Installing a Hot Foot Throttle Pedal

[Wannabe bass angler]

Forgive me if there is another thread on this subject elsewhere, but I did my due diligence and searched high and low to no avail.  In my never ending quest to spend money upgrading my '16 Tracker Proteam 175TF, I'm looking at installing a Hot Foot pedal. Is it worth it, has anyone installed one on their Tracker, and has anyone seen/made a video on its installation?  Thx

[slonezp]

5 hours ago, Wannabe bass angler said:

Forgive me if there is another thread on this subject elsewhere, but I did my due diligence and searched high and low to no avail.  In my never ending quest to spend money upgrading my '16 Tracker Proteam 175TF, I'm looking at installing a Hot Foot pedal. Is it worth it, has anyone installed one on their Tracker, and has anyone seen/made a video on its installation?  Thx

Is it worth it? What are you trying to accomplish? If 2 hands on the wheel is important to you, it is worth it. If driving at high speed is important to you, it is worth it. Otherwise, it's probably not worth it.

As far as the install goes, the pedal itself only requires 4 screws to the deck. You will need to buy a longer throttle cable. Get the #'s off the one that came with the boat and figure out the length. Then you will need to measure from the forward controls to where ever the pedal is going to mount. Add that # to the length of the current cable and figure out what length you need to order. Once you disconnect the throttle cable from the motor, do not remove it completely. curl it up and stick it in the gunwale behind one of the panels. That way if one day you decide you no longer want the hot foot, it will be easier to reattach the original cable. Run the new throttle cable making sure there are no obstructions or sharp turns in the routing, and make your connections. Lastly, ideally you would add blinker trim. You need to pull the steering wheel, and may or may not have to make modifications for the blinker trim to fit.  

[Wannabe bass angler]

On ‎4‎/‎22‎/‎2018 at 2:20 PM, slonezp said:

Is it worth it? What are you trying to accomplish? If 2 hands on the wheel is important to you, it is worth it. If driving at high speed is important to you, it is worth it. Otherwise, it's probably not worth it.

As far as the install goes, the pedal itself only requires 4 screws to the deck. You will need to buy a longer throttle cable. Get the #'s off the one that came with the boat and figure out the length. Then you will need to measure from the forward controls to where ever the pedal is going to mount. Add that # to the length of the current cable and figure out what length you need to order. Once you disconnect the throttle cable from the motor, do not remove it completely. curl it up and stick it in the gunwale behind one of the panels. That way if one day you decide you no longer want the hot foot, it will be easier to reattach the original cable. Run the new throttle cable making sure there are no obstructions or sharp turns in the routing, and make your connections. Lastly, ideally you would add blinker trim. You need to pull the steering wheel, and may or may not have to make modifications for the blinker trim to fit.  

Thanks for your advice.  I'll probably wait on this upgrade as going fast is not really an option with my 60hp.

[3dees]

I have never had one and never will. not knocking them. I know all the pro's of having them, especially on a high powered bass boat. I didn't even want one on my old Stratos with a 200. I have driven friends boats with them and they are a pain for long runs and for me a nightmare for docking. it up to you. I would find a way to drive a boat with one before you spend money on installing one only to find that you don't like it. unless your fishing in rough water, I don't know how useful it would be on a small engine.

[Way2slow]

If your boat has a riser hull with pad and is fast enough to get up on it, you probably want a hotfoot.

If your boat is fast enough to chine walk, you definitely want a hotfoot, or should I say, it would be kind of dumb not to have one, because you definitely want both hands on the wheel and a way to control the throttle instantly.

I think with any boat that's running over 60mph it would be advisable to use a hotfoot because when you start getting up to those speeds, things can happen very quickly and you should be driving with both hands on the wheel.

A 17.5 tin can with a 60, there are a ton of other things that would be much better to waste your money on.

 

I have one, and hate them but it's a must have item in my boat, unless you don't like living or never drive full throttle.  I wish they made a dual throttle system, so when you are just cruising at 45-50 mph, you could just set it where you want it, sit back, relax and enjoy the trip.  You can't do that with a hotfoot, they have enough spring tension you are always having to keep a good bit a pressure on them and that gets old.  About as much fun as driving cross country without cruise control in you vehicle, and you vehicle doesn't have a 20# return spring pushing back on your foot. 

[StratDude]

I've never owned a bassboat that didn't either already have a hotfoot or I didn't install one. Then again, I've never owned a bassboat that wouldn't go over 60mph either. In my opinion, it's like having hydraulic tilt and trim... Why not have it??? Being able to keep both hands on the wheel at speed is a bonus, even if you have hydraulic steering.

I just installed one in my Ranger Tuesday evening after work. Less than 2 hours from start to finish.

 

Way2slow, you can back the tension off of the return spring so that you don't have to mash the pedal all the time. I set the tension on mine so that it isn't difficult or uncomfortable for me or my wife to drive the boat, but still returns to idle if we let off on the pedal suddenly. I also installed my hotfoot on an adjustable slide plate so that we can both move it to suit each of us.

[TOXIC]

My last boat, a 20 footer with a 225 did not have one.  My current boat, a 21 footer with a 250 has one.  It takes some getting used to.  I want one for safety reasons.  Now for the best of both worlds, the new G2's have the option to use the hand throttle or the foot throttle via a setting in the electronics and because the foot throttle is fly by wire, there is no cable and the resistance is very light on the peddle.  It also has auto trim where the motor will trim itself out depending on speed.  It will also automatically trim down as you slow down.  Amazing motor.