Thread: Tiller Steering

Tilt and trim makes it easy to tilt up the motor if you are motoring in shallow water or beaching it. I have an aftermarket CMC tilt bracket for my Merc 9.9. Also you can change angle of the motor depending on hull rise, etc. I keep my motor up when tight lining so my Pop's lines don't go tangle into the prop.

Never opwned that big a motor with a tiller. All of my tiller motors were 15hp or less and every one of them had a lever to flip so I could pick the motor up half way and it'd catch. With smaller motors the T/T wouldnt be necessary. Ive fished Wateree where it joined the Congeree many a time and wouldnt see a reason for a tiller there either since it's 15' straight down on any bank. Santee could be a different situation since the upper end of the lake is slap full of stumps. I guess alot depends on how you drive and how big a hurry youre in. In water I dont know I'll idle if necessry to keep from tearing something up.

I had a 90 hp Merc tiller with broken t&t. I used the bypass to let it down and raise it up. I got by with it until I could save up to fix it. Once you get the right trim adjustment for your rig, your fine until weight is moved around in your boat. For example, add an extra person to the front of the boat and your motor will pull against your tiller arm. If you had hydraulic adjustment at your fingertips, you could correct the trim very easily. That T&T is an expensive option, but it's REALLY nice. I currently have a 30 hp 4 stroke tiller without T&T, I'm fine without it but there's times I wish I had spent the extra $$.

If you get the tilt and trim you will never regret spending the money. You can get by without it, but you can also get by with manual steering, windows, door locks, and no A/C on you car or truck but it would be much less enjoyable a ride.

This spring I gave up a 9.8 merc and bought a 2016 25 hp Yamaha. Was looking at the 25 hp long shaft merc's and a Yamaha long shaft 25 also, both listed at 5400 to 5600'sug. retail with elect. start and trim and tilt. In order to put it on my new 1648 Jon boat of which is the transom is built for a short,shaft motor, I was also going to install a manual adjustable jack plate to raise the long shaft. (An additional 200.00). Do the math for total expenditure even tho I was going to buy the motor off a friend at a cheaper price that owns a boat dealership. I opted and went with a 25 hp short shaft 25 hp Yamaha with elect. start that cost me 3266.00 new for a 2016 motor, and a Bob,s Machine Shop Trim and Tilt plate (600.00 including shipping) and it's a really sweet setup. (Figure my savings) My preference for a Bob's Machine Shop was I couldn't find anywhere on the Internet 1 bad review, but I am sure there has to be one somewhere. CMC has bad reviews everywhere they are sold. If you order the trim and tilt plate off Bob's (same price as one with the pump inside the,trim,and tilt plate,) that has the pump installed inside the boat, it's warranted for 5 yrs also. Check out Bob's Machine Shop for even jack plates. Love my setup on my skinny water rig. The Yamaha 25 is tiller steering of which I prefer.

My friend Keith Wray...fishdoc's Guide Service in NC has a 90 HP Yammy with T&T...he has a 19 ft wide body Alumacraft. He uses the tiller due to 2-3 clients in his boat the console is in the way. It is so easy to handle if I ever get another boat...a console will not be in my way either. My 2 cents. Smiles, G

If I'm understanding your question correctly, I will give you the answer you are looking for. I too fish Santee and purchased a new boat and motor (60 hp tiller) last year. I needed a tiller steer for my style of fishing. If purchasing a motor of 40 HP or less, T & T is not needed, nor desired when fishing stump laden waters. The reason being, most motors that are 40 or less HP have tilt assist (hydraulic cylinder) on the motor and don't lock down when in forward gear. This is critical when hitting stumps and allows the motor the ride up and over without breaking the lock down mechanism. If a motor is purchased with T & T, regardless of HP, the motor does lock down. If this is your preference, like me you will need to put your motor on a CMC breakaway jack plate to prevent snapping the lock down mechanism and having your boat spend more time in the shop then in the water.