Yamaha Tiller

[esoxguy]

I have a Lund 1700 Pro V and will likely need a new tiller motor soon. I am considering a Yamaha 4 stroke 50hp or 60hp. Does anyone have experience with either motor? Which motor would provide better performance (back trolling, speed, maintenance, etc.). My boat is rated upto 60hp so that is the legal limit. My 1987 50hp Johnson is not dead but at that age you never know when it will die.

Also what experience does anyone have with the other 4 stroke motors?

Thanks,

Esoxguy

[Proctor Pete]

Esox, I have the 60hp Yamaha tiller on my 2001 Alumacraft which is the biggest I could get for my Navigator. As far as top end speed, economy, noise and vibration levels, it's very tough to beat what Yamaha offers. The one thing that I'm not too fond of is the back trolling speed-too fast without a drift sock attached and in my opinion a little too heavy to muscle around all day while back trolling. If I could do it all over I would have put the 40hp on the back as I don't need the speed. Another thing to keep in mind is that the engine itself has a different profile than Johnson (higher and Bigger than an 87 Johnson) so will it fit in your garage if you have one? I didn't think of that and had to do some modifications to the back wall. When I can afford it, I will upgrade my trailer to the swing away tongue to solve that problem for me. -Pete

[Jason Boser]

I have a 90 hp on my 185 and I wrestle it every day it is not that bad. I would go to the rating of your boat if you go smaller I dont think you will be happy. You need the hole power to get up on plane and with the rated hp you will get that.

Jason

[Northlander]

Im with Jason on this. I would put the max horsepower on it. I dont think that backtrolling with either would be great. Maybe if ya played with props but then you will more than likely lose holeshot as well as top end.

I would suggest getting a good transom mount electric. Something in the 65# area. I know Gander in Duluth is getting rid of a ton of them at great prices now. I know thats more $ that ya have to spend though.

I have had 2 yamahas now and loved each one. Currently running a 115 4 stroke and like it a lot.

Good luck and maybe someone who has one of those motors can help ya out more.

[esoxguy]

Thanks for the replies. I am currently fishing Vermilion but have spent a lot of time on Mille Lacs and Leech. So I have always felt that from a safety standpoint I want the biggest motor my boat could take so if I get caught in some bad weather I can get off the lake as soon as possible. I understand the point about handling the bigger motor and the question about back trolling I will likely go bigger. I wonder if the small fin on the anti cavitation plate is not adjusted correctly and therefore causing the motor to be hard to use all day. Even after 15 years of running my 50 hp I can still operate it with two fingers when I am on plane.

Thanks again for your advise.

Esoxguy

[Valv]

Esoxguy and Proctor Pete, I don't know for sure since I never had a Yamaha 60ho 4 stroke, but many tiller outboards have a bolt or a lever to adjust the steering friction, for slow speed and hight speed use, sometimes is set at an intermediate setting, and could create a discomfort while trolling/backtrolling at low speed.

I am sure you probably know about it since you own these motors for a while, but just in case.....

Also 4 stroke motors are known not to be the best troller due to higher idle speed than 2 stroke.

As Northlander said, there are alternatives.

[DanS]

esoxguy,

Last year I bought a 2004 Lund Explorer 1600 and maxed out with a 60 hp Yamaha tiller. This is my first 4 stroke so I'm comparing past 2 stroke experience to 4 stroke. Overall the motor is ok. The hole shot works for fishing but when my kids tube or ski the 2 stroke worked better. This motor runs great once its warmed up but is really cold blooded and takes some time to get it running. As far as trolling speed, I do a lot of crankbait fishing and the motor works fine for that. It trolls down nice and is quite and smoke free. I don't use the yamaha much for live baiting, mostly electric. Top end gps on the 1600 is 33 to 34 mph with 3 people and gear. By the way I really love the Lund.

[Guest]

The 2005 Yamahas are all efi down to the 50 hp motor. You can also reduce or increase your rpms

in increments of 50 with a switch on the tiller.

Compared to the other brands, I think Yamaha has the best tiller design for user

friendliness and torque dampening.

With my boat I troll Lindys and spinners with my electric on calm days and use my F75 on rougher days or

I throw out a drift bag to slow troll cranks.