Does slow trolling with your big engine hurt it?

[early bird]

I have a 125 Merc on a 17' Trophy. It could get down to 2.2mph but the motor wasn't happy about it. I added a trolling plate and cut an additional notch in the bracket so the plate was angled at about 45 degrees. Works like a charm. No problem getting down to speed and keeping the rpms up a bit is much easier on the motor. If I put the plate all the way down and hang out two small drift socks I can get down to walleye trolling speed (1.5-1.7) without much trouble. I considered a kicker at one point but decided against it for many of the same reasons mentioed above.

[C-Hawk]

Bottom line is, I have not heard one single complaint from any of us that have dumped our kickers and I would strongly recommend to anyone making an up-grade, either a re-power like I did or a whole new unit, to go with one motor. I think Ken is right that this is the way of the future. Just remember to leave enough room in the budget for auto-pilot.

[ThreeBuoys]

I guess Lowrance makes a hydraulic Autopilot unit that interfaces with the HDS series for something like $999
Sounds interesting.

[BottomDollar]

I guess Lowrance makes a hydraulic Autopilot unit that interfaces with the HDS series for something like $999
Sounds interesting.

The outboard pilot is definitely on my radar if/when I repower. If you have an HDS and hydraulic steering it comes with everything you need for $1K. Pretty elegant solution for AP.

[Targa V18]

This troll control sounds like the ticket. I wish I had knew about this when purchasing my boat. I couldn't get my 150 Merc. 4 stroke down enough to achieve the speeds I was looking for so I went the only route I knew and put a troll-a-matic plate on it. Any thoughts on doing that? It seems to work real well and have good control when steering also. I only lost 1.5 mph on the top end speed. It sure is ugly on there though.

[ThreeBuoys]

I will try Trolling bags again in the Spring. I have the 150 with Troll Control.
I tried bags last Summer but probably didn't have what would work correctly.
Do I need 18 or 22 for a 19ft. 3000lb boat?

[Macintosh]

I don’t troll but I do use my scanning sonars a lot so I’ve wondered about it a bit. In your opinion does this apply equally to carbed, EFI or DFI 2-strokes as well as 4-strokes? Not suggesting you’re wrong, you’d certainly know better than most, but I’ve heard multiple mercury-certified master mechanics tell me that putting high hours on at idle IS a problem. Even if there are issues I’m sure there’s more than one side to the story and it may be dependent on other factors…curious to hear your thoughts.

[Digitroll Fishing]

Watch the video on the first post with a Mercury tech! I think that should answer the question. I know one individual personally with over 2,000 hours on his 200 hp Optimax and others with E-Tec DFI 2 stroke motors with no issues either. Fuel injection (computer controlled) is way better than Carb motors for trolling.


18" bags for boats 17-20 ft is the rule of thumb.

Amish Outfitters make the best trolling bag out there.

[Macintosh]

Thanks very much--youtube is blocked on the server here at work so I had to watch at home. The video is specific to 4-strokes, it actually doesn't address 2stroke engines that I saw. The advice I received was specific to 2-strokes, so I'm curious what you have to say about whether this applies to carbed engines (sounds like it DOESNT apply?) versus EFI versus DFI. I'm also aware of plenty of high-hour engines of all types, but my understanding was that running a large # of the hours at lower RPM's caused a lot of carbon deposits that could lead to issues with rings? I know a few years ago last time I was boat shopping I had compression tests done on several optimax engines that had low compression on a couple cylinders as well as a high% of the hours at low and moderate rpm's. In all cases the mechanics (all different mechanics at different shops, these were all out of state boats) told me the high% of hours at low RPM's was likely leading to carbon deposits, which caused the low compression. Certainly among a lot of people the "common wisdom" is that it's bad for the engine to run it a lot at idle and that it's happiest at wide-open. I'm not certain I buy that entirely, but it seems likely it's not a black and white issue? I am not very mechanically inclined so I'm sure there's plenty I'm misrepresenting or not understanding fully, but if you care to comment I'd love to learn more. Thanks!

[BottomDollar]

Thanks very much--youtube is blocked on the server here at work so I had to watch at home. The video is specific to 4-strokes, it actually doesn't address 2stroke engines that I saw. The advice I received was specific to 2-strokes, so I'm curious what you have to say about whether this applies to carbed engines (sounds like it DOESNT apply?) versus EFI versus DFI. I'm also aware of plenty of high-hour engines of all types, but my understanding was that running a large # of the hours at lower RPM's caused a lot of carbon deposits that could lead to issues with rings? I know a few years ago last time I was boat shopping I had compression tests done on several optimax engines that had low compression on a couple cylinders as well as a high% of the hours at low and moderate rpm's. In all cases the mechanics (all different mechanics at different shops, these were all out of state boats) told me the high% of hours at low RPM's was likely leading to carbon deposits, which caused the low compression. Certainly among a lot of people the "common wisdom" is that it's bad for the engine to run it a lot at idle and that it's happiest at wide-open. I'm not certain I buy that entirely, but it seems likely it's not a black and white issue? I am not very mechanically inclined so I'm sure there's plenty I'm misrepresenting or not understanding fully, but if you care to comment I'd love to learn more. Thanks!

I don't troll with it, but I do a seafoam concentrate decarb every season on my 2 stroke. Judging by the stuff that comes out the exhaust during the treatment I think that carbon deposits are a real issue on them. This is an old carbed 2S, and it gets run hard on every trip. Google "Dunk's decarb method." It works. I've got 130 compression on all cylinders with original 34 year old rings.

[Macintosh]

That's probably similar to what I'm talking about. In this case, I'm talking about a much larger engine with a much larger pricetag--price out a new 200hp outboard, it's a more than a little scary to contemplate an engine popping or just going south prematurely because someone didn't know to do X, Y or Z if they spend a lot of time at idle, and I don't get the sense a lot of mechanics keep an eye on this level of detail. I know 4strokes are taking over, but there's still a ton of 2strokes from different eras and using different technology out there in use and will be for a long time. Mine is a 2003 that’s still going strong and (knock on wood) I have no intention of replacing for a very long time. It makes me question what the actual recommendation is for MY engine.

[Black Ghost (Ken)]

Real data.

I just had the Black Ghost at VT Home &Marine for the 750 hour service.

One thing it shows is that it wouldn't make sense to own my Mercury 150hp 4-stroke for cruising Since that's a very small amount of my engine hours.

[BottomDollar]

That's probably similar to what I'm talking about. In this case, I'm talking about a much larger engine with a much larger pricetag--price out a new 200hp outboard, it's a more than a little scary to contemplate an engine popping or just going south prematurely because someone didn't know to do X, Y or Z if they spend a lot of time at idle, and I don't get the sense a lot of mechanics keep an eye on this level of detail. I know 4strokes are taking over, but there's still a ton of 2strokes from different eras and using different technology out there in use and will be for a long time. Mine is a 2003 that’s still going strong and (knock on wood) I have no intention of replacing for a very long time. It makes me question what the actual recommendation is for MY engine.

Mac, I'm in the same boat (no pun intended) with my 2 stroke. It runs great and if it blows up a cylinder I'll just get another 2 stroke and keep trolling with my kicker. This is always going to be the most economical setup. With current gas prices I'll never break even on a new 4 stroke.

I realize the point of this thread is that modern 4 strokes troll great all day with no ill effects. I totally understand and appreciate that, and I'm envious of all their superior attributes. But for some boat owners the $10-15K for a new outboard doesn't make financial sense when an old tech engine in fresh water will run virtually forever. This is where owning a 4 stroke kicker makes a ton of sense. They can be found used for $500-$1500 and will also last for decades. My Honda 7.5 was made in 1981 and is the same design used until very recently on the classic 8. Mine was $250 on craigslist and runs like new. Old Honda and OMC parts are cheap and available through all the big parts houses.

I'd love a new 4 stroke (or DI 2 stroke like an etec) but the 2S main/4S kicker is also a great budget setup. For your situation I'd absolutely recommend a 2 cylinder 4 stroke kicker with a trollmaster or troll control throttle controller. This solves a lot of the old 2S issues (noise, smoke, vibration) without the huge upfront expense of a new main outboard.

[popster]

Ken, looks like we're in the same boat! This was printed out Dec 11, 2015 at 841 HOURS, showing about 730 hours of trolling.
2013 Evinrude ETEC 150
2 Stroke
No regrets

[Black Ghost (Ken)]

Ya Bill, we didn't purchase for top end performance.