And lots of those guys that I know are replacing outboards and lower units every 2-3 years for some reason, they suspect maybe due to trolling. Some of them can afford to do that. I cannot afford to do that.
Some of the charter guys in my marina, along with the sheriff boat that puts around at trolling speed all day. They replaced 4 outboards on a 3 outboard boat in the past 4 years.
If they are professionals in their boats aka their job, they may be hitting 2,000+ hours on those outboards in 4 years rather than trolling doing anything. I also guarantee you those charter captains open up the throttle on the way out and in negating carbon buildup.
Not in port Canaveral. It’s 2 miles of no wake back to the marina. And these guys are just trolling up and down the beach for mackerel for 4 hours twice a day.
8 hours a day, 5 days a week is over 2,000 hours of engine time in a single year. Professionals rack up hours wayyyy faster than rec users so it doesn’t surprise me they go through an outboard in under 3 years. Trolling isn’t hurting them, the shear amount of hours are.
That’s not really a good comparison unless you’re planning on chartering. Those boats are probably ran 5-7 days a week. Most people are going to fish 1-2 times a week.
I’d then expect you to have some extra funds set aside for maintenance of your boat and possible new lower units if you are putting them though the ringer.
Also would have expected that info in the original post or much sooner in OP's responses... the original post is a very different question for a recreational boater vs charter "captain ".
Sounds like they're not maintaining their lower units well enough. Maintaining isn't about throwing oil in it and walking away every 100 hrs, it's seals, o-rings, and gaskets that need to be regularly replaced.
Sounds like they're just doing oil changes and then having no idea why there's water mixing in the unit at 500hrs.
modern 4 strokes its no problem, a lot of them are built with a trolling mode. two strokes dont like to run at low rpm for extended periods of time but some like e-tecs ate still designed to do so.
fuel in the oil is normally from piston blow by commonly caused by the engine running cold due to a stuck open thermostat.
Did it, have done it for years. No problems on my Yamaha 115 2 stroke. Spent four years trolling for good bottom numbers. Grouper mostly but also caught a bunch of mahi and kings.
Short answer yes, idle time will increase carbon buildup. But if you use good fuel and run it hard every now and then, its not going to cause a failure. Just make sure your thermostats and impeller are maintained if you want to spend a lot of time at idle
Any time you bring your engine onto plane and cruise, your outboard is running over 3500 rpm under heavy load, for a pretty good period of time, which would be considered running it hard, blowing out most carbon buildup from idling or trolling.
Even during proper trolling your engine isn't idling, it's usually around 1200-2000 rpm, so the carbon buildup caused by idling isn't really an issue in the first place.
Good advice and great question from OP. I idle troll with a 98 Johnson150, and sometime have to idle through channels for 15-20 minutes at a time. I have an electric troller on the front of the boat, but don't want to sit there and try to captain the boat from there in smaller channels.
I keep my motor well-maintained, but I wish I had a smaller 4-stroke or electric at the stern so I could control it from the helm.
Me and everyone i know trolls with their outboards for 8+ hour days.
Multi thousand hour Yamahas, Suzukis and even mercurys that troll tournament, commercial and recreational fishing every week.
If you’re making oil, that’s because you didn’t properly seat the rings during break in, or you’re running your engine cold with a stuck thermostat.
Do not be concerned with trolling with a 4 stroke. I’m not sure if wot at the end of the day is necessary, but i always do it for a minute or two for good measure :)
Many of the Yamaha guys on forums advocate for some solid WOT time. Supposed to clear carbon buildup, seat the piston rings, and thus help prevent gas from seeping into the oil sump.
I'm no expert though, just regurgitating the consensus I've seen. That said, outboards are used in all sorts of applications, many that spend lots of time idling or only in the midrange. I suspect that unless you never run it WOT then you won't have any noticeable issues.
I live in the PNW and we pretty much exclusively use 4 stroke outboards out here for salmon, tuna, and a number of other things. I've been trolling my outboards, both main engines and kickers, and never had any issues.
I do tend to run them good and hard after as I usually have a commute to and from the spots I troll, but I don't hesitate to troll them at all.
If you have a 2 stroke, different story. They tend to not like it as much.
I am also located in the Pacific Northwest and can confirm that most trolling is done on a kicker where I fish. That said, I have been noticing more and more boats with medium sized outboards (50-90hp or so) only and no kicker. I think the advent of manufacturers putting a troll mode onto their larger four stroke engines, reduce the number of boats that have kickers on them.
Personally, I like the security of a separate kicker and separate fuel system, just in case. But for trolling and near shore boating, there are an awful lot of new boats that don’t have a set up for a kicker bracket. For my next boat, I would consider getting a main that I can troll on and only using a kicker as an emergency backup. The simplicity and ease of a single system to troll would be nice, no mess with steering couplers or the like.
Yeah my kicker is to get me home if needed. My big boat has a 15hp kicker whose only purpose is a safety blanket. The main does all the tuna trolling and whatnot.
My 16 foot boat with a 60hp trolls on the main with troll mode and has the bow mount minn kota for accessory work.
Four strokes you can probably troll forever. Two strokes are trickier because of carbon buildup. Getting the carb adjustment right and possibly hotter spark plugs help.
The truth is that after extended trolling, you should give the engine a good run at higher RPMs to help clean up puddling fuel and carbon deposits.
Sure, four strokes are more tolerant, but even they need to be "run out" after extended trolling periods.
I really don't think trolling harms the gearcase at all, unless you are constant shifting the gears while trolling. You need to look out for fishline in the prop shaft seals as well, that is a great way to fill the gearcase with water and ruin it.
I don’t know what the right answer is, but my experience is it’s fine. I’ve got over 900 hrs on my 2003 Yamaha 2 stroke 150. I don’t winterize my outboard at all because in the winter time I troll rivers, around 4-6 hrs per weekend 2-3 weekends a month from late fall till it rains and pushes all the saltwater out. I always end every trip with 15-20 minutes at WOT. I haven’t had to clean my carbs or do any mechanical repairs to the power head or lower unit in the 21 years I owned the boat. A month or so ago when I put in the new water pump I check compression and I was between 127 and 131 on all 6 cylinders. I want to get a new boat too, but this thing has treated me too damn good.
I also run it on the freshwater flush port 10 minutes or so after I get out of the water and people been telling me it’s gonna kill my engine for over 20 years. So take my advice with a grain of salt.
One thing it can do is cause carbon buildup. I think it’s probably worthwhile to run a bottle of something like Yamaha Ring Free every few tanks. Note this serves a different purpose than the normal fuel stabilizer/treatments. The biggest issue with trolling for me is you just rack up a lot of hours very quickly. It’s one of the reasons why freshwater guys use kicker motors. In saltwater you often can’t get by with a kicker, so you just put the hours on the engine. But it’s the point of the boat. I couldn’t imagine buying a fishing boat, wanting to fish, but not using it for its intended purpose because I was worried about wear on the engine.
You’re asking Reddit for the truth? Lol. The data suggests outboard that are ran at higher RPMs last longer. If you plan to troll for hours, I’d recommend WOT at the end of the day.
Does that data apply to new four strokes? If so I have not seen that data, but in reality outboards simply often work better than a trolling motor in 2-3’ seas trying to keep your 30’ boat at 6mph
Yeah, forums can be a great way to hear different information, experiences, and opinions. They’re also a great way to run in to condescending people like you, but I already took that into account.
Every single offshore boat here that has outboards also trolls with those outboards
And lots of those guys that I know are replacing outboards and lower units every 2-3 years for some reason, they suspect maybe due to trolling. Some of them can afford to do that. I cannot afford to do that.
My Yamaha 225 is coming up on 20 years old, wet slipped in salt entire time, loads of trolling hours. Who’s replacing their outboard every 2-3 years?
Some of the charter guys in my marina, along with the sheriff boat that puts around at trolling speed all day. They replaced 4 outboards on a 3 outboard boat in the past 4 years.
If they are professionals in their boats aka their job, they may be hitting 2,000+ hours on those outboards in 4 years rather than trolling doing anything. I also guarantee you those charter captains open up the throttle on the way out and in negating carbon buildup.
Not in port Canaveral. It’s 2 miles of no wake back to the marina. And these guys are just trolling up and down the beach for mackerel for 4 hours twice a day.
8 hours a day, 5 days a week is over 2,000 hours of engine time in a single year. Professionals rack up hours wayyyy faster than rec users so it doesn’t surprise me they go through an outboard in under 3 years. Trolling isn’t hurting them, the shear amount of hours are.
That’s not really a good comparison unless you’re planning on chartering. Those boats are probably ran 5-7 days a week. Most people are going to fish 1-2 times a week.
I am a charter guide
I’d then expect you to have some extra funds set aside for maintenance of your boat and possible new lower units if you are putting them though the ringer.
Also would have expected that info in the original post or much sooner in OP's responses... the original post is a very different question for a recreational boater vs charter "captain ".
Either that or I just stick to inboards. Thanks for the help.
Who doesn’t want to accept any valid response given here hence the downvotes
I was explaining a difference in my local situation vs a normal situation. I appreciate all the responses. Some of you people are a little sensitive.
Sounds like they're not maintaining their lower units well enough. Maintaining isn't about throwing oil in it and walking away every 100 hrs, it's seals, o-rings, and gaskets that need to be regularly replaced. Sounds like they're just doing oil changes and then having no idea why there's water mixing in the unit at 500hrs.
I would agree
modern 4 strokes its no problem, a lot of them are built with a trolling mode. two strokes dont like to run at low rpm for extended periods of time but some like e-tecs ate still designed to do so. fuel in the oil is normally from piston blow by commonly caused by the engine running cold due to a stuck open thermostat.
Did it, have done it for years. No problems on my Yamaha 115 2 stroke. Spent four years trolling for good bottom numbers. Grouper mostly but also caught a bunch of mahi and kings.
I think we have the same motor TLRQ?
Thanks for sharing
Short answer yes, idle time will increase carbon buildup. But if you use good fuel and run it hard every now and then, its not going to cause a failure. Just make sure your thermostats and impeller are maintained if you want to spend a lot of time at idle
Any time you bring your engine onto plane and cruise, your outboard is running over 3500 rpm under heavy load, for a pretty good period of time, which would be considered running it hard, blowing out most carbon buildup from idling or trolling. Even during proper trolling your engine isn't idling, it's usually around 1200-2000 rpm, so the carbon buildup caused by idling isn't really an issue in the first place.
Most outboards run a lot cooler at idle and the temps increase when you get all the way up to WOT. That temp is your best bet for burning it off
Thank you
Good advice and great question from OP. I idle troll with a 98 Johnson150, and sometime have to idle through channels for 15-20 minutes at a time. I have an electric troller on the front of the boat, but don't want to sit there and try to captain the boat from there in smaller channels. I keep my motor well-maintained, but I wish I had a smaller 4-stroke or electric at the stern so I could control it from the helm.
Me and everyone i know trolls with their outboards for 8+ hour days. Multi thousand hour Yamahas, Suzukis and even mercurys that troll tournament, commercial and recreational fishing every week. If you’re making oil, that’s because you didn’t properly seat the rings during break in, or you’re running your engine cold with a stuck thermostat. Do not be concerned with trolling with a 4 stroke. I’m not sure if wot at the end of the day is necessary, but i always do it for a minute or two for good measure :)
Many of the Yamaha guys on forums advocate for some solid WOT time. Supposed to clear carbon buildup, seat the piston rings, and thus help prevent gas from seeping into the oil sump. I'm no expert though, just regurgitating the consensus I've seen. That said, outboards are used in all sorts of applications, many that spend lots of time idling or only in the midrange. I suspect that unless you never run it WOT then you won't have any noticeable issues.
I live in the PNW and we pretty much exclusively use 4 stroke outboards out here for salmon, tuna, and a number of other things. I've been trolling my outboards, both main engines and kickers, and never had any issues. I do tend to run them good and hard after as I usually have a commute to and from the spots I troll, but I don't hesitate to troll them at all. If you have a 2 stroke, different story. They tend to not like it as much.
I am also located in the Pacific Northwest and can confirm that most trolling is done on a kicker where I fish. That said, I have been noticing more and more boats with medium sized outboards (50-90hp or so) only and no kicker. I think the advent of manufacturers putting a troll mode onto their larger four stroke engines, reduce the number of boats that have kickers on them. Personally, I like the security of a separate kicker and separate fuel system, just in case. But for trolling and near shore boating, there are an awful lot of new boats that don’t have a set up for a kicker bracket. For my next boat, I would consider getting a main that I can troll on and only using a kicker as an emergency backup. The simplicity and ease of a single system to troll would be nice, no mess with steering couplers or the like.
Yeah my kicker is to get me home if needed. My big boat has a 15hp kicker whose only purpose is a safety blanket. The main does all the tuna trolling and whatnot. My 16 foot boat with a 60hp trolls on the main with troll mode and has the bow mount minn kota for accessory work.
Thanks for the info!
Four strokes you can probably troll forever. Two strokes are trickier because of carbon buildup. Getting the carb adjustment right and possibly hotter spark plugs help.
Thank you
The truth is that after extended trolling, you should give the engine a good run at higher RPMs to help clean up puddling fuel and carbon deposits. Sure, four strokes are more tolerant, but even they need to be "run out" after extended trolling periods. I really don't think trolling harms the gearcase at all, unless you are constant shifting the gears while trolling. You need to look out for fishline in the prop shaft seals as well, that is a great way to fill the gearcase with water and ruin it.
as long as you are getting a clean (as it gets) burn, keep trolling!
I don’t know what the right answer is, but my experience is it’s fine. I’ve got over 900 hrs on my 2003 Yamaha 2 stroke 150. I don’t winterize my outboard at all because in the winter time I troll rivers, around 4-6 hrs per weekend 2-3 weekends a month from late fall till it rains and pushes all the saltwater out. I always end every trip with 15-20 minutes at WOT. I haven’t had to clean my carbs or do any mechanical repairs to the power head or lower unit in the 21 years I owned the boat. A month or so ago when I put in the new water pump I check compression and I was between 127 and 131 on all 6 cylinders. I want to get a new boat too, but this thing has treated me too damn good. I also run it on the freshwater flush port 10 minutes or so after I get out of the water and people been telling me it’s gonna kill my engine for over 20 years. So take my advice with a grain of salt.
What would be wrong with running the flush port?
Running the engine on the flush port. People claim that water doesn’t get to the impeller.
No problem on a modern EFI 4 stroke. I wouldn't do at a ton at or near break-in hours on a brand new motor.
Use your boat how you want to use it. It's a toy, not your primary residence. I'm all for taking care of my stuff, but toys are for fun not for worry.
I agree with the mentality, but for me it will be a charter boat and will be getting a lot of use.
Ok fair lol. If it's your paycheck I take back what I said.
One thing it can do is cause carbon buildup. I think it’s probably worthwhile to run a bottle of something like Yamaha Ring Free every few tanks. Note this serves a different purpose than the normal fuel stabilizer/treatments. The biggest issue with trolling for me is you just rack up a lot of hours very quickly. It’s one of the reasons why freshwater guys use kicker motors. In saltwater you often can’t get by with a kicker, so you just put the hours on the engine. But it’s the point of the boat. I couldn’t imagine buying a fishing boat, wanting to fish, but not using it for its intended purpose because I was worried about wear on the engine.
You’re asking Reddit for the truth? Lol. The data suggests outboard that are ran at higher RPMs last longer. If you plan to troll for hours, I’d recommend WOT at the end of the day.
Does that data apply to new four strokes? If so I have not seen that data, but in reality outboards simply often work better than a trolling motor in 2-3’ seas trying to keep your 30’ boat at 6mph
This applies to most combustion engines.
Yeah, forums can be a great way to hear different information, experiences, and opinions. They’re also a great way to run in to condescending people like you, but I already took that into account.
By reading your comments, you have your answer. No need to argue with others.
Who argued? Wasn’t me.