Trolling with motor

[deerminator]

So the FIL has encouraged me to use his boat he has at our place more and I have and have been trolling using is 30hp 4 stroke with great success. My question is, is that hard on his motor? Should I buy him a trolling motor? I olnly troll for about half an hour three or four times a week and then operate at normal speeds the rest of the time. I've done some research and found mixed opinions.

[paceman]

Troll away with the gas motor. It is not hard on it. It is actually good for it to run it for awhile. That motor should purr along for many many hours with no il effect on it.

[deerminator]

Thanks. Some have said that going at such a low speed (the lowest possible) for too long fouls up the plugs or wreaks havoc in terms of making oil but others have said the newer four strokes don't have any such issues. I see lots of guys trolling with the gas motor. I was just more concerned since its not my boat. : ) But he doesn't seem too concerned either. Been catching lots of northern, bass and perch with this method lately so will keep it up. Thanks again.

[Northlander]

A 30 horse 4 stroke will troll and troll and troll for ever without issues. I had a 25 horse 2 stroke Yamaha that I trolled with and even that 2 stroke never skipped a beat. These 4 strokes will troll all day quietly and cleanly. Heck I used to troll a lot with my 115 yamaha 4 stroke before I got a 9.9 yamaha 4 stroke kicker and that 115 trolled down just great as well. If I was too fast I just tossed out a trolling bag.

That 30 will work great for you. No worries.

[SpecialK]

If you are worried about fouling out the plugs, just run the motor at half to full throttle at the end of the day on your way back to the landing. That will clean it out.

[SkunkedAgain]

Special K is right on but so is everyone else. This shouldn't be a concern with modern motors, but even if it is, your higher-throttle cruises will heat up the spark plug nicely to burn off any "possible" fouling.

More importantly, it's nice to have a FIL that encourages you to take his boat out!

[Kyhl]

There should be no issues with fouling plugs on a 4 stroke. That is a potential issue with 2 strokes not running hot enough to burn off the oil at low rpms.

As already said, troll away.

[TruthWalleyes]

I think the longest my motor has gone without shutting off is 18hrs...That was a lot of trolling! She's still a 1 pull wonder.

[deerminator]

Thanks guys! And yes, it is nice to have a FIL that encourages myself and the family to use his boat.