Hot foot or not?

[Pherris]

I posted the following message in the equipment forum too.

I have never been in a boat with a hot foot. I am just finalizing the purchase of a Ranger Z20 and I have the option of a Hot Foot pedal or the traditional throttle control. I am inclined to go with the standard because I have had a 520 Comanche for the last few years and is what I know I am comfortable with. I have spoken to a few people and the reviews have been mixed. I am wondering what other FM'ers experience and input is. There is no cost difference on the deal with or without. All replies appreciated. Good Fishing!!

[Stratosman]

IMO the only way to go..... You can maintain total control of the boat with two hands on the wheel, also when running in rough water you can maintain consistant throttle control unlike alot of hand throttles. I never had any problems with mine and would go that route in a heartbeat.

[mamohr686]

I have a hot foot in my skeeter and really like it. Once you get used to it you won't want to go back. I have dual cable steering in my boat so it is much safer to have both hands on the wheel (lots of steering torgue at low speeds but none at high speeds). I also have the blinker style trim on the wheel which is very nice. I see that there is a option where you can use both the foot throttle and the traditional throttle control, I would purchase this option if I were buying a new boat. Your Z series will have hydraulic steering and you'll be able to drive the boat with one finger so that won't be a big deal for you. It's nice to rapidly adjust your speed if you going to jump a boat wake at 70mph or navigate some cross swells in bad weather. My only complaint when I first starting using mine was I fished a few lakes like the whitefish chain that had some areas of long idle (no wake). You have to be sitting down to run the throttle with the hotfoot. I used to navigate shallow areas by having the boat in gear and trimmed up, while my knee was on the seat and standing upwright looking for submerged objects like stumps or looking for fish. You can't really do that with a hotfoot, you have to be sitting down to reach the throttle. This is the reason kevin vandam was DQ'd in one of the 2006 elite tournaments. He had is ammature partner running the boat while we was trying to spot bedding bass. BASS rules don't let an non-boater run the outboard so he lost his weight for that day.

[HellaBass]

I have had one for years, would not buy a boat w/o a hotfoot

[Sproguy]

I second the above, would not run a boat without one! I just feel that you have so much more control over the boat with the hot foot. You don't have the same control when one hand needs to control the throttle in a normal situation. In big waves or running places with lots of turns it gives you so much more control over your speed and with both hands on the wheel you can react quicker to anything that comes up.

[Pherris]

Thanks for all the replies. I have posted a similar message on some other forums and the overwhelming consensus is to have the hot foot so that is the way I am going. I realize that it will take some getting used to but over all seems like the best choice. Again thanks for the info. Good Fishing!!

p.s I did ask about the option to have both and was told that it was available for a short time but had problems so now its one or the other. Thanks again!!

[Deitz Dittrich]

Pherris.. seriously, you are making the best decision.. also, it will take you about 5 mins to get used to it... just like driving a car!

[bassNspear]

I highly suggest that you buy it. Its a great piece of equipment to have on the boat. Helps safty as well, when your driving wide open, your going to want to be able to control the wheel with both hands!

[Central Bassman]

Doesnt your foot get tried on long runs??? I think that would be the only down side to it... Just my .02

[Wayne Ek]

On long runs you can just put on the cruise control, at least I do... I let Deitz run the boat. Seriously, on long runs you do not have foot or leg fatigue or at least I have not experienced any problems.

[Deitz Dittrich]

LOL @ wayne

I have to admit.. the longest run I have ever done in my boat was on the Horshoe chain.. and that was about 20 min run... My foot never got tired.. does you foot get tired when driving a car?

[Central Bassman]

Thats what cruise control is for or the GF....

Hey Deitz Why cant i sent PM to anyone or is that something no one can do???

[Deitz Dittrich]

We have the PM feature turned off... It would take up a ton of band with and make the pages load slower..

[HellaBass]

I have made runs over an hour long on the Illinois river and never had any fatigue issue, its really similar to driving your car. I have heard of guys using sticks as cruise control, but would not reccomend

[bassNspear]

Can you imagine coming up to a spot on the lake and not being able to pull that stick out? Opps.....

[Central Bassman]

man that would suck..

[mamohr686]

I have heard that on some of the early hotfoot models the spring that would hold up the foot pedal (in idle position) would break and cause the boat to go instantly to wide open throttle. Some members of the bass fishing home page would change out the single mainspring to 2 weaker springs to prevent this from happening. Of corse that is what the hook on the top of the hotfoot is for and also you could use the kill switch. I saw pictures of a boat that was being loaded up when the hotfoot broke and the boat ended up running up the trailer and halfway on the bed of the pickup. Kind of crazy but I still think the benefits outweigh the risks of a hotfoot throttle.

[Central Bassman]

Hey Dietz on other question for you, I see on people profile i has different family name like Iceleader family, hotspotoutdoors family and so on.. How do you get on different family and what does this mean????

[Deitz Dittrich]

FishingMinnesota, and Iceleaders and HotSpotOutdoors are all in the same family of web pages as they all have the same owner. When you sign on to any of the 3 sights, its random... Once you have like 1000 posts your name will change I think to advisor or something like that...

So, to answer your question... it really doesnt mean anything...

Other names you may see are Prostaff.. which are our prostaff with the page.. Others will read Specialist.. which is our entry level prostaff memebers. And Coordinator, which help look over and help out our prostaff and specialists.. and then the Directors help over see everthing.

[Central Bassman]

Ic cool.. What do u have to do to get on the Prostaff leave???

[Deitz Dittrich]

It deals with how many posts you have and the quaty of your posts. IF one of our staff notices that a memeber has made a lot of really good posts, its brought to the attention of the coordinators and Direc.

Hope this helps.