Value Of A Hot Foot

[crazy4fishin]

I am thinking of having a hot foot installed on my Bass boat this year - but it is a fairly pricey event. Are there thoughts both good and bad regarding having one installed?

I know that the obvious reason is that you can have both hands on the wheel during high speed runs....not to minimize that issue but are there other reasons?

Thanks in advance guys for the feed back

C4F

[fishinwrench]

Constant variation of the throttle position is hard on an outboard, and it makes navigating rough water more difficult, and at times dangerous. Waves always have a pattern to them, so the key to safely and efficiently crossing rough water is selecting the best RPM range and trim position for the conditions, and then simply maintaing your course.

When you are bouncing up and down in the boat it is difficult to keep your foot steady enough to maintain a constant RPM. Sudden and constant increases and decreases in throttle postion can totally screw you up in really rough water.

Also, in extreme situations any change in throttle position also needs to be accompanied by a trim adjustment to minimize cavitation. Nobody can keep trim position in check when throttle position is constantly changing.

Hotfoots are to blame for more blown powerheads and swamped boats, than just about anything else I know. Throttle cable life is also reduced, tenfold.

Hey, you asked

If steering wheel torque is your main concern, check out a Teleflex NFB (no feedback) rotary cable system.

[crazy4fishin]

Fishingwrench - thanks for the input.

I had thought about the variability in the throttle position while bouncing across the lake....I know what is like on a bumpy road and wondered how all of that would affect the engine / plane combination.

I had almost talked myself out of spending this kind of money anyway - your advice helped me make the final decision.

Now the biggest problem....I had gotten approval from my in house financial person for this purchase...I need to put some kind of spin on this so I can still spend the money

[beezerbassman]

I was thinking about getting one and the dealership talked me out of it. They said the same thing as fishingwrench about powerheads and they also said very hard on lower units.