sea bags

[tree top flyer]

Im putting the boat in the water sunday one way or another and going fishing. My boat is only a 20ft wellcraft with a 3.7 merc the runs fine sometimes and sometimes loads up. Any one ever make sea bags out of 5 gallon buckets? Any tips on this? how big of a whole on the ends? Can i get away with one? Should i break down and just go 2 dicks and buy one or 2? Thanks for any info.

[waterlogged]

tree top flyer,

if you are going to spend the $$$ go with quality you will be better off in the long run. A little more invested now will pay off.

try www.amishoutfitters.com

they have 2 models - beefy bags and buggu bags.

No association here with them but quality is outstanding from what I hear.

[LongLine]

TTF - I occassionally run a single bucket off my stern (outboard). If you do this make sure you attach the the bucket via a pulley/harness like you'd use with a water skier and clip to both rear cleats. This will always keep the bucket behind you so it won't affect your steering. Also make sure you only use enough rope so if the bucket &/or rope sinks (if for any reason you have to put engine in reverse) that the pulley/harness will not go below your cavitation plate. About 6-8 holes in a circle 5/8" diameter works for me. Lastly make sure you replace the handle on the bucket with a rope.

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[skipper19]

buckets are no fun to use for slowing the boat..not to mention they aren't effective and hard to store. trolling bags are much easier and ya can hang em off the bow rail or cleat up front where they are outta the way. One on each side along the hull and it won't effect your steering badly. Also fyi...when you type Dick's in your search engine, don't forget the apostrophe, or you'll get dicks only Ray would be proud of

[big easy]

Get the real trolling bags from someone like Amish Outfitters,or Big Papa.They are very good quality bags that will hold up to the stress that trolling puts on them.

I used five gallon buckets one year on my 22 Trophy,and they worked,but not nearly as good as the bags.The buckets are also a pain to store,when not in use.

The bags fold up into a small package,or you can leave them attached,and placed in a spot under,or on the gunnel when not needed.

Dicks???? Good luck! .If you ask them! for a trolling bag,they'll probably send you to the golf department.IMHO,the only thing they got right was the name.

[Tim Bromund]

If Dicks has anything, they would probably have drift socks. Not the same thing as a trolling bag. Drift socks aren't constructed to handle the constant stresses of trolling and will be ripped to shreads in no time. As stated above, get real trolling bags. I have 2 of the Amish Outfitters 28" Beefy Bags on my 24' Thompson and with both deployed, it will slow me down alomst to a dead stop at idle and really smooths out the ride when trolling on a rough day.

Tim

[big easy]

Oh yeah,one more thing.If you're not sure which size bag, go bigger if anything.You can always bump up the throttle a bit if the bags slow you down too much.The higher RPM's are better for your engine,and nothings worse than laying out money on bags that won't slow you down enough.

[tree top flyer]

Thank you all 4 your time on this subject. Im sure you have saved me plenty of time. going to order some tomorrow

[tree top flyer]

I orderd 2 36 inch beefy bags. Givin my boat is only a 20 ft wellcraft cuddy with a 3.7 in her i realise this might be a little over kill but when i upgrade a little bigger i hope they will serve just fine being as expensive as they are. Ive read that some of you use them forward towards the bow but the only boats ive been on that used then ran one down near the stern. is there any loss of controll running them forward? is it hard to run just one up there? steering wise that is? Thank you again for all your time.

[Tim Bromund]

Not at all. I run mine off the spring line cleats (about 2/3 of the way up right next to the windshield) with a rope on the back end tied to my gunwale mounted rod holders (they pull up out of the water much easier from the back). No loss of control whatsoever and having them there really mutes the pitch and roll in heavy seas, much more pleasant trolling with them in the water.

Good luck with them.

Tim