Tips for mounting a kicker?

[MeanMachine]

I have an 84 Proline w/ an i/o and I'm in the process of purchasing a kicker.  I plan to mount a bracket on the back of the boat and connect with an EZ steer connector.  What I'm wondering is - where do I put the tank?  or do I get it connected to my main tank?  I was thinking of putting both of my batteries on the one side of the boat and put the 6 gallon tank where the battery was stored.  Concern there is about fumes?  Maybe I'm being overly cautious?  If I don't do that I thought about placing the tank on the floor and building a step to put over it to get back to the riggers.  I appreciate any advice on this!  thanks!

[landingzone]

If you choose a 4 cycle kicker then the best option imho is to connect it to the main tank.  I did this on my last boat (24' Lund) and connected the 6 cycl. I/O to a Yamaha T8 via an EZ Steer.  I had a fixed welded aluminum bracket mount for the kicker.  I have some pictures somplace. PM me if you want more info.

[rolmops]

The setup in my Islander is simular. It is an I/O with a 2 stroke kicker and the 6 gallon 2 stroke fuel tank is a royal pain in the neck. Currently I am considering building a bracket in the center on top of the stern or on the outside of the stern above the I/O. That way,at least while fishing,the tank is out of the way.

Please let me know considerations for or against.

If you get a 4 stroke kicker,then by all means hook it into your main tank,possibly right of the fuel /water separator, although sometimes there is a problem that the connection between the 2 engines causes the running engine to suck air through the fuel line from the other engine. I had that problem when using 2 outboards. the problem was solved by using a 3 way valve. This enabled me to completely separate the fuel flow.

[DannyL]

The setup in my Islander is simular. It is an I/O with a 2 stroke kicker and the 6 gallon 2 stroke fuel tank is a royal pain in the neck. Currently I am considering building a bracket in the center on top of the stern or on the outside of the stern above the I/O. That way,at least while fishing,the tank is out of the way.

I have a Islander 191 and am looking for a kicker but don't have a 4 stroke budget for this season, what size are you running and how'd you mount it?

I have a full deck teak (I think) on the rear and will have to sacrifice a part of it and was thinking of mounting a tank to it to the kicker. 

I'm still reading alot and I'm not sure if I need a long shaft or not but I guess it depends on the mount....

 

I hate being a newbie! LOL

 

 

Thx

Danny

[Sk8man]

Just a little tip regarding the EZ Steer connector....do not adjust the sliding tube on it (from factory setting)...some dufus did it to mine at the marina and it became unusable. I found that I didn't even need it anyway as my 9.9 is a long shaft and the prop is at about the same depth as my 135 Optimax so I just set it to the straightened (central) position and steer totally with my big motor and it works fine even in rough water. I know this may function differentlly on an IO. If the EZ Steer "locks up" for any reason it is quite difficult to disengage the connectors from inside the boat (have to reach way out precariously)

Edited February 20, 2013 by Sk8man

[LongLine]

No matter what kind of bracket you use or what size/type kicker you have -

 

Make sure you have a safety chain on the engine!

   

 

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[rolmops]

No matter what kind of bracket you use or what size/type kicker you have -

 

Make sure you have a safety chain on the engine!

   

 

Tom B.

(LongLine)

Eh.., Tom,

Would you mind explaining exactly why you make such a point out of this?

It sounds like  there might be a story that you may want to share

Edited February 20, 2013 by rolmops

[LongLine]

50 years ago, my father told me if you put an outboard on a boat, "you better bolt it or have a safety chain on it." 

 

Well, for many years I ran on just the big engine(which is bolted)  but I was having some trouble with the big engine a couple years ago so I built a fixed bracket for an older 9.8 Mercury.   I took the kicker along "just in case"  the beast died on me when I was 6 miles out.  Well, it took a while but that problem got fixed.  The bracket would only allow it to tilt when it was turned in one direction.  At high speed the kicker's lower unit was completely out of the water.

 

Last year I had a few more problems I so, needless to say, I took the extra time to put the kicker on...again, just "in case." 

 

So anyways,  I'm out there and I say why not crank the little guy up and make sure it's running okay.  (It's always run great in a bucket)  I've never trolled with the little guy out on the open water but just for giggles, I decided to pull on it & troll.  After about 1/2 hr, I go back to the big guy.  After another hour, ok, time to go in.   I'm making the run in from way out there and I get about 1/4 mile from the river. 

 

So being safety minded and there's a lot of boats around, I slow down fairly rapidly...too rapidly.  As I'm looking behind me, I see the little guy tilting and being lifted up in the air.  I had put it in neutral, it had turned, and somehow the screw clamps loosened up.  The drag in the water as I slowed down pushed it upward.(Neutral locks the older mercs in the down position)         

 

The only thing holding the little guy to the boat and completely submerged under a foot of water was the safety chain.  As it was, the hood came off and was slowly sinking.  By the time I got it in the boat, the hood had sunk completely out of sight. 

 

Got it home & was able to revive it okay, less the hood.  Took a while but finally got one on e-bay that took some patching up and about $75 in hardware. So anyways... 

 

Make sure you have a safety chain on the engine!

 

Tom B.

(LongLine)

 

BTW, I've rebuilt the bracket to raise it up a couple more inches; allow it to be pulled up in any position and I've also used a wood bit to drill a couple shallow holes for the screw clamps to fit into.  Knock on wood that this never happens again.

 

 

 

 

[Mortigan]

I've gotten the same advice regarding transporting the boat by trailer. If something decides to let go suddenly, you don't want to find your kicker missing when you arrive at the dock.

[Mower]

If you are going with a two stroke outboard, consider going to a marine dealer that sells used parts and buy a used oil injection system. Do not ask me the details but I have a good friend that Swears on two stroke only. He did this and pulled fuel from from the main tank. I am sure it took some engineering but to avoid a gas can flopping around to me would be priceless.

[rolmops]

I have a Islander 191 and am looking for a kicker but don't have a 4 stroke budget for this season, what size are you running and how'd you mount it?

I have a full deck teak (I think) on the rear and will have to sacrifice a part of it and was thinking of mounting a tank to it to the kicker. 

I'm still reading alot and I'm not sure if I need a long shaft or not but I guess it depends on the mount....

 

I hate being a newbie! LOL

 

 

Thx

Danny

I have a 9.9 long shaft. It,s plenty for an Islander

[DannyL]

I have a 9.9 long shaft. It,s plenty for an Islander

Looks like I might have scored a 9.9 Yammy long shaft with controls, if I get there before the other vultures!!! lol

[jobsite]

Have you ever followed someone on a bumpy road that has a kicker motor mounted on a bracket? More times than not, that little motor is bouncing and banging all over the place. At the very least strap that puppy down tight... But what I did to ease my mind on long trips was to install a quick coupling for both my gas line (piped to main tank) and my electric harness (used a trolling motor male/female from walmart). This way, I just unhook my motor and lay it on seat cushions during longer drives.

[buckboardjr]

My main engine is 2stroke 88hp that I mix oil in that tank. For my Honda 4stroke kicker I fabricated a bracket in the splash area to get the tank out of the boat. If you go 2 stroke kicker with an IO you may be able to use this concept.

[Sk8man]

I've used a long padlock (like on a bicycle) through the holes in the clamps (aligned first) in my 9.9 and never a problem loosening up....and it is pretty secure other than from  from a hacksaw.   

[Sk8man]

Here's my set-up for the gas tank for my 2 stroke ....the 3 gal. tank lasts 10 hrs and I keep a very small 1 gal premixed in case I run out I usually switch out my 9.9 for my electric trolling motor on the bracket in mid to late summer for perch fishing...

Edited March 15, 2013 by Sk8man

[rolmops]

Have you ever followed someone on a bumpy road that has a kicker motor mounted on a bracket? More times than not, that little motor is bouncing and banging all over the place. At the very least strap that puppy down tight... But what I did to ease my mind on long trips was to install a quick coupling for both my gas line (piped to main tank) and my electric harness (used a trolling motor male/female from walmart). This way, I just unhook my motor and lay it on seat cushions during longer drives.

Same here. It's not only to protect the engine,but also the transom.

 

fairhaven brns 11 003.jpgfairhaven brns 11 004.jpgMy main engine is 2stroke 88hp that I mix oil in that tank. For my Honda 4stroke kicker I fabricated a bracket in the splash area to get the tank out of the boat. If you go 2 stroke kicker with an IO you may be able to use this concept.

That looks very neat. I'll see if it is possible to make a simular one and attach it to the transom above the I/O

[MeanMachine]

Finally got the motor mounted! Had to get a different bracket than what I had - but so far it works perfect!