1996 Mercury 90 HP 2 stroke- trolling speed

[tori's dad]

I am looking at buying a 1996 YarCraft 1675 with a 1996 90 HP Mercury 2 stoke motor on it. Just wondering if it will troll down to less than 3 miles per hour or will I have to buy a trolling plate to install on the outboard? Any comments or experience welcomed.

[pulleye16]

Yes-My 2007 90hp merc will get me under 3mph...I "think" around 2 is what mine will do and maybe just slightly under.

However, you will find this motor to be loud and rough at idle and slow cruising speeds. It's built like a tank. You'll want to question it when it's running (slow or at idle) but generaly speaking it's a solid motor.

[BobT]

Yes-My 2007 90hp merc will get me under 3mph...I "think" around 2 is what mine will do and maybe just slightly under.

However, you will find this motor to be loud and rough at idle and slow cruising speeds. It's built like a tank. You'll want to question it when it's running (slow or at idle) but generaly speaking it's a solid motor.

I suspect it will depend quite a bit on the load you're pushing with it too. If the boat you're pushing is rated for 150 and and you've got it loaded with riders and gear, it should troll down really nice.

[berfish]

I have a 1998 90hp on a 16.5 Lund Mr. Pike. It is a counsel driven boat. I assume yours is a tiller?

The motor is cold blooded. I had issues every once in a while at idle when the motor would miss and die. Turning up the idle screw would help but then that would hurt my trolling speed. Also sometimes starting would require the fast idle even when warm. It idles pretty rough too. Not much you can do about that because of the 3 cylinders.

I get about 2.6mph on flat calm water. My boat is pretty heavy and wide compared to most 16.5 boats. Trolling bags are an option or trimming the motor out of the water a little bit.

The motor screams and has a ton of power for my boat. Eats oil and gas though. If I could do it over I would get a four-stroke or a newer high pressure 2 stroke.

[tori's dad]

Thanks for the information- still have not made my decision yet- It is not a tiller boat.