New Member - 2 main small outboards or 1 big for trolling ?

R

Riverjohn

New member
Hi all,

New here, I would like opinions on outboard setups for trolling.
I will eventually buy a 22' C-Dory and will use it for Salmon trolling 1/2 of the time.

1 Main Outboard (90hp) or say 2 smaller main outboards (2-40hp)
My gut says a 90hp and maybe a 4-8 kicker ?

I am curious as to the benefits of either setup?

Thanks!
RJ :D
 
Its more a preference, what do you want? I really liked trolling with twins, only running one of them at a time. For example, steering is effortless at the helm, allowing me to watch my depthfinder and charts. No funky steering linkages between kickers and mains. It was also nice to be able to guage and compare each engine off of each other. if one starts running a little rough or not peeing strongly, you notice right away because you have something to compare to. It was a good way to go, and I would alternate maintenance on them, so one year I would do the waterpump on the port motor and the next, the starboard.

I run a big single now, and its great too. 4 strokes have come so far, you can troll with a big outboard.
 
Salmon Fisher":2rzl141z said:
Go with a 90 hp main and an 8 hp kicker. Yamaha and get the high thrust kicker. You won't go wrong with that brand!
Click to expand...

I also love Yammi's. I currently have a 20ft Northriver Seahawk with a 115 and a HT-8.

Both have been a dream!

If my current boat was not so dang nice I would buy a C-Dory 22 and keep the OB's I have! Do the swap-a-roo!
 
I don't think Yamaha makes a high thrust (HT) 8 anymore. You have to go 9.9 to get HT, but the weight difference between the 8 & 9.9 is pretty negligible.
 
I've had both setups and went back to a single/kicker setup on my current boat. I really liked the twins however and wish I had them now for the following reasons: 1. My kicker seldom gets used, almost never unless I'm fishing. Disuse is the worst thing for an outboard motor. 2. With twins I had an effective lateral trim ability and did not need trim tabs to level the boat when underway. One less trouble-prone system to install and maintain. 3. Using one of the twins as a "get-home" motor was comforting: I had plenty of power to overcome wave/wind/tide action (try for example to run a river bar with an 8hp kicker!!) that I don't now have with an 8hp. outboard. In fact, one of the twins alone could plane my 22' Angler and achieve 17mph at WOT. This might factor in if you plan to fish offshore. 4. Trolling with one of the twin motors was just fine. Bear in mind that this applies to MY use, and is not intended as a declarative statement for all boaters. In fact I believe the single/kicker setup I have now is by far the most common setup out there. It is certainly less expensive to purchase and rig. Whatever you decide will be just fine if you run the motors regularly. Best, Mike.
 
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