115 HP Outboards - Trolling speed

[Duck Soup]

I may decide to re-power my 19 foot Starcraft in 2011 and the lowest sustainable trolling speed an engine will do is extremely important to me. Please comment on your experience with newer outboard engines (any brand) in the 115 HP size. I currently have a 1992 115 HP 2 cycle Mariner which can go for hours at less than 2 MPH. I have a kicker but often prefer trolling with the main engine.

 

[reeldrag]

i have a 19 foot starcraft with 115 efi 4 stroke merc it trolls at 2 mph with the riggers and boards. mini boards or cranks 2.5 it will troll for days but prop size is the key

 

[naturenut]

DC my dad put a new motor on his boat this was the first summer using it with the new motor, though its not a 115, it was a 90, and the 115 would prolly be the same kinda results.. I use it for trolling, and got it down to 1.5mph its a mercury 4 stroke series.

 

[JohnPK]

I have a 20 ft legend with a 115 merc....am considering putting a kicker on it...it trolls down to about 2 mph gps speed on calm water but with wind behind..tough to get under 2.5 which makes it a pain to cover areas over and over...often I high speed it back downwind then troll into the wind to reduce speed...this of course is only for erie walleye fishing and very early salmon fishing when water is cold...have ran into times when needed to go 1.5 and it's tough with at 115
good luck

 

[binkley]

I have a 90 hp. johnson, now I have a trolling plate on mine and I can troll down to a mere 0.4 mph on my gps. and with wind go to 0 mph. or less (not good trolling). if the trolling plate is up it averages 2.8 to 3.1 mph.

keepen'er afloat is always better than sinkin.

 

[Walleye Obsession]

I have a 115 efi 4 stroke merc on a 17 foot crestliner no problem trolling 2 mph 1.8 with boards and riggers in the water, absolutely love the motor its hard to tell if its running at an idle, no fumes , you can talk on a cell phone while running wide open and gas consumption is amazing. But don't be afraid to try some small trolling bags you will be happy with the results.

 

[G.Mech]

Duck,

I run a 2007 115 Merc Optimax 2 stroke on my Princecraft 174 and it will troll all day without a hiccup at speeds as low as 1.8 MPH with the riggers in the water (I usually troll faster than that however). It does not foul a plug ever and uses virtually zero oil at the low RPM's so produces very few fumes. I put the Smartcraft guage system on the boat too so you can control your engine speed electronically either by RPM's (+/- 10 RPMS) or by your GPS boat speed which is really nice.

I was looking for a 4 stroke when I bought this boat which already equipped with the Optimax but I couldn't be happier and would buy another one in a second. Most folks I take out are very surprised that it's a 2 stroke since it is so quiet and smooth.

 

[scribe]

I realize this is smaller, but I have a 75 hp Mercury 4-stroke on my 17-foot Starcraft. I took it into Jones Marine for a tune-up and mentioned I would like a slower idle speed. It took a little doing on his part (I believe due to emission controls) but he slowed it down nicely. Tha tmight be an option for anyone wanting a slower idle speed

 

[Duck Soup]

Thanks a lot for the input guys. From what I've read on this post and the one about the Evinrude E-Tech, the only two outboards that are consistently capable of trolling speeds under 2 MPH are the 115 E-Tech and the 115 Merc Optimax. That's fine. Appreciate the information. I've got nothing against modern 2 cycle engines if they will deliver the performance I'm looking for.

 

[big guy]

I went from a 79' 115 Merc to a 2009 ETEC 115 to repower my 18' fibreglass bowrider, used mainly for salmon. Trolls down to 1.6 mph by the gps, without a problem at all for 8 straight hours. I was told it can,and should be done, so I tried it. Nice to know that I can go that route if my kicker konks out. Tons of torque, uses hardly any oil or fuel, NO smoke at all, and extremely quiet even at full throttle. Plus no maintenance for three years, that's cool.8D Even then servicing might probably be cheaper than a fourstroke, you know without all those moving parts to check and adjust, belts and oil changes... Check with Blue Sky Marine in New Hamburg if you don't have a dealer closer to your area. They went out of their way to make my engine swap a very positive experience, and cheaper(much) than the Merc dealer there in the same town. So far, I'm extremely happy.

 

[fisherman]

[}]duck yopu didnt say what you are chasing out there with the trolling thing i hope its not your ever vanished rainbow trout[)]

 

[Duck Soup]

Fisherman: Please see my post on the subject of Rainbow Trout. I chase just about every sportfish and rarely use my kicker because I don't have a seperate control for it.
quote:
Originally posted by fisherman

[}]duck yopu didnt say what you are chasing out there with the trolling thing i hope its not your ever vanished rainbow trout[)]

 

[Darryl]

check this report for the Merc 115, Boattest.com rated #10 in all outboards

http://www.boattest.com/engines/engine-test.aspx?id=260