New Motor, An Engineering Marvel And A Question About Trim Tabs

[solopaddler]

I had an incredibly busy week last week.

Over the winter my dad and I designed a railway system to haul our gear up the hill to my camp.

We had taken the rough plans to a welder buddy of mine to construct and last Thursday morning it was finally ready to be picked up.

Not a huge neccesity for myself, but my dad is 73 and it's getting tough for him to unload the boat when he's up there without me...

So anyway after picking up the rail system I immediately hit the highway again and headed for Hastings.

I had struck a deal for an '07 40 horse 4 stroke Yamaha with Hastings Marine. Great people to deal with btw, Mike Maynard at Hastings is a stand up guy. If anyone's in the market for a Yamaha I'd highly reccomend giving them a call!

Neither myself nor my pops have a vehicle large enough for that load so we rented a cargo van loaded 'er up and hit the hwy at 4am Friday for the long drive to the camp.

 

Upon arriving we installed the new motor:

 

 

Man is it sweet. Didn't have my gps with me, but the boat is super fast now! Even with a load she gets up on plane instantly and just skips along.

 

The railway system was a bit of a chore but we got 'er done.

 

Here's a picture from the bottom looking up:

 

 

It runs 50' from the end of the boat dock up the hill to the sunroom doors.

There's a black box at the top that houses an electric winch which pulls a huge custom built cart up the hill.

We tried it out a few times and the damn thing works great!

 

Now my question:

 

The new motor is too fast to troll with and I need to slow it down. I'd really rather not have to use drift socks so I was looking at these:

 

http://www.nauticusinc.com/nauticus_pro_troller.html

 

Has anyone had any experience using them? They say your speed will be reduced up to 35%. I'm not totally sure if that will be slow enough as I've got to get the speed down to at least 2-3mph...

 

Would love some feedback before I take the plunge.

 

Cheers, Mike

[Roy]

Good job Mike!

That 40 Yammy should troll down slowly enough though. I have a 60 Merc 4 stroke and it goes down to 1.3 kph.

[solopaddler]

Good job Mike!

That 40 Yammy should troll down slowly enough though. I have a 60 Merc 4 stroke and it goes down to 1.3 kph.

 

Holy cow Roy, really? That's amazing. As mentioned I didn't have my gps or fishfinder with me to measure my speed, but I figured I was going roughly 6mph at the slowest speed.

At one point I threw a 5 gallon pail behind the boat on a rope and it still didn't troll slow enough.

[Basskicker]

WOW Mike.....you weren't joking about the rail system. Impressive for sure.....nice motor too

 

Cheers

Jason

[Greencoachdog]

I know what you mean about trolling too fast with the new motor, my 50 hp 4 stroke idles at 800 rpm and pushes my boat at about 3.8 mph.

 

I have a drift sock I use sometimes, but usually just use the bowmount for slow trolling.

 

I havn't heard many good things about the trolling brakes/plates... mostly they seem to be something else to get in the way or knock off on something... but you may have better luck with them.

Edited July 13, 2009 by GCD

[solopaddler]

I know what you mean about trolling too fast with the new motor, my 50 hp 4 stroke idles at 800 rpm and pushes my boat at about 3.8 mph.

 

I have a drift sock I use sometimes, but usually just use the bowmount for slow trolling.

 

I havn't heard many good things about the trolling brakes/plates... mostly they seem to be something else to get in the way or knock off on something... but you may have better luck with them.

 

The trolling plate on my old 25 worked absolutely fantastic. I considered installing it on the new motor but it didn't fit properly.

 

What I was thinking (after I arrived back home) was maybe I can simply adjust the idle. Or maybe just loosen off the throttle linkage on the tiller handle...

 

I've got a bowmount electric but I do a lot of trolling and being in the middle of no where and off the grid that's not the answer for me.

[Greencoachdog]

The trolling plate on my old 25 worked absolutely fantastic. I considered installing it on the new motor but it didn't fit properly.

 

What I was thinking (after I arrived back home) was maybe I can simply adjust the idle. Or maybe just loosen off the throttle linkage on the tiller handle...

 

I've got a bowmount electric but I do a lot of trolling and being in the middle of no where and off the grid that's not the answer for me.

 

 

I wouldn't fiddle with the idle or linkage... it sounds like a new trolling plate for you!!!

[DRIFTER_016]

Mike

I told you to give Nauticus a call and let them know what your boat and motor combo are and what you need to do.

I'm sure they have sold them to owners with similar rigs as yours.

You can also post your question on iboats.com as there are a lot of people running Nauticus trim tabs on that site.

 

The difference between these and a regular trolling plate is two fold 1/ they do not block the prop so steering is more precise when trolling and 2/ when not trolling they are trim tabs with all the benefits of trim tabs (get on plane faster, at a slower speed, better gas milage, plus you will gain 1 or 2 miles an hour on top end speed)

 

Nice railway too!!!

Your dad's life just got easier.

But I gues you will continue to carry your stuff to stay in shape, right?

Edited July 13, 2009 by DRIFTER_016

[solopaddler]

Mike

I told you to give Nauticus a call and let them know what your boat and motor combo are and what you need to do.

I'm sure they have sold them to owners with similar rigs as yours.

You can also post your question on iboats.com as there are a lot of people running Nauticus trim tabs on that site.

 

The difference between these and a regular trolling plate is two fold 1/ they do not block the prop so steering is more precise when trolling and 2/ when not trolling they are trim tabs with all the benefits of trim tabs (get on plane faster, at a slower speed, better gas milage, plus you will gain 1 or 2 miles an hour on top end speed)

 

Nice railway too!!!

Your dad's life just got easier.

But I gues you will continue to carry your stuff to stay in shape, right?

 

 

Hey bud I did call Nauticus, shockingly they guaranteed me they'd work.

 

The thing is as mentioned I'm going roughly 5mph at the slowest speed. If the boat is only slowed 35% that won't be enough..

Also I'm personally not sure about them. Unlike a trolling plate which is mounted right in front of the prop these are mounted on the corners of the boat.

I can't possibly see how they'd slow the boat down as much as a trolling plate.

[Dara]

See if you can get the Yamaha guy to add the throtle control.

You can troll down to 650 rpm with it.

Maybe only on 09's though

[Fish4Eyes]

If your willing to cough up the money, try a kicker motor.

[solopaddler]

See if you can get the Yamaha guy to add the throtle control.

You can troll down to 650 rpm with it.

Maybe only on 09's though

 

They're really sweet I know but only available on the new fuel injected '09 models.

The one I bought is an '07 and not fuel injected, it has carbuerators...

[solopaddler]

If your willing to cough up the money, try a kicker motor.

 

I already have a motor that'd work as a kicker, a 2hp Honda. I'd prefer to keep things simple though...

[bigfish1965]

Umm..get a different pitched propellor. There's no way that thing should not go down to less than 2 mph. I think your prop pitch is wayyyyy off.

[Sinker]

Mike, your speed seems way to fast for a newer 4 stroke.

 

I have a 40 mariner 2 stroke that idles at 2 MPH, and less into a wind. I have to use the electric to go slower than that, or install a trolling plate.

 

If your 4 stroke is running 5mph at idle, that's way too fast I think. My Hull might be a little wider than yours, but weight would be about the same. A change in props could help you out a little, but not enough to lose 3mph at idle. Those trolling plates look cool, and prolly work, but I wonder how long until you forget them down and whack them off something? I wouldn't put them on my boat, I'd just break them for sure!!

 

I could be wrong, but that seems very fast for a 4 stroke........I thought the hype on them was how great they troll?? Ya shoulda got the 2 stroke

 

I'd love to have that engine on my boat though!! The old mariner works great, but you have some nice options in the yammy tiller handle that I don't have, and could use them!!!

 

S.

[DRIFTER_016]

Hey bud I did call Nauticus, shockingly they guaranteed me they'd work.

 

The thing is as mentioned I'm going roughly 5mph at the slowest speed. If the boat is only slowed 35% that won't be enough..

Also I'm personally not sure about them. Unlike a trolling plate which is mounted right in front of the prop these are mounted on the corners of the boat.

I can't possibly see how they'd slow the boat down as much as a trolling plate.

 

 

They stand behind their guarantee Mike.

If it doesn't slow you down enough the will either figure out how to make it work better (different sized tabs & shock combo) or refund your $$.

Everthing I have heard about them is that they will bend over backwards to make them work for your application.

As I said check out iboats for lots of first hand info.

[solopaddler]

Umm..get a different pitched propellor. There's no way that thing should not go down to less than 2 mph. I think your prop pitch is wayyyyy off.

 

That's something I never thought of thank you!

 

 

Mike, your speed seems way to fast for a newer 4 stroke.

 

I have a 40 mariner 2 stroke that idles at 2 MPH, and less into a wind. I have to use the electric to go slower than that, or install a trolling plate.

 

If your 4 stroke is running 5mph at idle, that's way too fast I think. My Hull might be a little wider than yours, but weight would be about the same. A change in props could help you out a little, but not enough to lose 3mph at idle. Those trolling plates look cool, and prolly work, but I wonder how long until you forget them down and whack them off something? I wouldn't put them on my boat, I'd just break them for sure!!

 

I could be wrong, but that seems very fast for a 4 stroke........I thought the hype on them was how great they troll?? Ya shoulda got the 2 stroke

 

I'd love to have that engine on my boat though!! The old mariner works great, but you have some nice options in the yammy tiller handle that I don't have, and could use them!!!

 

S.

 

Naw I'm pretty happy with the 4 stroke bud. It's a great motor, eventually I'll get the trolling speed figured out.

FYI but the trim tab trolling plates rise automatically when you give the boat a little juice. If they actually do work they're by far the best solution...

 

 

They stand behind their guarantee Mike.

If it doesn't slow you down enough the will either figure out how to make it work better (different sized tabs & shock combo) or refund your $$.

Everthing I have heard about them is that they will bend over backwards to make them work for your application.

As I said check out iboats for lots of first hand info.

 

They may indeed end up being part of the solution. The prop pitch and idle adjustment will help too I'm sure.

Give me a call later will ya?

[ecmilley]

make sure you break it in before you start doing any adjustments.

Is this the 3cyl carbed engine? if so it'll have a tough time trolling down anyway don't know why but the 3cyl yams and mercs don't like to troll right down in the 40hp range , instaslled a trolling plate on a merc noew its perfect the only mod made was to file out a half position on the plate so we still have steering control

[Steve]

you spent all that money on a new motor, and you didn't go with the Variable Speed Control?

 

Ju Crazy Mon.

 

my yamaha trolls TOO slow...i find myself speeding up when i look down and my speed is 0.9mph - 1.1 mph.

[solopaddler]

make sure you break it in before you start doing any adjustments.

Is this the 3cyl carbed engine? if so it'll have a tough time trolling down anyway don't know why but the 3cyl yams and mercs don't like to troll right down in the 40hp range , instaslled a trolling plate on a merc noew its perfect the only mod made was to file out a half position on the plate so we still have steering control

 

It's an '07 and was slightly used so it's only a "new" motor to me. Already broken in..

I think it's a 3 cyl engine, I know it has 3 carbs.

 

You sound like you know your stuff. Regarding the trolling plate, when it's up and locked in place should the motor be trimmed a specific way?

Reason I ask I took the Happy Troller off my 25hp and tried it on my 40. With the plate up and locked the motor laboured a bit to get up on plane and the torque on the motor was unreal. I could see the transom bending with the force.

Also when I tried to engage the trolling plate it wouldn't drop down even when I gunned it in reverse.

 

I believe I know what you're saying about your trolling plate. I'm guessing when yours is engaged it's at a 45 degree angle rather than a 90?

I've thought about that myself but first I have to get the damn thing to work LOL!

[solopaddler]

you spent all that money on a new motor, and you didn't go with the Variable Speed Control?

 

Ju Crazy Mon.

 

my yamaha trolls TOO slow...i find myself speeding up when i look down and my speed is 0.9mph - 1.1 mph.

 

I would have loved an '09 with the speed control. It basically boiled down to A. buy the motor I really want and not be able to pay for daycare for a couple months. (the kids can fend for themselves, right?) or B. buy something a wee bit cheaper.

 

Tax in the one I bought was almost 2 grand cheaper than a brand new '09.....

[solopaddler]

Umm..get a different pitched propellor. There's no way that thing should not go down to less than 2 mph. I think your prop pitch is wayyyyy off.

 

FYI but I just spoke with Mike Maynard at Hastings marine. He said that in order for my prop to make any difference at all I'd have to get one with a much smaller pitch (around 9").

He said it would slow the boat down, but at top speed the motor would be revving way too much and working too hard.

He said they only put props like that on pontoon boats that never really go fast and that I'd just be wasting my money.

[ecmilley]

have zero problems with getting up on plane, and yes a 45 angle is what i am talkin bout, the boat still has the same top speed and it all works perfectly

[solopaddler]

have zero problems with getting up on plane, and yes a 45 angle is what i am talkin bout, the boat still has the same top speed and it all works perfectly

 

Thanks. Can't figure why mine didn't work though. The only thing I can think of is the trim on the motor needed to be adjusted up so when the plate is up and locked it's closer to the surface.

Does that make sense to you?

[Roy]

Well Mike, I've Googled a few places and they all say that your motor should easily be able to do 1.8-2.2 mph. Even at that you can still back troll and cut that down by at least .5 and have better boat control. Guys have 115 hp rigs and are doing 3mph trolling.

 

Seriously, there must be something wrong. Before you add a plate, check it out Bud.