Merc 60 hp Bigfoot trolling

[bobcat]

So i have a brand new 18ft Bassbuggy pontoon. When I bought it They said it would troll down fine. I can get down to the speed i want but it runs like crap after about 10 min. I called tracker in Auburn and they told me I needed to change the pitch of my prob to lower the rpm? Help me wrap my head around this . its not that I need to go slower I csn get it right down to 1.6 even but i like to troll at around 2.2 to 2.5. Sometimes when trolling for musky i go around 3.5 and it runs better there but still seems like it "loads up" like my old 2 stroke used to.
Why would changing prop to lower my rpm help my motor run better?
I don't mind buying a new prop if I need to but don't want to spend money and lose top end (only goes 18 mph now lol) if it won't help me.
 
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[Jhettenbaugh]

I had a buddy who had a 40 horse and it would do the same thing. If I remeber correctly if had to go with the motor building up condensation when trolling. I think the remedy was to warm it up enough running to a spot before ideling it down to troll and if on a long troll he would have to pull lines once and awhile to run it again. I will double check with him or do a quick google search for problems. 

[bobcat]

i been researching online and have a couple things to try. its the vibration that bugs me the most. im going to try trimming it up off the stops when trolling in hopes that it wont send the vibration through the rest of the boat. other options i found are trolling plates and drift socks which neither i want to do. i got enough going on while on the water trying to learn this stuff. lol

  

[bobcat]

After trolling last week for a few hours it wouldn't go back to full power. Long story but end result was plugs . wondering if I should just use 87 octane with startron instead of the 91 non-ethonal. Should not burn up a set of plugs on a new motor with less than 25 hours on it.

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[LongLine]

A higher pitch will lower the RPMs.  Why would you want lower RPMs to reduce bogging down?  A lower pitch (less bite per RPM)  will make you give it more RPMs to go the same speed.

 

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[guffins fisherman]

Trolling with a larger engine always creates problems, be it loading up the cylinder heads, too fast, vibration, etc. If you do not want to go with a kicker, a pair of trolling bags is probably your best option. They serve many purposes for trolling. First, they slow you down even more, allowing you to bump up the RPM's to achieve the proper speed, and at the same time allowing the engine to hopefully not load up, or not as bad. Second, trolling bags aid in keeping the boat straight and well heeled in the water in wind and waves. I understand your hesitation in putting more in the water and adding another stress, but it won't take long to get accustomed to having them in. Last note: run them midship on each side to get them out of the way for setting up and for netting. Guys troll big outboards and big V8 inboards all the time with little loading up.

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[John E Powell]

So i have a brand new 18ft Bassbuggy pontoon. When I bought it They said it would troll down fine. I can get down to the speed i want but it runs like crap after about 10 min. I called tracker in Auburn and they told me I needed to change the pitch of my prob to lower the rpm? Help me wrap my head around this . its not that I need to go slower I csn get it right down to 1.6 even but i like to troll at around 2.2 to 2.5. Sometimes when trolling for musky i go around 3.5 and it runs better there but still seems like it "loads up" like my old 2 stroke used to.
Why would changing prop to lower my rpm help my motor run better?
I don't mind buying a new prop if I need to but don't want to spend money and lose top end (only goes 18 mph now lol) if it won't help me.
 
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Well first off, gas. This is an oversimplification but octane rating can be thought of how quickly the fuel burns. High octane = slower burn rate, lower octane = faster burn rate. There is no advantage in using a higher octane fuel than what Mercury says is required. You're just wasting money. What is of value to spend extra money on is ethanol free gas. If Mercury says 87 is needed, find a gas station near you that has 87 ethanol free. This engine doesn't need any special "additives".

Secondly, there's probably a spark plug available for this engine that gives a hotter spark. It's common practice with outboards used for trolling to use the next hotter spark plug. Don't go overboard and use plugs two-three steps hotter if they happen to be available. Too hot a plug can lead to performance problems. No more than one step hotter.

Thirdly, raising your engine rpm a couple hundred points will help a lot. The best way to do this is to give the outboard more work to do by placing it under a greater load while trolling. This is best accomplished with a pair of moderate-sized trolling bags. They're cheap, easy to rig and use, and they will get your engine rpm up where it will not load up so bad.

Lastly, the correct pitch prop for your boat is the pitch that will allow your engine to reach its maximum operating rpm when the boat is fully loaded with people and gear and has a full tank of fuel. If the engine reaches the maximum operating range with a fully loaded boat you have the correct pitch propeller. If the max rpm it reaches is below what the owner's manual says it should be, then you need a lower pitch prop. Conversely, if you reach the max rpm and you still have more throttle room to go faster then you need a prop with more pitch. If you find your not operating at the correct full throttle rpm, then invest in a good stainless steel prop instead of an aluminum prop. In just about every case a good stainless steel prop will outperform the best aluminum props by a significant margin.

Use the right gas, fix your problem with hotter plugs and a pair of bags, then make sure your engine is operating in the designated maximum operating range and change the prop if necessary.


________________________
Owner John's Custom Rods
Specializing in building Great Lakes trolling rods since 1979
First place winner of the 2016 World Rod Building Challenge

[bobcat]

Wow lots of info there . thanks . after the spark plug change its running better than it did when it was brand new. I think I my have had a bad plugs right from the start. I'm getting 300 to 400 more rpm now. I trolled today and it ran fine and didn't show any of the problems i had before. I wish I could get nonethondal 87 but only the 91 around here is nonethonal.
Thanks again for all the info

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[John E Powell]

I wish I could get nonethondal 87 but only the 91 around here is nonethonal.

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Have you tried an internet search? This site listed a source that was nearby me that I didn't know about: https://www.pure-gas.org/ Maybe there's one near you.


________________________
Owner John's Custom Rods
Specializing in building Great Lakes trolling rods since 1979
First place winner of the 2016 World Rod Building Challenge