Slowing a boat's trolling speed.

Hi all,

I borrowed my brothers boat last year (a late 80s (16ft?) doral bowrider with a 150hp evinrude on it). It was great for cruising the lake with the family. But it trolled a little too fast for fishing.

I wasnt going to borrow it for my week away again this year because of the trolling speed but I have no other boat options.

I was looking into ways to slow the trolling speed down and found 2 that interested me most. A trolling plate like the Happy Troller or the bucket method as seen here: https://youtu.be/ZtoPtfKzuig

I like the bucket method because it is cheap and in no way permanent.
Does anyone have any experience with this method and if so, is there any do's and dont's youve learned along the way?

Trolling plate would be the backup but I don't particularly want to do any drilling to my brothers outboard. A used one is relatively cheap ($60ish on kijiji), which I could turn around and sell again too I suppose (but who wants the hassle).

The outboard takes up too much space to mount an electric transom-mount trolling motor (I explored that option last year) so thats not an option either.

Any input or advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

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You can also buy a drift sock, and tow it behind your boat. The bucket method works ok, but it doesn't slow my boat down enough.

S.

On my old boat, I MacGyver'ed a mount off of my outboard motor to mount my transom mount trolling motor. I could then turn on the trolling motor, get back into my seat and fish while steering the boat normally.

I tried using a cheap collapsible bucket from the dollarama and some paracord. It worked somewhat but ultimately broke after a few uses.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sinker

You can also buy a drift sock, and tow it behind your boat. The bucket method works ok, but it doesn't slow my boat down enough.

S.

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I have also come across people utilizing 2 buckets. Seems like more to get tangled up.

I like the idea of the pool noodle zip-tied on the line to help keep the lines up and out of the way of the prop...

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I tried the bucket method,but,kept ripping the handles off. I tried drilling holes to thread rope through,but,the buckets would split. Drift sock is the best method I've found.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mattadam

On my old boat, I MacGyver'ed a mount off of my outboard motor to mount my transom mount trolling motor. I could then turn on the trolling motor, get back into my seat and fish while steering the boat normally.

I tried using a cheap collapsible bucket from the dollarama and some paracord. It worked somewhat but ultimately broke after a few uses.

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Sounds pretty brilliant. I like the idea of steering normally... if you had a photo it would be great to see how you had it mounted.

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I dragged to cooler one on each side of the boat hooked on the front cleats to keep the lines away from the motor. It worked Okay but not ideal.

Just put a kicker motor on it !
glen

2 drift socks attached to front bow cleats then you dont risk a line tangle for WHEN that wall hanger is on the other end...murphys law sucks

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I use the large sized Ikea bags for drift socks. Cheap, strong and are useful for other things like hauling gear, carrying your catch to the cleaning table and weighing big fish.