Trolling Plate - Too slow - Drill Hole ?

Hey guys, my 96 , 17' four winns with 3.0 Volvo Penta is used for trolling. I run a 20 pitch prop and recently installed a trolling plate to slow the boat down to 1-2mph without idling the boat so low the engine shakes and loads up on fuel... welll i did that now i need to actually run the motor around the 1,000 RPM mark to get my speed (plate works too well)...also steering has become a slight issue, it doesn't respond like it should. im thinking i should drill a hole in the center of the plate ( right in line where the water shoots out from the middle of the prop) to allow a) less cavitation...when plate down it gets louder down there for obvious reason, and b) allow for additional forward thrust while still blocking most of the thrust from the prop and allowing the exhaust water to flow straight out and hopefully quiet it down some what....

thoughts? bad idea?

Also it would alleviate some stress from the cavitation plate where the happy troller mounts.

Re: Trolling Plate - Too slow - Drill Hole ?

TTT no one???

Re: Trolling Plate - Too slow - Drill Hole ?

I don't have any experience with a trolling baffle plate but before drilling any holes maybe try to adjust the distance a little farther from the prop, maybe just adjust a little more angle so it's not perfectly verticle, doesn't it have any built in adjustability?

Re: Trolling Plate - Too slow - Drill Hole ?

I don't know what kind a plate your running but up til this year I ran a Happy Troller behind a 150 Merc with no issues. How far is the plate from the exhaust. Mine was over 3 inches back from the prop. I have seen holes cut in larger O/B plates to reduce the back pressure. I try adjusting it back as far as possible.

Re: Trolling Plate - Too slow - Drill Hole ?

I have heard of people drilling holes in the plate or even trimming some of the plate to make their boat run to their likings. I know from experience that your steering will suffer while running the plate, so you need to give extra time to steer and if your trolling in the wind, with the wind hitting the side of the boat, make sure to pre-plan for those conditions.

Re: Trolling Plate - Too slow - Drill Hole ?

I never had a problem with steering, look at the engine in this photo it's my 74 Starcraft Capri with a 85 HP Johnson it has the same plate look how far back off the prop it is.

Re: Trolling Plate - Too slow - Drill Hole ?

Don't drill holes, they won't do much and can screw up your steering even more.

As others mentioned, move it back if possible. If that isn't possible, chop some off the bottom, do maybe an inch at a time.

Re: Trolling Plate - Too slow - Drill Hole ?

smokingcrater said:

Don't drill holes, they won't do much and can screw up your steering even more.

As others mentioned, move it back if possible. If that isn't possible, chop some off the bottom, do maybe an inch at a time.

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Explain how it will screw your steering up more. Look at this plate I sold this one to my buddy it was made for large HP O/B and I/O it's on a 5.7 V-8 and steers normally.. It has a 4 inch hole .

Re: Trolling Plate - Too slow - Drill Hole ?

I have the EasyTroller. I'm actually going to give it its first test troll this afternoon. The way it is set up, if it trolls too slowly I can file another notch or two in the up/down cam to position the plate at 45 degrees or some angle other than vertical. I've heard of others doing this, as well.

Re: Trolling Plate - Too slow - Drill Hole ?

After reading all the experienced replys it seems to now be a matter of preferance or what tools you have to work with.
Drill a hole and you can always go back and block it off it doesn't work or like mentioned file another notch for less angle, either way it's going to be a test and tune episode.