Anyone using their main Etec for trolling?

[alyaz]

Just wondering how many of you with Etecs are using them for trolling. In a perfect world I would prefer to just have the one (135 HO) on the new welded aluminum boat. Trying to keep everything as simple and light as possible (The last boat was a Ranger Tug. Winterizing, upholstery, loading, unloading, etc was a bear.) Everyone I have spoken to and what I have read suggests the Etecs idle down nicely and sip fuel at lower rpms... The friends I have fished with mostly, never even dip their kickers. So while I can appreciate the insurance of having a second engine, I am really struggling with the added cost, weight, maintenance, room, etc.

 

[Matty4x4]

I troll on my 115 with no issues at all. Besides stacking more hours on.

 

[spring time]

Friend of mine trolls on his 150 etec all summer no issues but I like having a kicker for that piece of mind

 

[walleyes]

I had a 175 ETec on my 20' Lund and it would troll down to 1.5 mph with ease and ran smoothly, you could smell a bit of the oil burn but not bad at all, pretty darn good for a 2 stroke. I did have a kicker on the boat that I used I would just try the big engine now and again.

But I've always felt unless you have 2 engines you can rotate the hours on it pays hand over fist to put on a kicker. Why hour out a $15,000.00 / $20,000.00 engine when you can hour out a $3000.00 engine plus you have the safety of a second engine. The 3-4 G's off the hop may seem expensive but look at the picture a few years down the line.

Just my opinion.

 

[ericl]

According to test results they consume about half the fuel a comparable O/B from another brand would. I used to have a 24 SeaRay moored on WCVI; Yamaha 250 with a Honda kicker. Too much wind/waves for the kicker most of the time. Depending on much you use it, it could die from corrosion before wearing out.

 

[nicnat]

I troll with my 115 etec all the time with no issues, with the xd100 setup it burns virtually no oil, idles down nicely and is very quiet. it burns less fuel than my 90 4 stroke zuke did while cruising and trolling on the same boat. I fish the mouth of the cap and the fraser a fair bit so using my kicker isn't an option a lot of times. I don't use it enough to worry about my hours, I have had it for 3 1/2 years and just hit 200 hrs with 85% of them trolling, just got the printout while having my 3 yr service done. my kicker is a 6hp 4 stroke merc I bought new in 2012, it has less than 2 hours on it, lol.

 

[Ceilidh69]

Trolled with my 200 for many hours this summer no issues. Barely used the new 15hp kicker.

 

[Burban]

My kicker got me home safely when the stator went on my main. Personally, I wouldn't run around the strait without a backup engine, even if my main was brand new.

 

[Goathorns]

A buddy had a 70 HP Etec from 2006, and we never had a problem. He sold it this August to a friend at work. Every time they serviced it they changed the plugs, only 10 hours per year.

 

[profisher]

"I am really struggling with the added cost, weight, maintenance, room, etc." Putting all the fishing hours on the main will cost more in the long run for all operating costs including maintenance. Most boats don't even notice the weight of a kicker. Then the big one is safety of having a backup. All motors will fail to start or stop running for some reason as no one makes a fail proof engine.

 

[bones]

I troll off my 300 half the time. No issues before service, has some issues now after service . Mainly fowling, now I swap out the plugs every 100 trolling hours

 

[alyaz]

I troll off my 300 half the time. No issues before service, has some issues now after service . Mainly fowling, now I swap out the plugs every 100 trolling hours

hmmm... wonder what they did at service to cause that? Although I guess 100 hrs of trolling isn’t too bad... Out of interest does your engine get run harder or WOT after a trolling session?

 

[bones]

hmmm... wonder what they did at service to cause that? Although I guess 100 hrs of trolling isn’t too bad... Out of interest does your engine get run harder or WOT after a trolling session?

I've taken it to two different techs and nobody seems to be able to solve the problem the 1200$ tune up cost me about 3500$. The foam liner can peel away and pinch the oil return or not coming to temp while idling. Every 3-4 hrs we pack up and go for a rip clear the engine out.

 

[alyaz]

I've taken it to two different techs and nobody seems to be able to solve the problem the 1200$ tune up cost me about 3500$. The foam liner can peel away and pinch the oil return or not coming to temp while idling. Every 3-4 hrs we pack up and go for a rip clear the engine out.

ouch...$3500. Is that peeling foam liner a fairly common issue?

 

[paguy]

Or you skip all the wondering and just put a Yamaha on and be done with it.

 

[alyaz]

Or you skip all the wondering and just put a Yamaha on and be done with it.

Then I would definitely need a kicker... (PS: Just kidding as I know how dependable Yamaha’s are...).