Patent ID: 7303595

Claim:
An assembly for grasping a column of a trolling motor to mount said trolling motor on a watercraft comprising: a flexible gripping isolator sleeve positioned on said column and a retainer in which said gripping isolator sleeve is received so that said gripping isolator sleeve will hold said column in an operating position, said retainer having openings through which said column extends so that said retainer does not contact said column and so that, except for said gripping isolator sleeve, no other mounting element for assisting in retaining said column in said operating position is in contact with said column, said retainer having a hinged door which is pivotably openable for receiving and removing said gripping isolator sleeve and said retainer also including a tightenable latch for said hinged door, said gripping isolator sleeve imparting a sufficient degree of gripping tension to said column so that said gripping isolator sleeve holds said column securely in said operating position during normal operating conditions when said watercraft is traveling on a body of water and a lower end of said trolling motor extends beneath a surface of said body of water, said gripping isolator sleeve having an exterior, said gripping isolator sleeve having a configuration including at least one outer void in said exterior which projects into and extends substantially around said gripping isolator sleeve and which remains empty when said gripping isolator sleeve is held by said retainer so that, to protect said trolling motor from being damaged when an impact occurs between said lower end of said trolling motor and an underwater obstruction, said gripping isolator sleeve will flex sufficiently within said retainer that said column will pivot in any direction about a point within, and with respect to, said retainer up to at least 12° away from said operating position, and wherein said gripping isolator sleeve comprises at least one nonmetallic material which will automatically act to immediately return said column to said operating position within said retainer when said trolling motor is free of said underwater obstruction.