Another kicker motor question...

We took a nice long drive this weekend to pick up our"new" 1961 Evinrude 5.5HP kicker motor near Columbus, Ohio. This motor looks and runs great, had cables and shifter control for mounting near my other controller, so I should be able to shift and steer both motors from the drivers seat. Only thing I am waiting for is the dual motor connector I bought from iboat. I did have a question regarding the mounting of this motor though...
On the 55HP unit it is directly in the center of the transom, and is bolted down as well as clamped. The 5.5 cannot fit with the bigger motor on the wooden part of the transom, so is it any big deal to smply clamp it to the metal part and then connect it? Or, should these motors be centered somehow, maybe shifting to the right enough for both to attach to the wooden section? As you can tell I am new to this. My boat is a 76 Starcraft, 16ft.

Re: Another kicker motor question...

you need one of these to mount next to the 55. http://www.iboats.com/Adjustable_Ou...5349240--**********.640448320--view_id.217143

Re: Another kicker motor question...

What is the main purpose of this adjustable mount? Trying to learn about this stuff as I go. The 5.5 has clamps and fits nicley on the transom, but just not on the wooden "plate" where the 55 is. Is this used to level the motors to the same depth, protect the metal part of the transom, and how would you mount it? Drill holes in the metal portion of the transom or shift the 55 to the right slightly? Sorry for all of the questons, trying to learn this stuff, all new to me LOL.

Re: Another kicker motor question...

I was lookimg around on the internet a short time ago and ran accross a couple of boats with these adjustable units....looks like you can mount them anywhere with them....but I see one possble problem. What I plan to do it have the two motors always connected and steering together, so we can so to any lake around here. I have a connection kit coming from iboats to tie the motors together, would this adjustable mount help that or hurt that idea??

Re: Another kicker motor question...

OK I have done more research and as luck would have it my connector kit from iboats came in today. From what I see I have plenty of room for the kicker motor, and apparently it makes litrle difference if it goes on the wooden part, as I see kicker motors on all parts of the transom online. I do not need the adjustable motor adapter that I can see as both motors are already adjustable. However if I find I need more movement I will get one. The motor connector kit is easy to deal with and all I need to do is enlarge a hole already in the kicker motor and cut the rod about 8" or so and I will have a solid steering connection. I should have listed some pics to show what I was asking, would have been better. Thanks to all of you who have answered the growing number of threads I have started here. So far I have learned a lot about my boat, safety stuff including radios, and found my insurance was not what I was told so I have protected myself to boot. Can't beat that for a free forum! I belong to automotive forums, a pop up camper forum, and this one is superior sa far as answers and information goes.

Re: Another kicker motor question...

the kicker has to be able to be tilted up when not in use. is the idea of the adjustable mounts. ALWAYS, keep your main motor centered.

Re: Another kicker motor question...

It sounds like it will be a nice set up.

What will you use the kicker for? Trolling?

Does your 5.5 have electric start?

Show pics when you're done.

Good luck.

Re: Another kicker motor question...

JSGOLD, I have the same boat. That wooden piece is entirely optional. After I replaced my transom, I opted not to reinstall that wood when I remounted my motor. So I see no reason why you'd need to have your kicker mounted on it. As TD said, your main motor should definitely be centered. Your kicker can be way off center if need be. I screwed my 4HP kicker down as far out on the transom as I could before the transom started angling up.

Re: Another kicker motor question...

Thanks again folks! It looks like my best bet it to have the kicker on the left side of the boat, otherwise it will interfere with the steering mechanism of the boat as well as other things. I was just concerned about the wooden part, but it fits nicely and the steering looks like it will be easy to fix with the parts I got from iboats. What I will check to see is if the motors will both adjust up enough as is. It not then I will look into the adjustable mount. I will post some pics of it soon. The one thing I worry about is if the control cables will reach the kicker motor since it is on the other side...if not I guess longer cables are in order. Hope for one good weekend day to test out the boat, so far not looking too good. The insurance is being written up even as we speak and I can run the kicker by hand if need be. The reason I need the kicker is that we have 9-10 lakes within 100 miles of us, but the three closest ones have 10 HP max and I do not want to run the electric trolling motor for this. Also good insurance since my main motor is also an older motor and this way I have a cheap back up motor if something happens to the larger one.

Re: Another kicker motor question...

JSGOLD said:

It looks like my best bet it to have the kicker on the left side of the boat, otherwise it will interfere with the steering mechanism of the boat as well as other things.

Click to expand...

Correct. Because of my swim ladder mine has to be put on the right side. It doesn't work well at all. The left side would be prime. Plus it's better weight balance if you're out solo.