Let's Talk Kickers

[Big Water]

I recently posted about getting a bigger boat. Its most likely going to be a 26' aluminum Hewescraft. The dealer tells me that I should go with 2-115hp 4 stokes and an autopilot and forget about a kicker. His claim is that they troll sufficiently slow and there is no need for a kicker. My concern is threefold;

1) That even at idle, these motors will be too fast.

2) I will be logging many idling hours on a larger motor that will cost much more to replace.

3) I'll be consuming gas at a much higher rate.

I understand that a well maintained motor can last a long time, but replacement of a 15 or 25hp kicker is much cheaper. Does anyone esle feel that the no-kicker option is better. I would be getting autopilot for the kicker if I go that route also.

Doug

[tcon]

Personally and for all the reasons you mentioned...and mind you I don't have a big boat...but if I was to get one my biggest reason for getting a kicker would be your #3 reason the gas consumption and the other one you mentioned about the main motors idling for hours. A brand new kicker $2500.+-.... a brand new 115 four stroke...I cant imagine just my $ .02

Tom

[Fish Hunter]

I run an 8 hp Merc kicker on my walleye boat, as I creep at 1-1.2 maximum, when pulling crawler harnesses, but my I/O in the Islander, idles down slow enough, to troll salmon/trout without bags, and without expense of a kicker/bracket/controls/etc.

If/when it wears out, I'll re-build it as needed.

[spoonfed-1]

You are correct in your concerns.

Particularly the fuel consumption and especially about keeping the hours off a big dollar main motor.

I would go with a larger main motor like a 200 hp and a kicker.

Good luck.

I wouldn't mind having to make that decision.

Glen

[stinger]

Doug

I run a Merc 115HP 4 strokeEFI on my glass 19' Hard Top. Bought the whole works new in `02. Used it as my main and trolling motor `till 05 and then added a Merc 9.9 4 stroke kicker spring of `06.

The 115 is pretty good on gas and also will troll all day at trout/salmon speed at about 800-900rpm. Idle speed is about 600 rpm and my boat would move at around 1.8 mph so for fishing eyes I bagged it to get to the 1.0 speed. Control with bags was slow to turn but it got the job done.

The biggest problem I had using the 115hp engine as my trolling engine is that after several (3) seasons I started to get a flat spot in the throttle linkage around 800rpm from vibration on the cable at the bend by the transom. Fine tuning the engine for boat speed while fishing got to be a pain and I had to get the linkage changed. If I were to do it again I would look into electronic throttle control for the mains to eliminate as much mechanical control as possible. I put a TrolMaster on my kicker before it ever hit the water.

If you decide to go with the twin 115's them ask your dealer if electric throttle is a option. If not then retro a TroMaster on them. You won’t be sorry.

One more thing. You have to have two engines of some sort. If the main goes down then a paddle will not help. Also the best you’ll get out of kicker to motor back to the slip will be about 6-7mph.

Boy it’s fun spending someone else’s money

[Jack]

I think your right on the money getting a kicker . Trolling with a big outboard is like buying a NASCAR to deliver mail . If you have the money get a High Thrust with electric start , power tilt and remote controls so you can run the thing from the helm . You won't be sorry , plus it will charge your battery while your trolling .

Good Luck !!

[Fish Hunter]

Friend of ours just bought a new 20" Lund, 150 hp main, 9.9 4-stroke kicker all set up from Lund, with controls.

Huge rear working area.

NICE, versatile fishing platform.

[Gator]

We run a 200 hp Yamaha 4-stroke as the main motor on our 24' Wellcraft (~3200 lbs boat weight), and we troll with it as well. It shuts down several cylinders below a certain RPM. We can get down to trolling speed easily, and even to lake trout speed with a couple of bags. In wind, it's nice to have the big engine running.

Okay, that's the good stuff. Now the bad. Gas consumption is probably >2 gallons/hr trolling. With seven years on the boat, we've put almost 1500 hours on the engine. Now, I don't know what an engine like that runs off-the-bat, but I'm guessing >15K. And if the engine ever breaks down, we'll be calling for a tow.

My buddy and I own the boat together, and he's been reticent to put a kicker engine on because of the shape of our cutout, the fact it would have to be mounted pretty far off to the side on a custom mount, and it would probably interfere with our corner rigger. I guess those are valid concerns, but man if I had it to do over and the boat setup was conducive to a main/kicker combo, I'd go that route in a heartbeat.

Bottom line is that you can do it with the two 115hp motors easily, but the 200/15 is probably a better option.

[stinger]

Gator,......I was confronted with the same issue you have on my Arima. I solved the problem with a power mount and my BigJon with a 4' boom clears the rigger. I don't want to rob this thread so if you guys are interested let me know and I'll show you my setup on a new thread.

What you want to do is do-able but be prepaired to spend some money

[Mortigan]

Stinger, please do. I have the same issue, although smaller, older and cheaper and would like to continue the conversation.

[K Gonefishin]

I run a 250 main outboard ad 9.9 kicker I'm a fan of trolling with small kickers many reasons mentioned above. Put a 250-300 on it and a 15hp kicker

[mr 580]

The 115's would probably troll fine and you could alternate so hours were kept the same. The questions I would have is how heavy is the 26' Hewescraft and what should you have for power? I'd also compare weight on transom of two 115's vs a 225 or 250 with a kicker. I fish a 25' Proline with a 225 main and a 9.9 kicker so I'm partial to kickers. Two 115's would probably work good too and that boat might be better suited for twins.

[quality time]

That Hewescraft is my dream boat. I have seen many pics of those boats with twins plus a kicker. If you have the boat made to order they will build that into the extended transom. I have the 9.9 honda kicker on my boat and I can troll 2.5mph for 8 hrs. on a 3 gallon gas tank. Not sure which model you are looking at, the weight is less than the glass boats. I think the Pacific Explorer is about 1000lbs more than my boat so you might have to go to 15hp. They have a hewescraft forum and I am sure you could get an idea from the people that own one. If you get one could you let me google at it? Wes

[Knotlost]

I have a 26 foot starcraft, with 260hp merc, its nice and goes plenty fast. With a lighter boat its easy to go faster than conditions make it comfortable, so over powering it will just be waisted, as it doesn't take much of a chop to slow down a lighter boat I don't care how much power you have.

I put a 9.9 hp yamaha kicker on mine and recommend it. I troll for 3 to 4 hrs on a gal of gas. There is no wear an tear on the main, and I disagree with anyone that says trolling on your main doesn't wear it, I think it dose. It also charges the house batterys as it trolls.

One nice thing that has not been mentioned is how quiet it is with just the little kicker running, much more peaceful as well. That alone is worth it to me, plus being able to use a pro-troll and controlling it to within .5 mph of what ever you want is a bonus.

[Big Water]

That Hewescraft is my dream boat. I have seen many pics of those boats with twins plus a kicker. If you have the boat made to order they will build that into the extended transom. I have the 9.9 honda kicker on my boat and I can troll 2.5mph for 8 hrs. on a 3 gallon gas tank. Not sure which model you are looking at, the weight is less than the glass boats. I think the Pacific Explorer is about 1000lbs more than my boat so you might have to go to 15hp. They have a hewescraft forum and I am sure you could get an idea from the people that own one. If you get one could you let me google at it? Wes

QT,

I am looking at the 26' Pacific Cruiser with two 115 hp main engines and a kicker. I've seen pictures with this setup but the dealer told me he didn't know if it was advisable. I could certainly get away with one larger main motor and a kicker but I'm also looking at the option of running this thing offshore for tuna and sailfish and I can't afford to limp back to dock.

Thanks everyone for the detailed answers and confirming my thoughts. If I get this beast, I'll post picks. Being a few years from retirement, I'm getting things in order to have the boat I've wanted.

[quality time]

They run a ton of those boats in Alaska. We run short distance to our honey holes they might run 50 miles or more so the second motor gives them security if one of the main motors go bad. Many fo those boats are rigged to run 50 mph. I've lost a couple of hats at 35 mph so I think they tend to over muscle them for long runs. Wes

[stinger]

Mortigan,, I started a new topic on brackets