ISLANDER 191V I/O KICKER MOTOR

[Dipsey]

Debating whether or not to install a kicker on a 2001 Islander 191v powered with the 3.0 4 cyl i/o mercruiser. Main reason is to prolong the life of the engine. With trolling bags I get the speeds I want I'm just worried about the effect of long term low RPM trolling on the engine.

Should I be concerned and proceed or run the bags and keep on trolling?

Any input will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks/Eric P.

[chowder]

I just went thru all this w/ my Islander. I'm a business man and I really wanted to find a way to make a reasonably short term payback on a kicker installation. What I finally came to see was that a kicker doesn't have a short term payback unless you buy a used one really cheap and spend next to nothing putting it in and then you are just going to be trading unforseen costs for ones you can predict ( and you will pay these unforseen costs when you should be fishing instead) I decided to go ahead and get a good new 4 stroke Yamaha T8 tiller model w/ power trim and put it on a heavy duty kicker mount designed for power trim kickers. I rationalized the kicker addition to my boat for the following reasons

1. The kicker will use less gas and save wear and tear on the Mercruiser I/O(but not enough to pay for itself on this basis alone)

2. The kicker will get me back to shore if I have an issue w/ my I/O

3. The kicker should enable me to control my speed much easier than using the bags.

4. The kicker should enable me to vary and then return to a former speed much much easier than the bags. (example; big fish on-reach over to kicker tiller handle and slow boat down without attempting to explain to some one else how to very carefully use the main throttle control to slow the boat down.

6. I'm not going to live forever, I don't drink (much any way!), I don't smoke and I've worked my ass off for long enough to blow a couple grand on something I really enjoy and will eventually pay for at least part of it's intial cost.

7. The kicker and the fishing boat it's on cost a lot less than a Corvette and the affair/divorce that would probably come with it!

I'd be glad to go into detail on my project w/ you if it would help. Go back thru this forum and a lot of the discussion is right on here.After talking with a lot of different people it became clear that putting a kicker on a fishing boat is not a clear cut issue, only you can decide whether it's worthwhile. Any questions-ask away here or pm me. -Andy

[Splitshot115]

7. The kicker and the fishing boat it's on cost a lot less than a Corvette and the affair/divorce that would probably come with it!

Now that's being rational And that reason alone would justify the expense of a kicker many times over.

[Trap Jaw]

If you had an outboard I would say you'd be nuts not to put a kicker on. With an I/O it's a little different story. First off I just want to say that no motor out there was ever designed to run for hours on end for years at idle or a few hundred RPM's over idle. Nothing is worse on a motor, other then saltwater. Chowder made a very good point about the costs. If your engine were to wear out it would cost you a few thousand(last I knew a crate motor ran around $2500+install) to get a Jasper rebuild installed. Does that offset the few thousand you'd have in installing a kicker, that's assuming that you buy a brand new kicker. It's a call only you can make.

Myself personaly, I will never use a boat on the great lakes that doesn't have a kicker. I have pulled in way too many people over the years that only had one engine on their boat and that one took a puke. Also, it is much more fuel efficient to use a kicker. Also it is much easier to obtain the perfect speed that I need.

Good luck on your decision.

[Dipsey]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I am leaning towards having the kicker installed (99.9%). My Sea Nymph GLS has a kicker with the Trollmaster remote throttle control on it, fell in love with that. If for no other reason than the peace of mind that comes with having that second motor makes it worth the investment. It's a heck of a lot cheaper than the Harley I was looking at too!

The Corvette is out of the question, that would really cause some problems at home!

Thanks again guys. Good luck this spring!

[ray koziatek]

my 8 hp honda goes 3 to 5 hrs per gal trollin(depend on wind) 22FT alum boat,,my io 120hp-1 gal per hr,,,,I used to troll 500 plus hrs per summer....it paid for itsself first year...plus all the other benifits

[jimski2]

My wife has a Corvette and she has not divorced me?

[chowder]

my 8 hp honda goes 3 to 5 hrs per gal trollin(depend on wind) 22FT alum boat,,my io 120hp-1 gal per hr,,,,I used to troll 500 plus hrs per summer....it paid for itsself first year...plus all the other benifits

I think I figured out the payback as follows;

If the Kicker,bracket,etc cost $3000 then:

Total cost + interest(any time you use $ for something it incurs an "opportunity cost", b/c the $ ,even if it's not borrowed, could have been "invested elsewhere with an alternate rate of return) =$69/month for 4 years (@5% annual rate)

So that $69 x 12 months = $828/ year

$828 / 30 trips(conservative) = $27.60/ trip (this would be the break even point)

I can't see how the kicker's gonna save me $27.60/trip since that's more than it cost to run the I/O for the whole trip!. Hard to figure in savings on maint/repair on the I/O.Anyway, the point is that "on average" a kicker is not going to pay for itself in fuel savings until it's paid for, which of course, is a contradiction in terms.

[holy mackerel]

Where are you getting 5% return?? I'm in!!

[chowder]

Where are you getting 5% return?? I'm in!!

Short & intermediate term money is costing me less than that right now but that was a low as the little amortization table I was looking at went (it's a little dated!). But the bottom line is that paying back any borrowed $( business,auto,recreational,etc) needs to be looked at as the same as investing new money unless there is a tax consequence or an early payment penalty to take into account. -Andy

[ray koziatek]

I have 1600.00(last year modle) in moter 75.00 in used bracket..and have almost 3000 hrs in 3 years trollin...even at 500 hrs =500 gal. or 100 gal with kicker = 400 gal saved x 3.00 is getting close so first 1000 hrs at 600 gal saved x 3 im in the black.....thats 1800.00 in free tackle for every 1000 hrs trolled.....of course ya gotta figure in 1/2 qt oil at every change compaired to 5 qts and filter 000 winterizing cost.......

[Hookedup]

One day on the water not smelling gas fumes is worth what ever the 4 stroke kicker cost. Sean