Thinking kicker? Do it!

[Fishstix]

Let me start with the specs.21ft fiberglass boat ,walkaround cuddy.

Dont know the weight but Arima is the manufacturer. A 115 Yamaha 4 stroke motor and a 8 hp Yamaha kicker motor. Both motors have seperate hr.meters. 10hrs on main motor and 66hrs on kicker motor since last fillup. They both pull gas out of the same tank. I squeezed in 25 gallons of gas. Thats 3hrs fishing per gallon.

I dont know how many hrs per gallon the 115 uses but before I installed the kicker it seemed like I was filling up every other weekend.

I dont open the 115 up like I used to I just get er up on plane and level er off.

I do use synthetic oil in both engines,supposed to help also.

Before I bought my kicker I did a lot of resurch , found out you dont really need a high horsepower kicker. Your boat wont go fast unless you can get it up on plane.8hp was probably more than I needed but it was the lowest hp unit that had power tilt and trim.

So I think 3hrs per gallon is pretty darn good for a boat that size. Still expensive but keeps the cost down in the working mans range.

Anyone else have anything to compare?

[Absolut40]

The way gas prices are going i think more and more people are going to be using kickers.Will probably pay for itself in the long run.I fish on a charter out of the oak every year and i can only imagine what the charter captains there or any other port for that matter spend in fuel a year.

[ray koziatek]

bout 4 hrs per gal with 8hp honda 22ft alum with 2 riggers 2 dypsys and big boards out ,some of the time . plus its got a 6 amp charging system to keep things toped off.not only the smaller carbon footprint (mr gore) but much quieter running,to better enjoy the harmonic sound of a SCREAMING REEL

[windburn]

What is the best shaft length for a kicker? 20" or 25"? I have to go with a kicker bracket to mount on my crestliner sabre i/o. Mama says do it, how can I argue?

[ray koziatek]

25 " dont cheepen up on the bracket.

[skipper19]

Bracket like Ray said is very important to be a good sturdy one and if you can mount it so your kickers tiller is away from your main out board you will not have to remember to fold the tiller up before you make a hard turn and bend up your tiller on the main engine. Not me!!!! mine has a 9.9Yamaha 4 stroke on a 22ft aquasport with dive platform, tiller on the wrong side next to the 225 Yamaha and I have to remember. Just a tip that saves a later sadness. Yup it saves beaucoup $. Mine has it's own 6 gal tank and is a quik remove for use on my little alumicraft. 9.9 or less is good for use on small lakes like Hemlock where you can't have more than 10hp. Ray did you hear that global warming is now caused by fat people? What about that?

[ray koziatek]

Hello ,but the cooling effect of our shadow is sopposed to ofset the total amount of heat absorbed and dispursed ,and i went bald so the top of me head acts much like a solor reflector sending the suns energy out towards mars (tring to warm the polar caps for easier digging).my biggest carbon footprint now is my excessive methane output ,as hard as i try to inhale it back in(smell my own) several hundred square feet escape my nostrale(one side pluged with finger) each year so at least im trying................now ifn those folks up in lyntucky were to put a accumulator system on all dem outhouses you could pipe those fumes to a energy producing methane electrical generating plant .much like the ones used on farms with many cows (not your sister and her friends)the moo kind.course whet would you do with electricity some one stole all the copper and went fishing with it.

[Fishstix]

Last I heard global warming was going to trigger another ice age.Good news for the hard water guys. Thanks Ray.

BTW I went with a fixed bracket to mount the motor. Then bought a kicker motor with power tilt. I had one of those springup push down latch

finger pinchers on the last boat.If anyones having trouble convincing the wife tell her its a safety thing. you would not want to get caught in the middle of the lake with a dead motor.

[skipper19]

Ray, I put a hat on so the martians can't power up their outhouses with any energy reflected by my skull. We got a new accumulator (some folks call them SILOs fur corn) in Medina now and they are supplyin me with lots of 200proof, but it ain't makin electricity for Lyntucky, cause all the copper wirin is at the junkyard in trade for $ to buy 200 proof gasahol ta power thier cigarette boats :roll: (what a waste of good corn). And to top it off they are usin that methane ya talk about ta make the stuff! Talk about carbon imprint, man there is a lot of fat people feedin that thing. Then there is the effect of weather reducin the imprint over there in China, and Burma, but they're skinny so maybe it dosen't count.

Hey fishstix tell the wife that the kicker should have power tilt for safety cause ya don't want to fall outa the boat tryin ta lift that thing and pinchin, yer fingers at the same time, and don't forget ta tell her that the money ya save can go towards pots and pans ta cook yer catch!