View Full Version : Cabela's Hydro-Troll Trolling Plate
I am presently on my 3rd one and I think I have figured out the problem. I have a 60 hp Suzuki and when I release the flap it will not lock up in the lock position. When I throttle down and put it in neutral the flap will lock in the down position and not knowing it if I throttle up again it will break the shear pin. Any ideas on how to remedy this problem? I was thinking maybe about taking a little tension off the spring if at all possible. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
work2fish
05-09-2004, 10:03 AM
There is a very recent thread on this very subject:
http://www.walleyecentral.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=3&topic_id=254958&mesg_id=254958&page=5
I also owned a Hydro-Troll on my previous boat and went through dozens of sheer pins. The only way I could ever get the thing to lock in the up position was to tilt the motor up and reach down to lock it in place manually. After a while, I gave up and just let the thing flap.
My new boat doesn't have one ;-)
Regards,
eye4aneye
05-09-2004, 03:31 PM
They are junk. Do yourself a favor and send it back. Buy a Happy Troller.
Terroreyes
05-09-2004, 03:46 PM
When I used to powerload, I did the same thing. After 5-10 miles of travel, it still wasn't locked and by that time I forgot all about it. Your best chance of getting it to latch is to trim all the way down and go WOT for a minute or two. That works about 50% of the time when I pull it for the final trip back to the ramp. Most of the time, I just hook it with the net before I move to another spot. They should definitely take the claim that it locks back up away from the advertisement!
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Thanks for the input guys. I called Cabela's yesterday and got ahold of a rep but he could not tell me who makes this particular plate because it's made from Cabela's. He did say to try and put some shims under the front two bolts of the unit so it's raised up about 1/2" from the back. It may work, I don't know. I also checked about some other plates and none of them have the same hole configuration and I'll be darned if I'm going to make swiss cheese out of my cavitation plate. Next thing will be a trolling bag I guess if I can't make this work. He also says that nobody has complained about this unit and I told him to go to this site and take a look. Anyone else got any ideas???
Gilligan
05-11-2004, 07:15 AM
on my old boat I also started with the hydro troll. After countless failures and a product that would not work I bought the happy troller. You can drill new holes in your happy troller rather than add holes to the cavitation plate. I was able to make 2 of the 4 origional holes line up and had to redrill 2 more in it.
nebrwalleye
05-11-2004, 08:33 AM
Buy the "Troll-a-matic" Can also get this from Cabela's. You put it on and thats it. You never have to worry if it's up or down - it's spring loaded. It's down when theres not enough water pressure against it to raise it, but as soon as you hit the throttle it comes up. At that point, it's also acting as a stabilizer plate. When I trade boats, it's one of the first things that comes off the boat I'm getting rid of.
T-Mac
05-11-2004, 10:56 AM
But.... reverse thrust is all but gone, when using the spring loaded plates I have seen.
Terroreyes
05-11-2004, 04:44 PM
How bad does it affect your top end speed? I thought about that model, but with a 50hp I don't have any speed to sacrifice.
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Hoosierdaddy
05-13-2004, 08:56 AM
I also have one of those Cabela plates sitting in my garage. Piece of junk.. and if the rep says noone has called to complain he is pulling your leg cause I sure did. Why do you suppose that every time you visit one of the Cabelas bargain caves there are stacks of these things?.. I use a happy troller now and as it implies I am quite happy. As far as reduction of speed with my 75 HP Merc I lost only about .5 MPH from my top end and this could be because there are more fish in my livewell. On the subject of reduced reverse thrust I suppose it makes sense that I lost a little there.. hmmm.. why do I need a whole bunch of reverse thrust? I still get the boat off the trailer easy enough.... I can still back the boat fast enough to dump water over the transom and obviousely I am not trolling in reverse.
Hoosierdaddy
05-13-2004, 08:56 AM
I also have one of those Cabela plates sitting in my garage. Piece of junk.. and if the rep says noone has called to complain he is pulling your leg cause I sure did. Why do you suppose that every time you visit one of the Cabelas bargain caves there are stacks of these things?.. I use a happy troller now and as it implies I am quite happy. As far as reduction of speed with my 75 HP Merc I lost only about .5 MPH from my top end and this could be because there are more fish in my livewell. On the subject of reduced reverse thrust I suppose it makes sense that I lost a little there.. hmmm.. why do I need a whole bunch of reverse thrust? I still get the boat off the trailer easy enough.... I can still back the boat fast enough to dump water over the transom and obviousely I am not trolling in reverse.
T-Mac
05-13-2004, 10:42 AM
Hoosierdaddy...you have reverse thrust, because you have a Happy Troller. Those lock in the flat or "up" position when not in use. They work fine, as you and I both know.
However....
The type being discussed by "nebrwalleye", and which I was refering to, was the springloaded kind, which stays down always...except when you hit the throttle in forward. (There is no cord, no lock, no release)
You can't back up well with those.
To get a feel for what I am saying...Put your Happy Troller in the locked down position and then try and back up....you'll see what I mean.
Believe me. There are times when you need reverse.
Tackleman
05-14-2004, 12:15 PM
Check out this months Bass & Walleye Boat magazine, they do a full comparison for you, might help you make a decision.
TMan
T-Mac
05-14-2004, 01:34 PM
How yah doin Mr. Phelps?
I already decided.... LOL!
:) :)
You ready for the opener?
Hi there TMac. Been doing Ok. Pop's been ill for a few months, not doing too hot, so I've been tending to him. Daughter's Bday is on May 16th so I hung tight to home on opener, heading out to the old stompin' grounds this weekend though. Hit Minnetonka for a while on Saturday, 4 eyes in 4 hours, not too bad. You getting your fill of Mr. Berg yet? Tell him I said hi if you get a chance. Hope all is well with ya. TMan