Trolling: Two Strokes or Four Strokes

[benri]

Hi all
On the web I recently came across electric trolling motors! Has anyone seen any of them locally? what are your opinions?

[shanook]

I used them on the lake never seen any used in saltwater. They are good to move from one spot to another not for continuous trolling at least the one I had. Mind you this is 20 years back (wow time flies doesnt it, it only seems yesterday that i left USA). They would be a drain on the battery as well so u have to think in that direction as well.
Hope to hear different opinion on this as things might have changes since last time i used them.

[skip]

From the reviews I read they are still meant for lakes on very small boats. With our winds and currents I dont think they would be much use, unless on a very small boat inside the ports/harbours where perhaps the lack of noise is a plus. But battery drain is still quite high.

[visa]

have checked for shore power, quite a varity in stock in two different places however price is quite high for the basic model charging two battries lm 81.00 did not check strand marine yet as thought he was in griza but found out it is in qormi! Is that right?? can anyone pls direct me to them???

[benri]

Hi. Strand Marine have a website and there is a map and directions under location. http://www.strandmarinemalta.com/
They are just opposite Flamingo on the road leading to the Mriehel Bypass.

[skip]

Automatic battery chargers are not cheap. Lm81 doesn't seem bad at all, the mastervolt series are likely to be more.

[skip]

Based on busumark's excellent link http://www.oceanskiffjournal.com/SubscriberContent/Articles/Vol01Issue05/General/ETEC1.aspx which I have just finished reading in full, I think it's time everyone adjusts their thinking that modern two strokes are no good for trolling. Evinrude e-tec's, Mercury Optimax's, and Yamaha HDPI's which are all modern EMM/ECM controlled two strokes, they run at low rpms used for fishing just fine and comparable to the 4 strokes. Interestingly as cited in the article, 4 strokes idle much quieter so that may be a plus point when fishing.

But I think what the article really highlights, is that modern engines, be it 2 stroke Etec type or 4 stroke fuel consumption is basically the same, but does vary depending on the hull, trim, prop selection and engine size. Maybe smaller boats benefit from the lighter etec's versus heavier 4 strokes, but I think in the 100hp+ range their are more or less the same.

So I think what we should REALLY be focusing on now, is the level of dealer support in MALTA and whether their mechanics are genuinely factory trained and certified. I think this seems to be what makes or breaks the whole experience and ordeal of boating. And certainly this is one are where I don't have any up to date data.

This one is open to discussion but I am considering officially contacting Gasan (Yamaha), RLR (Evinrude), MM2 Ltd (Mercury), Suzuki (Zarb Stores) and asking them to provide an official response concerning their service status, ideally with documentation showing their certification levels.

What do you think and what are you personal experiences?

[busumark]

it will be a good idea to contact these agents. i had a 2 stroke nissan 18hp and after only 6yrs this summer i had a hole in the block. about LM350 to fix it. when i went to jupiter in mosta he told me it happened because you have to open the engine every 2yrs to clean it make new gaskets and lot of bullshit. i dont recomend anyone to buy anything from him. and his prices are more than other agents. sold the nissan for parts. now i have a 2-stroke 25hp mariner. till now i am very happy with it and even the agent is ok

[skip]

That place, Jupiter looks from the outside like its basically out of business. Once upon a time they seemed to do quite well but not anymore! And based on the way they treated you, not surprising.

[skip]

Just to add to this post, larger two strokes use around 2.57 litres per hour (90hp), whereas a similar hp four stroke uses around 0.87litres per hour and a Direct Injection engine like the TLDI, ETEC, Optimax closer to 0.57 litres per hour.

Visa, you should definately consider re-powering to a 4 stroke or if you don't want to add weight compared to your current engine, a 200 ETEC or Optimax or twin 115 TLDI's.

After doing some further reading, I definately wouldn't use a regular two stroke for trolling (The old type not the modern direct injection, TLDI, ETEC, Optimiax etc). Not because it can't handle it, but due to fuel consumption. Obviously a smaller 2 stroke 10hp trolling engine won't appear to be using that much, but put it next to a similar hp four stroke and you'll reduce that by 2/3 !!

It will be very interesting to see and review the upcoming ETEC 9.9 which was supposed to have been released by now, but still hasn't come out. Reckon this will be a fantastic engine, weight savings and fuel economy.

[blueskip]

I have tried trolling with my 55HP Yamaha 2 stroke, trying to keep the S.O.G. @ ~3knots, the engine didn't like it at all, the plugs oiled up & it stalled after about 10 mins, & I had a heck of a job to restart it, in the end I had to take the plugs out to dry them.
Nowadays I troll with my 8HP Yamaha auxillary, to get 3knots S.O.G. I have to give it a bit of rev, so it doesnt oil up at all
blueskip

[Shaftbomb]

I was at Petecraft factory recently and they started importing new 4 stroke outboards in malta...PARSUN.  They have all the mechanics based on yamaha but assembled in China, which make the outboards cheaper.  Anybody tried them out for trolling?  Mario said that he sold a couple of them already on various boats.....

[snafu]

i personally changed to 4 stroke 25 yamaha and i find it better in everything ,consumption mainly and no noise no smell.i wouldn.t goback for 2 stroke

[snafu]

i personally changed to 4 stroke 25 yamaha and i find it better in everything ,consumption mainly and no noise no smell.i wouldn.t goback for 2 stroke

i have a yamaha 4stroke 25 and i been trolling with it for the last 2 yrs and its great no noise no smell and better fuel consumption i troll for 8 hrs forless than 2 gallons i wontgo back to 2 stroke

[skip]

After testing this summer with my Tohatsu 90TLDI (ECU controlled direct injection engine) I can report that whilst consumption at trolling rpm's is pretty low, the engine, at least my engine is not happy running at lower rpm's (<2000rpm) for extended periods of time - >10mins without giving an rpm drop / hesitation before resuming.

Every time it does this I try and give it a quick burst of rpms for a few seconds to avoid over fouling the plugs. It's not that the engine stops or dies but its definately not happy.

It could be the software parameters that Tohatsu use, ETECs and Optimax's which are also DI engines seem to be okay at low rpm's for extended periods of time. Or it could be I have some kind of issue with my particular engine, the only way to know would be to compare with another 90ETEC owner.

UPDATE

At this stage it's very difficult for me to pass a fair recommendation because my engine is not 100% through not fault of Tohatsu. My ignition wiring loom has a broken retaining clip within the engine which I think is making an intermittent contact that could be accounting for my problem. Mecca have already gotten the replacement part in to stock under warranty, I just haven't had the time to pass by to sort it out.

Once that is done and I get the boat back out for a test will be able to give better advice. As you can see Kaptan Jr is very happy as are some other TLDI owners.

However if you can afford the money and can afford the extra weight on the boat, I'm inclined to say that modern four strokes are still the preferred engine for fishing related trolling activities as they have a similar fuel consumption (they still use more than most Direct Injection Engines), don't require you to purchase oil which you burn as you use it, and they are quieter than a DI engine, which might be an issue for long trolling periods.

Things I like about my Tohatsu 90 TLDI

Best purchase price to hp ratio
Lighter engine compared to other 90's
Excellent acceleration on lighter boats and they like running at 3/4 throttle giving excellent fuel consumption
Super easy starting first time with no hesitation
Excellent fuel burn figures across the rpm range even at full throttle you won't use more than 32 litres per hour confirmed by my fuel flow meter
Cruise with a heavy 18.5 foot boat at 20 knots for around 14 litres per hour burn
Long Warranty Period