trolling with a 3208 ?

harleydude777 · Sep 24, 2022

Hello,
We are in the process of buying a 36 Island Gypsy with a single 3208T and i have searched but not found, if it is hard/bad on the engine if you would troll/fish @2knots or so for any length of time.....LOVE fishing and hope that i will be able to do this if we are going from place to place in fish-able waters. thanks for your time.

ranger58sb · Sep 24, 2022

Trolling at 2.5-3 kts is quite common around here, hours and hours... and many of the charter boats run 3208s.

You might need to have trolling valves to go that slow...

-Chris

fgarriso · Sep 24, 2022

Cat engines do very well at running low rpms just above idle at 800-1000 rpm.

psneeld · Sep 24, 2022

I had twin 3208Ts (320hp) in my sportfish that I would run for hours at idle on one engine trolling.

2.5-3 knots may be tough to slow down that much.

After a day of trolling, running home for an hour at 200 rpm less than max would clean them up. Would smoke like a n old destroyer in combat.

Those engines last I heard had over 5000 hourds and were running as well as ever.

Rufus · Sep 24, 2022

A friend has a 36 Cabo with twin 425s on Lake Michigan. Uses trolling valves fishing for Salmon for hours at 1.8 - 2,2 knots (less than 1000 rpm). Heading control is marginal with small rudders, however. He's thinking of adding drag bags to increase prop wash over the rudders. Engines don't seem to care. He blows them out for the trip back to his dock. Huge cloud of smoke that clears quickly.

harleydude777 · Sep 24, 2022

Well that is GREAT to hear, thanks for the info, but one ? what are "trolling valves" thanks again.

rslifkin · Sep 24, 2022

Rufus said:
A friend has a 36 Cabo with twin 425s on Lake Michigan. Uses trolling valves fishing for Salmon for hours at 1.8 - 2,2 knots (less than 1000 rpm). Heading control is marginal with small rudders, however. He's thinking of adding drag bags to increase prop wash over the rudders. Engines don't seem to care. He blows them out for the trip back to his dock. Huge cloud of smoke that clears quickly.

Lots of the fishing charter guys up here on the Great Lakes install larger rudders for that reason (especially as they're often trolling on 1 engine at idle).

Rufus · Sep 24, 2022

Trolling valves allow the transmission to "slip" the clutch pack by limiting pressure from the pump. It works well at low engine rpm, but the slipping clutches will not tolerate higher engine speed. The ones I'm familiar with are on Twin Disk transmissions.

https://www.sbmar.com/articles/marine-transmission-trolling-valve/

trolling with a 3208 ?

harleydude777

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