trolling prop

[txbandit44]

I have a hunch that I might need to go to a prop with less pitch. I have turned the idle down as low as i can go but when trolling my lead slab still rides just below the water line and it is still to fast. Will prop pitch effect your speed in gear at idle?

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: trolling prop

Why not just break down and buy an electric trolling motor? They are not that expensive new, and used ones can be found cheap--almost as cheap as a good used prop. Even a small gas trolling kicker will not be too expensive as long as you stay away from the 9.9 which carries a premium price.

Low prop pitch will affect idle speed and water speed, but you can't have it both ways: Generally speaking, you will lose top speed and may over-rev the engine at full throttle.

A troller or kicker is definitely the way to go.

 

[Bondo]

Re: trolling prop

Ayuh,...
Prop pitch affects hull speeds at All rpms...
But,...
The Issue will be, that you'll be severely Under-propped if you set it up for Trolling...

It's much Better to prop the boat to run WOT, as it should be,...
Then, dirty up the hull enough to slow your trolling speeds...
This can be done many different ways...
Several are;
Dragging 5gal. plastic pails(Cheap)
Dragging Drift Socks(more expensive)
Lowering trim tabs, All the way...
Or, there are Trolling Brakes(which I personally Don't care for) which mount on the Cav-plate, which when deployed, block the thrust of the prop..
The draw-back to the trolling brakes are, if left deployed when throttling up, $h!t gets Broken...

Bottom line is,...
Changing the prop for trolling speeds, makes the boat generally Unusable, Except for Trolling....

 

[txbandit44]

Re: trolling prop

I do have a trolling motor its a minkota maxxum pro 80lb thrust. Damn trolling motor is worth more then the boat, motor, trailer all together. I was only asking becuase not only does the speed of the boat seem fast at idle it makes a wake in idle. So in order to navigate a no wake zone i am constantly shifting in an out of gear. I will have to get the GPS on the boat and get a speed reading so yall have a reference point.

 

[steelespike]

Re: trolling prop

I have a hunch that I might need to go to a prop with less pitch. I have turned the idle down as low as i can go but when trolling my lead slab still rides just below the water line and it is still to fast. Will prop pitch effect your speed in gear at idle?

What kind of rig are you running?When you say it is turned down as low as you can go do you mean it won't go lower or won't run lower.Motor should idle about 700 if it won't go there something is wrong.Some high performance boats might have trouble with a little wake but a stock boat should have no problem with wake.If it won't run right at 700 then something is wrong.
If you keep doing all that shifting you won't have any clutch dog left.

 

[Randybeall]

Re: trolling prop

Why don't you give us a full rundown on your boat as it is. Prop,engine,hull,trim tabs, everything. Performance also, hole shot, top speed, idle rpm, top speed rpm. Maybe someone out here has a thought about what might give you the performance and not have to reinvent the whole rig. Nearly all boats will run slow enough to have no wake if they are set up correctly.