Yamaha F4 4 stroke...good trolling motor?

[tfbrown1270]

I need a light weight, quiet, dependable, near vibration free (I know it will vibrate a little!) trolling motor/kicker for my 16 ft Princecraft (aluminum with 4 seats and wheel; walk thru windshiel...boats a 1989)...I have an 85 hp Force (1989 2 stroke) as the main engine and it won't idle well enuf to troll.....so......is 4 hp enuf...any problems...any better engines...I have looked at the 4 hp Suzuki and Honda (Suzuki is $1395 for a 2004; the Honda is $1600 for 2005; the Yamaha is $1400 for a 2005)...any thoughts wouold be appricaited...<br />Tim

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: Yamaha F4 4 stroke...good trolling motor?

If you want smooth, you want a twin. A single cylinder will definately vibrate more than a twin.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Yamaha F4 4 stroke...good trolling motor?

instead of buying a kicker, spend the money to repair the 85. I trolled for rockfish with one of those for years

 

[tfbrown1270]

Re: Yamaha F4 4 stroke...good trolling motor?

Thanks for the quick replies....I thought about a twin cylinder model as well but I need to go up to 8 hp to get that and that doubles the price....and increases the weight significantly as well.....I know it will vibrate and its hard to quantify that kind or thing but from personal experiance (or otherwise) can you tell me if the vibration is enuf to eliminate a single cylinder model from contention or not...I don't expect to balance a nickle on the cowl and be able to whisper and be heard in the boat but by the same token I don't want it to shake the rivets out of the boat and sound like my Craftsman lawnmower.......I plan on mostly slow trolling.....that would translate to 1/2 throttle or less i would guess...as for the 85 Force...I have followed the posts on the Force board here and done what I can...trolling is out of the question...when I start it I have to run it at high idle (3000 rpm) for about 2-3 minutes before its warm enough so I can throttle back to about 1000 rpm to shift and back away from the dock....at the best of times it'll idle for 1-2 minutes before it just quits...it'll restart no problem but won't idle...I thought the kicker would be the answer to trolling and allow me to limp back to the dock should the Force poop out on the big lake (I fish on a small lake (Alcock) but regularly go to Lake of the Woods)...being an old commercial pilot (Piper Navajo/CR/Chieftain) I like the redundancy of a 2nd motor anyway....Thanks again all..<br />Tim

 

[masterboater]

Re: Yamaha F4 4 stroke...good trolling motor?

I had a small 4hp 4 stroke yam new in 2000 and pxed in 2001 for a mariner 3.3 2 stroke. I absolutely hated that yam. It took for ever to start from the integral tank. I sent it back to the dealer for a repair as it completely failed on me (pushrod dislocated) all done under warranty with no quibles but i was using it as a back up engine and a warranty is no good when your stuck 20 miles out to sea. I think that the best small outboard that i ever owned was a mercury 4 hp 2 stroke 1998. It was smooth economical and reliable. Why i sold it i just do not know!!!

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Yamaha F4 4 stroke...good trolling motor?

hello<br /> if you intend to run 1/2 throttle or less on a continuous baisis buy a two stroke.<br /> however I will go back to my original reply. your force is quietly telling you its sick and dying. if you dont fix it it will die.<br /> by shifting at 1000 RPM you will tear up the clutch and gear.<br /> having owned one and fished with a friend that owened one that 85 force will idle down to 650-700 and troll all day if its in good running order.<br /> as a piolot if the mechanic told you the motor would not run quite right but just keep the spark advanced and the mix on rich and give it heck,would ya still take off ?<br /> cause odds are when you find the cause of the idle problem it will be when inspecting the motor for overhaul. and most times it will let go when ya needs it mostes .<br /> I will hunt over the force posts and see what ya got

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Yamaha F4 4 stroke...good trolling motor?

hello<br /> Kenora<br /> poist on the force forum a list of all repairs you have made to this force and ill try to help ya out with it. even though I personnaly dont work on them anymore I was factory trained I just dont tell anyone around here

 

[tfbrown1270]

Re: Yamaha F4 4 stroke...good trolling motor?

Thanks...I have done quite a bit to the ole FORCE and would love to have it run well enuf to troll.....you have given me inspiration and I will have another shot at it when it warms up...seems I can probably do a lot for considerably less than the $1400 pls tax I was panning on spending....thanks....my wife will certainly appreciate the advice as well since the $$ won't get spent (yet anyway)...<br />Tim