Advice needed: fixing up my jon boat

[sumpfan]

How's it goin everybody?

I was hoping to get some tips and advice from the esteemed members of this message board.

I've got a 14-foot jon boat that's basically skin and bones - ie no carpet or livewells, etc. I recently bought a bow-mounted trolling motor, so I set about building a small casting deck on which to mount it. The deck is now completed and bolted into the boat.

My main question is this: Where should I mount the trolling motor bracket. I've seen several different ways. Some people mount it parallel with the side of the boat so that the motor drops into the water on the front-right or front-left corner of the boat. I've also seen motors mounted that cross the deck diagonally, so that the motor drops in just to the left (or right) of center. Then recently I saw a motor mounted at the very front of the boat that ran perpendicular to the boat's length - ie it was mounted parallel with the front end of the boat, not parallel with the side of the boat.

I hope this makes sense. I don't know what the best method is. I should also mention that right now I've got an anchor that drops from the very front center of the boat. I really like it and would prefer to leave it (and the mounted hardware that holds it) there. I figure that I won't ever have the anchor dropped and the trolling motor going at the same time, so I'm hoping it won't be a problem.

If you guys can help me tackle this one, I'll come back and ask for help on my fish finders, plus how to create a livewell from scratch. (Using a cooler maybe??)

I'll be using the boat mainly for bass fishing on small lakes and ponds, though I have a couple friends that are itching to take it out for flounder inshore. As you might have guessed, I've never fixed up a boat before.

Thanks in advance! I really appreciate the help.