your deck. one disadvantage to using a transom mount ( at least on a minn kota) is that i'm always breaking the "paddle" which is the piece that locks it in the tilt angle you desire, good thing for me is that they are only a few bucks so i keep a few on hand incase of a " mid weekend" repair  ;D the co pilots have some niffty advantages but i personally like to keep it simple.... kinda like a less is more type of things ;D and just stay with a tiller as i've read about a lot of problems associated with that wireless stuff

 

What SBC said.
If you go the Birdsall route, try and come up with a way to strap/brace the TM to the deck while running. That 40lbs bouncing out over space will flex the s*** out of the deck.
TRW

 

I went with the transom style mount (bluepoint). It hasn't seemed to stress the bow to much, I do strap the tm down when running. If it is really choppy out I take the TM off. I really like how open it leaves the front deck. I got my mount used and then had a buddy powder coat it white. Dragon Fly boatworks did the install.

 

you get that same type of deck plate as tarponator if you remove the birdsall mount, what i did was cut a piece of marine ply and place it under the deck to act as a backing plate, i also secure the motor with a bungee cord ( black to match the rest of my outfit ) to keep it semi secure i ride it pretty hard and no signs of stress cracks yet