How slow can a 115HP Yammy troll down to on 17foot

Does anyone have any experience whether a 115 can troll down to 2mph on a 17 fisherman Lund or equivalent?

The 115 will usually put you in the mid-upper 2 MPH range w/o some trolling buckets or bags to slow you down further.

2.7 MPH was the “norm” for me on a 1750 Fishhawh.

The 115 4/s Johnson on my 1750 fishhawk will reliably get me down to 2.1-2.2 GPS, slower if I play the wind correctly. With a driftsock off the bow, I can get in the 1.5 ballpark. If I need to go slower, I use my bowmount.

I think these speeds that you’ll see posted are highly motor dependent, but my guess is that you’ll see a lot of speeds in the 2’s.

All I can say is buy a T8 no matter if you go yammy or merc. You will not be able to troll slow enough in cold water presentations without one. You end up messing around with drift socks, buckets and back trolling to slow yourself down. I did this for a year and half, then got smart and bought a T8. This is the best tool on my boat for catching fish.

Thanks. What motor and boat you have?

Yammy F115 & T8. They are on a Crestliner Fishawk 1750 side console. For the price, I’m very happy with the package I have now. One more upgrade to a 24v trolling motor and I’m set.

24V??? Do you have a 12V now? I am also tossing up between a PD55 and a 24V… what say you? What would be sufficient?

12 Volt electric motors belong on canoes… lol

In all seriousness, a 24 Volt system is the way to go. A 12 Volt can be drained in a short amount of time on a windy day or in heavy current and 55 Lbs of thrust is “marginal” in a 17 ft. boat in my opinion. You’ll get by some days. Others you’ll be frustrated for lack of control.

I’ve never heard anyone say they wished they hadn’t gone with the 24 volt set-up.

I had a 12V 55PD on my FH1750 for 18 months….it was fine in realtively calm, LAKE water. Put it on the river and it would only last half a day. I upgraded to a 24V 70 PD in December and love it.

Kooty and I are doing our motor upgrades in the opposite order. I agree with the comments he made above; a T8 is next for me (as soon as the price is right).

TSC2
If you do go Mercury (which would be my choice) they also have a motor that “competes” with the T8 called the Pro Kicker. Is it better than a T8? Not sure never ran a T8, but I love my Pro Kicker that I have. I have buddies including the Goofball Kooty above that have T8’s and love them, so I’m guessing the motors are pretty similar. Not much more to add on the big 4 stroke comparison that has not been said in your other thread, but I believe it comes down to preference and perhaps price if you are on the fence. Again I would go Mercury. Have you looked at the possiblilty of a 115 Optimax?? I hate to confuse you further, but if I was looking at a 115 Hp Motor I would go Optimax and a Pro Kicker on the back. With the Smart Gauges Mercury offers, you might even be able to get down to the trolling speeds you are looking for with out the kicker motor?? Not sure, but I would look into this.

Ya, what James and Brook said.

For me the T8 made most sense. I seem to do a fair amount of trolling cranks so it only made sense to invest there first.

I will never buy another 12v bow mount trolling motor. It would probably be great for a 14′ fishing boat, but not the boat I got.

Thanks all for the quick replies and information. The main motor is more or less set. Wife likes the Yammy. Extremely biased person, she is. So if I get a kicker, am getting a T8. Question now is if I need to get a T8, cos if the 115 gets me to 2mph on Lake Michigan, then I do not need it and would save about 2-3K. I see your points on the 12v. I had a 12V on a 16 and upstream, it needed a setting of 9. And often times, it is too slow getting me from one spot to another. I have been exposed to the optimax. I really liked the digital troll function, but I think the costs might be a little high. And most dealers do not have it on their package.

Who let the Merc guy in here??

I think you will pay about $1100.00 more for the pro kicker vs. the T8. However, don’t quote me on that. You will also have to pay a premium for Opti and smart gauges. All that being said, the Opti/Pro combo would be a sweet setup.

I just ran the pro kicker for a week on Lake Erie. What did I see for differences:

* Love the tow traps Merc put on their kicker – trying to figure out a way to do this on my T8.

* Like the shifting in/out of gear and throttle all at the twist of the wrist.

What I saw as a difference:

* I think the T8 runs a bit smoother and quieter(however I have yet to confirm this in a side by side comparison).

All in all, the Merc came a long way with the pro kicker. This is the first kicker to come out in years that can actually compete on the same level at the T8.

Would I buy a Merc over the T8 for the price difference, No. Would I buy a Merc to match my big motor, possibly depending on budget??

THE CONVERSION TO THE DARK SIDE BEGINS MAY 2, 2006

Koots, thanks for the straight up comparison, I often wondered this. Me myself never running a T8 and the people I know that have the T8 have not tried the Pro Kicker, never heard a comparison before.

You told me not to, but I can’t resist.

Quote:

---

$1100.00 more for the pro kicker vs. the T8

---

You telling me that you can get a brand new T8 for $1550??? I bought my Pro Kicker Tiller for $2,650 rigged and ready to rock last year and believe I have seen them for $2,550 this year. Lets all remember if we are comparing Apples to Apples, the Pro Kicker does have an additional 1.9 HP. It also has some very nice little Engineering ideas that have been very well thought through. Like the straps Kooty talked about, that automatically locks your Kicker in place while in the raised position. Also the automatic tilt on it is very fast compared to the T8’s I have seen. Some people like the shift in the handle, I have heard others complain about it. I personally like it, especially back trolling or slip drifting with lindy rigs in Sumo waves. I have one hand control at all times. No reason to take my hand off the throttle to shift in and out of gears (which I do often). May not seem like much, but I have the extension handle, so I’m standing while fishing. If I had to bend down every time to shift gears in and out of gear, that would be a pain and make a long day a lot longer. Anyone around the Cities or Mille Lacs that would like to try my Pro-Kicker to see for yourself, give me a PM or email.

I got my numbers from my buddy who purchased his last fall. He paid $3100.00 and I’ve seen them here for $2k. I wonder if his included the mounting plate or something extra??? He put it on one of those fancy sparkly boats, so may his rigging was more??

Dave got his from a dealer and it possibly was a remote (whih costs more and more to rig??? Where from a dealer can you find a Brand new T8 for $2K? Sure there are a few used ones on here for Sale @ $2K but c’mon Koots

Here is a year old (still new) one from our personal ads for $2,400. I can almost bet you he paid more than what he is aksing, but perhaps the same. My point is the price difference is not really a selling point in my opinion when you are looking at the two and comparing Apples to Apples. If there is a price difference you are still paying for an additonal 1.9 more HP with the Pro Kicker.

Quote:

---

I have a 2005 Yamaha T8, new in the box if anyuone is interested, I’ll take $2400 firm. Had every intention of hanging it on my G3, but have my sights on a camper, and it’s one or the other.

---

Darn BLUE GUYS

I thought that the pro-kicker was more too. Some of the prices quoted were like 3K. Cabelas too. But I guess the price of 2500 is one that you would get shopping around. Price for the T8 also ranges. Maximum I have gotten is 3200. Hehe. But we know that the right price to pay is in the 2000-3000 range.

Marine Specialties, one of our website sponsors and listed in the drop-downs, sold T-8’s all of last year for $2190. No hidden charges. You might want to check with them on a price for a T-8 if that’s the direction you want to go.

By now you have all the answers posted but I can tell you from my experience with a F115 Yam on my 1700 Fisherman….it cannot go slow enough. What James said is exactly true…problem not being that the engine cannot idle slow enough (it does) but the boat pushes pretty easily and a 17 or 19 inch prop just pushes you too fast. During times of “fast is better” trolling, it does just fine but more often than not…I use the T8.

Thank you!!!! That is the answer I need. So it seems I have to go the T8 route.

Quote:

---

12 Volt electric motors belong on canoes… lol

---

If you are going to fish river systems get the 80# electric…I went with a 70 and wish I hadn’t. I can’t believe they put 12Vs on new Lunds and C-liners…

TSC,
My Lund Explorer with F115 does 2.0. I used a drift sock to get slower, and most of the Fall Mille lacs trollng, 2.0 is too fast. I have now have gone the T8 route and can’t wait til Fall. I also have an extra 2003 Tiller T8 that I’m sellng in the Motor forum for $1950.
Good Luck.
Jack..

Is 74# going to be OK?

I have the 24v PD65 on a Lund 17 Fisherman and it is a great electric, plenty of power and will go all weekend. While this one is nice, I wish that I would gotten the one with the autopilot. With the PD I can get from 0 to 1.8 mph (GPS reading).

I also upgraded to a 24V 70 PD this year should have done it a long time ago. My next upgrade will also be a T8

Quote:

---

I upgraded to a 24V 70 PD in December and love it.

Kooty and I are doing our motor upgrades in the opposite order. I agree with the comments he made above; a T8 is next for me (as soon as the price is right).

---

Slightly different question regarding use of a kicker…

I’ve got a 17′ Sylvan with a 115 Merc on it and a 15 h.p. kicker (older Evinrude) from a previous boat. Kicker runs nicely, so I haven’t had a need to upgrade to a T8 (yet). Had to find out the hard way that the shaft of the kicker was a bit too short for the bigger boat, but should solve that by installing one of the spring loaded mounts to the transom in the next week or two. My question is this…

How are most of you controlling the kicker (assuming it’s not linked to the main motor, as is my case)? Are you sitting on the deck/raised platform, using the rear seat and steering with your foot or have you found a way to make some kind of extension so you can use your rear seat and not have to bend over (tough on the back)?

Thanks for the help!

><(((>

Limp,

I’ve watched a lot of different ways when it comes to running the kicker. I know one guy who sits on a B&B bait box, while the next guy just sits on the platform. Some guys use the extension handles from Minn Kota(multiple sizes). I’ve seen some guys sit on the big motor and steer with his feet.

I personally use the short MK handle. I stand a lot cuz I don’t have electronics back by the kicker yet. However, when I do sit, I use the throw cushion and sit right on the deck.

When do I think tieing the big motor to the kicker is a good idea. When open water trolling suck as Mille Lacs or Erie. When not, when trying to precisely work a break line/point/structure. I don’t think a person reaction time at the wheel is as quick. This is my personal opinion only.

I have yet to fish with one, but I’m told a coule hundred dollar investment in the troll master product is money well spent. I’m gonna make Tuck give me a test run one of these days soon.

Thanks Kooty! Guess I’ll just have to play around with it and see what works best.

><(((>

I just put a T8 on my G3…I was going to go with a tiller like all the pros, but I decided to go with a Panther remote steer. Now I can steer my kicker from the raised platform seat in the back (or bow) with a remote control. I also put a remote Trollmaster on it so I can take it in and out of gear with the push of a button. The Panther locks the motor in any position when tilted up. So, I can sit anywhere in the boat and run the steering and speed completely by remote control. Can’t wait for opener.

Did an expeniment last night with my F150. I have an 18′ G3 and forward it goes 2.2mph and reverse it goes 1.5…if I tilted the big motor in reverse I got it down to 1mph. Just an FYI. Still like the kicker for precise speed and movement.