Power Tilt & Trim on a River Boat Outboard

[dgilchrist]

How important is power tilt and trim on a river boat outboard?  I'm shopping for motors now and really like the Yamaha F25 prop with a jack plate to run shallow when needed. The manufacturer is saying they are great motors but don't have power tilt and trim that's really needed to maximize performance.  I've only had manual trim on outboards in the past and simply adjusted the pin for the boat to run best. And it worked fine. Or at least I thought it did. Any input would be greatly appreciated. 

[Terrierman]

I used to have an 18.5 x 54 semi vee with a Yamaha Pro 50 that had tilt and trim.  I really liked it.  Wish I had never sold it.

[Blazerman]

i want from not having it on my old boat and then having it on my new boat and now would not be without tilt and trim. But i had a jet so probably not apples to apples. With the jet with out power trim every time i wanted to pull to the shore i was always worried about sucking gravel or junk into the jet. With power trim i just trimmed it up as i was beaching. 

i am sure that is the same deal with a prop, but maybe not as important. 

 

[Seth]

Having power tilt/trim will spoil you. I run a jet and trim it all the way down so I get up on plane the quickest. When I'm on plane, I will trim the motor back a bit and gain several more MPH. That's just outboards in general and not specific to those with jet lowers.

[dgilchrist]

1 hour ago, Seth said:

Having power tilt/trim will spoil you. I run a jet and trim it all the way down so I get up on plane the quickest. When I'm on plane, I will trim the motor back a bit and gain several more MPH. That's just outboards in general and not specific to those with jet lowers.

Great information. Thanks. 

[Whiteriver]

You can do without Tilt and Trim on a 25hp Yamaha...They are not heavy and have a shallow water drive if needed....from the looks of the lakes and generation water, you won't need T & C for years to come...lol  I bought a 25 Yammy from Bull Shoals Boat Dock and it's the best small motor I've ever owned.  I did put a manual jack plate on my Supreme L48XP though and raised my motor up a little...inexpensive way to do that.

[gotmuddy]

If its a tiller you dont need it, especially with a jack plate.  Shallow draft will be plenty, and you wont want the extra weight.

[dgilchrist]

22 hours ago, gotmuddy said:

If its a tiller you dont need it, especially with a jack plate.  Shallow draft will be plenty, and you wont want the extra weight.

Thanks. With a light weight 20 or 25 hp outboard, prop with Jack plate is what I was hoping to end up with.

[fishinwrench]

2 hours ago, dgilchrist said:

Thanks. With a light weight 20 or 25 hp outboard, prop with Jack plate is what I was hoping to end up with.

So are you shopping for a good older motor?

There's no such thing as a light weight 4-stroke.

[dgilchrist]

On 2/21/2020 at 12:13 PM, fishinwrench said:

So are you shopping for a good older motor?

There's no such thing as a light weight 4-stroke.

OK with a used motor as long as it's a 2018 or later model electronic ignition, EFI 4 stroke. The Mercury 20 hp 4 stroke only weights 99 Lbs and out performs previous 2 stroke models. And the Yamaha 25 hp is only 126 Lbs and has the low idle RPM adjuster that lets you fine tune trolling speed in 50 RPM increments.