Can i troll with my 4.3 Merc with drift socks

[hookedagain55]

Just purchased a 210 Sportcraft with an 4.3 inboard , boat has a 9.9 Honda kicker with cables , not real keen with the way the 9.9 is on Transom, very little support , just wondering if i remove the 9.9 if i can use the 4.3 with a couple of drift socks on the boat , never had an inboard motor before. Will the 4.3 bog down after trolling for a while . want to make a plate with more support for the kicker over the winter and buy a kicker with power trim/tilt. if the 4.3 will not work. can i still use the main prop to steer with the main motor turned off using the kicker . also can the kicker be set to go straight and only use the outboard to steer with . looks like putting on the steering rod is a pain to put on out on the lake . Any advise would be great.

Thanks 

[mr 580]

Shouldn’t be a problem using trolling bags with your I/o- note there is a difference in a trolling bag vs a drift sock.  Trolling bags are heavier.  You should also be able to troll with kicker going straight and steering with your main motor-the turning radius and steering range likely not as good but it will work.  Getting your kicker mount secure probably your best bet to get the most from your setup.

[sherman brown]

1 hour ago, hookedagain55 said:

Just purchased a 210 Sportcraft with an 4.3 inboard , boat has a 9.9 Honda kicker with cables , not real keen with the way the 9.9 is on Transom, very little support , just wondering if i remove the 9.9 if i can use the 4.3 with a couple of drift socks on the boat , never had an inboard motor before. Will the 4.3 bog down after trolling for a while . want to make a plate with more support for the kicker over the winter and buy a kicker with power trim/tilt. if the 4.3 will not work. can i still use the main prop to steer with the main motor turned off using the kicker . also can the kicker be set to go straight and only use the outboard to steer with . looks like putting on the steering rod is a pain to put on out on the lake . Any advise would be great.

Thanks 

 

yes, if you want to troll with the 4.3 it should be good. how slow will the boat go while idling? you say you have an inboard. but is it a true inboard with shaft drive or is it an i/0 which uses an outdrive? i trolled for many yrs. with a MerCruiser 350 Vortech with 315 hp. on calm days with the motor idled down to 600 rpms we didn't need to use our bags. but if you can't get it to slow enough people have been using bags forever it seems. if you have the right size bags you should need to bump it up just a little to get up to trolling speeds. my suggestion is to contact omishoutfitters.com and give them all the info on speed now and speeds you want with motor size and boat being used and they will give you recommendations on size bags you need.

 

and like said above trolling bags and drift bags are much different bags. trolling bags will stand up much better and longer than drift bags. plus, trolling bags are made to tie off the rear of the bag giving you much better boat control while trolling. most drift bags are made much lighter and may tear if using them for trolling. also, all the drift bags I've seen didn't have a way to tie the bags off at the back. but a kicker is by far a better option for trolling. if it's a 4 stroke you will save a small fortune on gas, you have much better throttle speeds. what we have on our boat now is a 9.9 bigfoot 4 stroke without tilt and trim. but we got a good used panther tilt and trim unit that I got off face book marketplace. it also has panther spacers which moves the motor a little farther out from the boat for tilting up. these lifts come in two sizes one is a model 35 which mill lift 135# and the other is a model 55 which lifts up to 155# i believe. i have the 35.

 

plus, another big advantage of a kicker is you can use it to get back to the dock if your big motor breaks down like ours did a few weeks ago on Erie.

[Bozeman Bob]

Your going to burn 1 gallon per hour with the 4.3 so saving on fuel vs a kicker is minimal. You can idle , just like a car , all day and it will not " load " up . Trolling bags will plant - stabilize your boat when in the ditch . Also if you have to bump up the throttle a little with the bags that helps with oil delivery to the cylinder heads . 

[sherman brown]

11 hours ago, Bozeman Bob said:

Your going to burn 1 gallon per hour with the 4.3 so saving on fuel vs a kicker is minimal. You can idle , just like a car , all day and it will not " load " up . Trolling bags will plant - stabilize your boat when in the ditch . Also if you have to bump up the throttle a little with the bags that helps with oil delivery to the cylinder heads . 

not only the oil but it helps keep the batteries charged if running riggers and electronics.

 

[Zinger11]

Nothing beats a kicker with trollmaster to control your exact speed

Sent from my SM-G970U using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[tuffishooker]

You can also change the prop with less top end with a faster low end ! [ did this with my OMC 70 hp.with better control of trolling speed ]

[sherman brown]

3 hours ago, tuffishooker said:

You can also change the prop with less top end with a faster low end ! [ did this with my OMC 70 hp.with better control of trolling speed ]

I have never seen dropping 2 degrees in pitch slow a boats idle speed down 2 mph with a MerCruiser motor. it may work better on a small outboard than with an MerCruiser. but you can do that along with idling the motor down as low as it will still idle smooth., I had a 350 vortec 315 hp that was idling at 700 then I lowered it to 600 and it made enough difference that I only needed bags when trolling with the wind. smooth water or trolling across the wind i could run 1.8 to 2.0 without bags. and I know the fish sometimes want you going against the wind bit I will try not to do that.

[Bozeman Bob]

Not sure where anyone said lowering the pitch would drop it " 2 mph " . It will lower the trolling speed by tenths . Issue is over revving engine by mistake and fuel consumption will be worse in any case.

[piscataquis]

I had a 210 Sportcraft for years. I miss that boat everyday. I fished Lake O for several years with it. It fished all the water that I could handle. I had an 18 inch bag. I used it very little. I used it for trolling lakers to sloooooow everything down. At time with down current I had to toss it,. I never put a kicker on. One less thing to deal with on a smaller boat. I know guys that love the kicker, but I just never been fond of them. Yes they will run cheaper. I am one that requires everything as simple as possible. I am not the sharpest tack in the box. I do miss the 210 Sportcraft and I would only recommend a small drift bag. Tight lines and now you have me looking for a boat again. 

[sherman brown]

32 minutes ago, Bozeman Bob said:

Not sure where anyone said lowering the pitch would drop it " 2 mph " . It will lower the trolling speed by tenths . Issue is over revving engine by mistake and fuel consumption will be worse in any case.

tuffishooker didn't say it but implied it would slow him down to trolling speeds which would equate to about 2 mph or more depending on if he wants to troll cranks in the spring which is done at speeds around 1.5. and i have heard of guys even running slower. and by slowing his boat by dropping pitch he would have better boat control than using bags. my MerCruiser 350 was idling about 3.7 with a 19p 3 blade that was way over propped when loaded for Erie. it took forever to get on plane but changing to a high five 17 pitch and idling the motor down from 700 to 650 did slow me down enough to troll summer speeds of 1.8 to 2.0 mph on calm water. but to troll with the wind if we had any wind to amount to anything I needed bags to slow me down. and I don't fish springtime for walleyes. but dropping 2 degrees and going to a 5 blade and decreasing the rpms did slow me down.