Kicker questions?

[Goatboy]

OK 

 

SO i'm thinking of getting a kicker to troll with but I have a few questions for those of you who have been doing this for a long time.

 

 

 

1. what size? I have a 22ft Starcraft Islander (big boat but light) I was thinking 6hp 4 stroke.
2. How long ? Short shaft or long shaft
3. How do I steer? Do I just lock the thing in place and steer with the alpha drive ?? 
4. IF its a tiller (which most of them are) How do I operate the throttle, do I just lock that in place as well?

So many questions 

 

Thanks 

[Frogger]

Goat boy, I have a GLS 195 and use a 6hp. You might want to go with a 9hp if it were me. Not sure about short or long based on your hull. I think it would depend on if you were gonna use a mount or directly on your hull. Get a trolling bar. EZ steer. They do have remote throttle kits. Not too familiar with them though.

[Blue Heron]

Many 6hp kickers are single cyl and as such have some pretty fair vibration - I would recommend making sure whatever kicker you get is a twin cyl ( and best if a 4 stroke). I ran a 9.8hp on my 20' Crestliner cuddy and it handled it fine. You will likely need to use an EZ steer to link it to our Outdrive and then you can steer with your wheel at the helm - I have fished numerous boats with this type of set up and they work fine. 

 

For speed control I suggest a Control King unit - One of the LOU members is a Rep - I have one on my Lund and it works very well

[rolmops]

Go with an 8 or 10 horse longshaft, not so much for speed,but it will help keep you on course with strong side winds as islanders are high on the water. As for cables for remote control,you have a problem. Because of the high transom your kicker top  will be below the top of the transom. This means that the cables will  have to curve at very stiff angles and when you raise the kicker the cables will press against the stern. You can solve this by drilling a hole in the transom and let the cables go through the hole thereby allowing the space inside of the transom to come into play or, by getting either wireless remote control or electric control speed adjustment.For steering, get an EZ steer. Tiller is useless, but any tiller can be made into a remote.

Good luck,Cornelis

[Charley Tuna]

I have a Merc 9.9 pro kicker 4-Stroke on my Starcraft 196 Fishmaster.  Its a great engine (its a long shank), hardly burns any fuel and easy to control (I have a separate throttle up front).  The one caveat is to avoid ethanol gas or if you use ethanol gas disconnect the fule line on the way in and burn it clean or drain carbureter (remove drain screw a then replace after draining (Recommended and easy to do).  Due to EPA requirements it has small orifices  and jets that can get clogged if ehtanol gas (even if treated) is left in the carb.  I'm sure this is the case with many of the newer model small engines.   

 

I have the kicker and the 4 stroke main engine on the same steering cable and they both run off the same gas tank.  Its a good way to go.

Edited June 29, 2013 by Charley Tuna

[Thun]

I have a 150 2 stroke and a 9.9 4 stroke LS on my 18' tin. The dealer hooked up the kicker to the main gas tank and installed a valve that I open to run the kicker. In the last couple of weeks I installed both an EZ Steer and a Trollmaster Pro Troll 2 and both were easy installs. Both accessories worked great this past weekend when I used them for the first time. If you do go with the EZ Steer, be careful inserting the rods together (with a twisting motion) as I darn near cut my thumb off forcing them together. The hardest part was running the Trollmaster wire that attaches to a servo on the 9.9 engine, under the gunnel. Top speed with the kicker using the Trollmaster is almost 5 MPH.

 

Blue Heron, Had I known there was a Control King Rep member, I would have gone with the Control King instead of the Trollmaster, I basically flipped a coin and went with Trollmaster.

Edited June 29, 2013 by Thun

[ray koziatek]

ive got a 8 hp honda L S on my 22ft islander no problem unless the waves are 3ft plus,what i call 3ft most say 4 to 5 ftrs.. strong wind with any kicker that isnt "center mounted" (inboard) will give ya a little steering issue on yer turns ...thats when ya hit the kill switch and start yer big boy. I'm also one of theose guys who maintaines stuff and my 2006 has never had issues with new gas.. even my 1975 i/o runs great with new gas . I discovered a few years back my main tank vents were facing forward and in bumpy water,or driving down the road in a rain storm water would enter main tanks, thats where i had issues..no problems sence i adjusted them 20 years too late. The biggest issue with water absorbed in the gas AS I KNOW and me justa plummer is it runs a little hotter so if yer one of those guys who feels the need to get outa the hole to wide open in 10 seconds you might have excessive heat issues.(engine wear).. as far as stablisers again as i understand.. as a plummer....their is a chemical in gas that helps carbon buildup from occuring .. Carbon can find its way into every area exposed to it from combustion ,primarly yer piston rings (behind them) this increases wear by applying excessive force to the ring /cylinder walls ..............bang ya blew yer moter...every year i run my old gas as if i was breaking in the motor...after a fillup or two then i'll open it up a tad to burn out the carbon and feel the breeze bend my 3 hairs back.

[Meals-On-Reels]

Ran a 5hp Honda on my 191 Islander with no problems, but I'd do at least a 8hp for your boat. There were days the wind picked up and I wanted more to avoid struggling with the high freeboard. Just imagine if you're stranded in high winds/waves... It could be a life saver. Also, like mentioned above an 8hp will be a two cylinder and run so much smoother (this is always the case- I have a new 9.8 on one boat and a new 5hp on another and it's night and day, both do the job fine but I needed the weight savings for my little 16'). I think Yamaha was the last to make a twin cylinder 6hp ('08/'09 maybe?).

Short or long shaft has never made a difference to me as I've always run kicker brackets that raise/lower for travel and fishing.

Plenty of great used motors out there and the 4strokes are a no-brainer if you can swing the money. You'll make it back in fuel savings if you fish a lot. I remember running 2 6gal tanks for a day of fishing with our old 9.9 2-stroke. Now it's a few days worth of trips on 5gal. If you are looking new check out Internetoutboards.com and onlineoutboards.com (both the same place). No shipping/no tax and both motors I bought got here in 3days from Tenn. Not trying to push the brand any more than I already have... Just saying they're a great company to deal with and I love both motors.

[rolmops]

Plenty of great used motors out there and the 4strokes are a no-brainer if you can swing the money. You'll make it back in fuel savings if you fish a lot. I remember running 2 6gal tanks for a day of fishing with our old 9.9 2-stroke. Now it's a few days worth of trips on 5gal. If you are looking new check out Internetoutboards.com an kicker brackets that raise/lower for travel and fishing.d onlineoutboards.com (both the same place). No shipping/no tax and both motors I bought got here in 3days from Tenn. Not trying to push the brand any more than I already have... Just saying they're a great company to deal with and I love both motors.

 

You are right, Tohatsu is good

[Nemesis]

If you are looking for a remote throttle control, I am your guy.

I Rep. for ConTrollKing and offer LOU members special pricing.

Once you get your kicker, give me a shout.

As long as its a 4 stroke, we should have a model for it.

 

Think 8 hp engine for your size boat. I fish out of a fiberglass 24 footer with an 8 hp and it does fine.

 

[email protected]

[YodaMage]

I would recommend you look at the high thrust 8 and remote throttle package sitting on this very site in classifieds right now. 

 

It may be a little more than your boat needs, but it would run great, give you nice control and it also gives you the option to put it on that 22 Pursuit or 23 Trophy that ends up in your driveway someday, haha!

[lakebound88]

Check out the package listing and calk the number listed. He will deal with you..

Nick

Sent from my XT907 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[Sk8man]

I second Rolmops suggestion of the long shaft motor as long as you can position it in an up out of the water position while going at speed. My 9.9 is a long shaft and is nearly at the same vertical position as the 135 when down and I seldom need to use my EZ Steer bracket I just steer with the big motor and because the props are pretty much aligned it steers as if it was the big motor. The only difference is during extreme wind/wave conditions (and usually just cranking up the speed a bit solves that). If it were me I'd go with at least an 8 horse 4 stroke if possible.  Most of the time you just think about trolling issues but in times of crisis (like your big motor dying just as the lightning/storm is starting up) out deep in the lake with nobody else around) you'll be wishing you had a 25 horse kicker   I've been there in the past and it's not a warm fuzzy feeling.

[Adk1]

I have an Islander 221V. I got a Merc 9.9 long shaft. I wouldn't go any lesser than a 9HP in my opinion. The 9.9 is a decent engine. I am getting an EZ steer for it. Some peeps tighten the steering on the kicker and use the I/O to steer. Would be ok with ideal conditions but not good for any breeze or chop. having said that, as you know the islander is a light boat and allot of boat is out of the water and is subject to more more in a wind than a comparable boat that is fiberglass with more of the boat in the water. I am staying away for 4 stroke engines. I have a 1986 Merc 9.9. works the nutz..However, if I had the $ I would not hesitate to pull the trigger on a 9HP Etec. You can have those Yamahas and all the other 4 strokes, Etec is the way to go

Edited July 2, 2013 by Adk1

[Meals-On-Reels]

The lowest displacement E-tec is a 15hp (if they didn't drop it from production since it debuted in '09- the current website fails to show it I think). In 2011 they cancelled plans to produce E-tecs below 15hp. All 3.5-9.9hp motors are re-labeled Tohatsu's.

Btw- the 15hp E-tec is a de-tuned 30/25hp that weighs in at 177lbs.

I was hoping to see them in an 8 or 9.9 but it looks like that might never happen.