60 - 115 HP 4 Stroke Engine owners, Could I use one to Troll Plugs all day well?

[Rapala Glass Shad]

I am a current owner of a older 2001 Nitro 750DC  90 HP Mercury 2 stroke.  Boat runs perfect, no issues, but Trolling it won't do it.  Smokes, Coughs, stutters, 2 strokes are not made for this.

I am getting where I love to Troll crankbaits at times.   I am forced to use the electric motor to troll plugs on my Nitro.

Thinking of selling and Investing in one boat with a newer 4 stroke engine but I hope i could make it one purpose, be able to troll plugs for hours, run place to place etc.

How well do the 60-115 HP engines run at idle speed?  Could you run them all day at Idle speed and the engine will take it without issue?

I know how quiet 4 stroke engines are, I am definitely wanting one.  However, maybe they won't do what I hope, to have one boat to do everything I want.  Looking at Crestliner Ranger, Tracker 

series with 60 -115 HP 4 strokes now.

My other idea is Buy a Supreme or Shawnee boat with a 20 - 25 HP Yamaha (which I KNOW will troll all day), But Rough weather you won't go fishing, your staying home

 

 

[kjackson]

I used to have a 17-foot semi-vee sled with a 50hp Yamaha four-stroke. I also ran a 6-hp on it for mooching (very slow trolling with bait), both were tillers.  The six often was temperamental, and when that happened, I would fish with the big motor. After a while I just used the 50.  My current boat is a vee-bottom jon that is pretty bare bones. I also have a 50 tiller on it, but it's a two-stroke. I do use it to pull crankbaits, but it doesn't slow down as much as I'd like.  I would expect a 60-hp, four-stroke to be just about right for what you want to use it, depending upon the boat.  I can't speak for higher horsepower motors.

[Old plug]

I got a 11 yr old 115 MERC 4 stroke built by Yamaha. On a 18ft Targa. I might re mount my 2 down riggers a ddo a lot of that this year. I would suggest you burn very good fuel in there for trolling. The fuel jets and fuel line re very easy to foul up on a 4 stroke. I intend on trolling use E-91 only. Other option is to mix additives like Sea foam into the gas. The added cost make it about as expensive a E-91. 

 

[aarchdale@coresleep.com]

I had a 60hp 4 stroke for a while and i trolled with it no problem.  I would recommend getting a nice GPS trolling motor (Terrova, Xi5) and use it for pulling cranks. Since i got my Xi5 i never use the big motor when trolling. I can go a solid 7 hours on a charge and go as slow as i want. I think i catch a lot more too. 4 strokes are not loud but still a lot louder than a trolling motor

[jdmidwest]

I troll the TN river with my 17 Tracker Jon.  The old one had a 2 stroke 35 hp and trolled upstream pretty well, but the exhaust would kill you in a tail wind.  My new Tracker has a 50hp 4 stroke and have only trolled one trip with it.  I had more trouble keeping it throttled down but the air was fresher.  A kicker is looking more promising for that boat.  Current down there is too strong for a trolling motor.

[fishinwrench]

Actually that 3 cylinder 90 should troll just fine.  Probably just needs to have the idle mixture jets balanced out right and the oil injection pump link rod synced.

Depending on how heavy the boat is you may want to drag a 5 gal. bucket on a makeshift harness to slow you down a bit. 

[Ketchup]

I had a Yamaha 50 four stroke and it trolled very well.  Quiet, smooth, and slow.  I now have a Merc. 2+2 115hp and troll with it. They made this motor to run on 2 cyl for lower rpm's and at 1800rpm's all 4 kick in. So far with maybe 20 hours of troll time this year, not an issue. 

[navery]

I have a 2013 tracker pro guide 175 with a 115 four stroke. I have run at idle for many many hours with no trouble.  Very quiet, great fuel economy and keeps my boat running at 2.5 mph at idle

[Pepe]

A 36v wireless trolling motor with 109 lbs of thrust would pull that boat and allow you to set up trolling profiles, hold a heading, track a contour, "anchor " in place, etc.. Adjustable vertical height and very quite.

They come with handheld remote and a foot control, both of them wireless, so can be used from any position in the boat.  Mine, a MG Xi5, will pull a 22 ft fiberglass bass boat up to 6.5 mph info a headwind and locks onto a windy point great. 

[fishinwrench]

This is for guys that use their trolling motor to "troll": 

If your wiring is necked down anywhere (plug, 12/24/charge switch, ect.) then you really need to keep an eye on the heat being generated there during extended use.   Anytime you narrow down a circuit and put it under a load, those reduced contact spots will begin to heat up and WILL NOT throw the breaker until a hot(+)wire melts into a ground(-)wire.   

A fire initially confined under the bow deck of a fiberglass boat is hard to put out.  

The best way to eliminate excess heat in a TM circuit it to hard wire it.  No plugs, No switches at the bow.  Just TM power leads spliced securely (and sealed) to the TM wires going forward, and a breaker at the battery.