"lug" an inline?

What does this mean? Question to My Outboards.

Re: "lug" an inline?

Not M.O. But It means to run the motor below it's optimum wide open throttle RPM's and put unnecessary stress on the motor....(Normally 5500-6000 RPM's)....

Re: "lug" an inline?

SO if I troll most of the day, that could be bad for the motor?

Re: "lug" an inline?

Not nessesarily. It's not the point of running at low speed, but weather your engine is running at it's full potential (RPM's). If it's lugging at full throttle, it will lug at all other speeds too. Compare it to a car that will only run in 3rd gear. It will be laboring for most of it's RPM range(The most being at take off). Trolling alot does have it's drawbacks, such as increased chances for carboning up the internal parts of the motor(Rings, pistons, Heads, Etc.), but if you run it fairly hard after trolling for extended periods before you put it up for the day, that will take care of most of the problem by blowing out excess fuel and such. A decarb will also help cut down on the build-up, as will running a decarb agent in with the fuel on a regular basis. One thing to remember though, most big motors are not really designed to troll. Better to get a small kicker motor if that's what you like to do the most...

Re: "lug" an inline?

Thanks Rick!

Re: "lug" an inline?

Exactly.. it's a factor of prop pitch vs the weight of the boat. Not so much the RPM's you are running - but what it's propped to make at WOT.<br /><br />-W

Re: "lug" an inline?

On the long periods of trolling, I am now a firm believer in Sea Foam added to the fuel to keep the carbon and crud flushed out.<br /><br />On the WOT rating, I hear you, but logic tells me that a boat that is barely under planing speed vs on that has gotten on top (that CAN get on top), even if throttled back to just stay on top, is running at a lot less load on the engine regardless of the WOT rating, as is a boat that can plane out vs one that just keeps plowing through the water....like a big, heavy, deep V (Bertram Sport Fisherman comes to mind). <br /><br />Now I'll agree that if you cut your pitch you are loading the engine less in this situation but, other than punching out of the hole, this is the max "stress" on the engine. I guess everyone has to have a ruler (mfgr and user) and WOT is the easiest to achieve and measure.<br /><br />When all else fails, logic prevails. Grin<br /><br />Mark