Easy Troller

[surveyor1951]

I have a 17' Reinell BRXL with a Mercruiser. Below is my Mercruiser info:
Engine=Mercury SN=0f758732 3.0L LX Alpha One
Mercruiser-SN=0f651546
Transom SN=0f651546
Date SN=0P716399
I was browing through the store items when I came across these items for trolling with my boat. The Easy Troller Trolling Plate ,Trol-A-Matic & a few similar items(will slow my main motor to a slow trolling speed). Do they really work or would you recommend them to attach to your engine. What would the negative conquences of installing them be? I was thinking of buying a 9.9 or 15 hp Mercury 4 stroke till I came across these items. Buying these trolling items would be a lot cheaper but which method should be reommended. Would a 9.9 or 15 hp be the right size engine to be used on a 17' fibreglass boat as a kicker engine? I know there are a lot of questions, but I want to do the right thing for my boat. Then by April I will be ready for fishing again! Thanks for any help on this.

 

[airshot]

Re: Easy Troller

While I cannot attest to the items you mentioned, I can attest to the auxilliary outboard motor. Whether the trolling plates work or not give some consideration to this. What happens if you have a main engine failure? All that trolling is just adding hours to your main engine and decreasing its life. With the auxilliary motor you have a chance of getting back in if something goes wrong and a small OB is easier to maintain than your main motor. I have a 9.9 on my 22' Islander and it will move it along at about 10 mph in fairly calm seas. An 8 or 9.9 should be more than enough motor to push your 17'. Irregardless of whether the trolling plates work well or not, the peace of mind knowing you can get back with an auxilliary motor should a problem arrise is priceless. Just some food for thought....................

Airshot

 

[Don S]

Re: Easy Troller

Those plates don't do anything to the motor (IO or outboard), they just block the thrust of the prop from pushing the boat very fast.
They also have a tendency to break the cavitation plate on the lower unit if something gets wedged in between the prop and the plate.
A small light weight 4 stroke kicker is the way to go. With a 17' boat, 4 hp would work fine.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Easy Troller

I agree with both the above posts.

A small 4 stroke will pay for itself in decreased fuel consumption over the main motor.

 

[surveyor1951]

Re: Easy Troller

Thanks for the info guys. I will look around for a 4stroke 4hp to 8 hp. Would a short leg do or a long leg?

 

[sktn77a]

Re: Easy Troller

Those plates don't do anything to the motor (IO or outboard), they just block the thrust of the prop from pushing the boat very fast.
They also have a tendency to break the cavitation plate on the lower unit if something gets wedged in between the prop and the plate.
A small light weight 4 stroke kicker is the way to go. With a 17' boat, 4 hp would work fine.

While I have no basis to dispute the post above, a friend has a 17' Reinell with the 4 cylinder I/O engine and a trolling plate. When he lowers the plate with the engine at its slowest speed, the trolling speed is perfect. He's had the plate over 5 years and fishes regularly. No problems to date.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Easy Troller

I have a Trol-a-Matic plate on a 140HP (3.0L) Mercruiser and it slows the boat to a crawl, works very well at slowing the boat, but there are drawbacks. Slow speed and reverse steering is diminished as well as reverse thrust being diminished. Locking plates can be raised so the steering/power is unaffected, but it you forget to unlock them and power-up they can bend , so I went with the automatic plate.