trolling plates

[coyote]

I have a 100 hp I can only idle down to about 3.5 mph on calm water I would like a kicker motor but the wallet is getting thin Are trolling plates a waste of time and money I'm not sure if I want to drill holes in my new motor. Are the auto flip up kind good, is there to much drag at full throttle. help Coyote

[Gilligan]

If you are figuring a kicker in the future I would go with the trolling bags to slow your speed rather than drilling into the cavitation plate. If you never have plans on a kicker go with the plate. The Happy Troller is the best of them. Stay away from the Cabelas models, I had 2 of them fall apart inside of 5 trips to the lake.

[Erie Drifter]

Go with the Happy Troller brand & bore a 3" diameter hole on center with your prop for a little better boat control, I've never tried the Troll-A-Matic but I worry about what would happen if you ever had to throttle up in reverse for any reason.

Bill W. (War-N-Peace-ch 68)

[Chris]

Who has tried the troll-o-matic? I just bought one and have not put it on yet??

[clyde53]

I have a Happy Troller trolling plate and it works great there is just a couple things i noticed with mine which is probably true for all of them. Lack of boat control especially in windy conditions and the best way to tell if the plate is down is too watch the wake and see if the plate is down in low light or at night when you cant see it in the water it works great otherwise another hint to insure that it flips down it to be moving very slowly backwards when tripping the plate

[JK]

I have used both in the past and I prefer the trolling bag. You maintain steering ability, yet can slow down to your trolling speeds. Added plus is no holes drilled in your cavitation plate.

[Mac]

I have 1990 115 HP Merc (4 cylinder kicks down to two) on a 18'6 Crestliner weighing approx 1600lbs (gear motor etc).

I had the problem with it going to fast and installed a troll plate. The spark plugs started to get carbed up (originally champions)and switched to NGK (fantastic). You'll burn a lot more fuel w/the big engine though. I do trolling for 8-10hrs. You may need to occasionally pull lines too and go for a ride as the engine (so Merc engineers tell me) should not run at that low of RPMS consistently.

The biggest downside of the troll plate is my decrease in top speed to the additional drag. My boat did 49mph w/o a plate and with Champion L76V plugs. Now w/the NGK plugs and plate only 33mph. Everything is a tradeoff I suppose.

Finally got some more cash and considering getting the Yamaha 8HP high thrust for trolling.

[srj]

I have used the Troll-a-Matic on several motors up to a 90 HP. I was only concerned about lowering my speed backtrolling so I removed the springs that lower the plate at reduced throttle. I also replaced the two pins holding the plate to the bracket with one long stainless rod bent on one end and with two holes drilled in the other. I use pins (I think they are called clevis pins) in these holes to keep the plate attached--I can run with or without the plate depending on conditions. The closer to the prop you mount the plate the more it will reduce your speed. You do not have as much thrust in reverse with the plate mounted.

[spa]

How about a bucket with a hook off the bow hook it on the eye .Has anyone ever tried this? would it work might try it this weekend.Have a good one....

[coyote]

Thanks guys for your input I think i'm going to save the cash and wait for a deal on a kicker. I tried dragging my drift sock behind the motor slowed me down but no steering control. Then i put it up front under the boat some control but not good enough for precise fishing locations. Thanks all for the input

[Weekend Warrior]

I have the troll-a-matic on a warrior with a 90hp. I think it works very well, I had one of the Cabela models that I ended up returning after a year, It was a pain in the a-- to use, I even had put a ring in it to help raise it and lock it in place. If you were trying to turn and gave too much thrust it would sheer the pin. The troll-a-matic is a no brainer it comes down automaticly, you can give as much power you need on a turn without being concerned you will sheer a pin, I have more then enough power in reverse, As far as drilling holes in the plate, big deal any prop/skeg repair shop can fill them in a jiffy and paint to match.For 59.00 it is well worth the price, don't get me wrong a kicker with trim and tilt would be the best but the cost is 2k.

Fish On! get the net.

[mbrandt]

>
>The biggest downside of the troll plate is my decrease in
>top speed to the additional drag. My boat did 49mph w/o a
>plate and with Champion L76V plugs. Now w/the NGK plugs and
>plate only 33mph. Everything is a tradeoff I suppose.


I have seen this wriiten before, but don't understand it. I bought a new motor last year and put off installing the plate for a year because I had read this. I missed it too much and went ahead and installed it over the winter. It ended up I didn't lose any speed at all. I have Lund pro v 1660 and a 90 hp Merc 2 stroke. Was 41 gps before the plate and the same after. Not sure what on the plate would cause loss of top end speed, especially 16 mph. I love the plate. Have been using one for over 10 years, except last year.

Mark

[SoDakBoy]

Another option is to go with a 36-volt bow-mount electric motor. Depending on the size of your oat you can go up to around 100 lbs. of thrust. With three good batteries you can troll all day, even in high wind, and there are no fumes and no noise. Costs a lot less than a kicker, too. I've got a 25-horse kicker on my 20-ft. boat and I haven't used the thing in three years. My electric does everything I formerly used the kicker for, and does it better. If I'd known about this when I bought the boat I would never have got the kicker and saved myself some serious dough...