Kicker Mount Suggestions

[5meter]

I have a 21 foot I/O with swim platform and would like to mount an outboard
to get me home if the I/O fails. I would like to know what is the best way to approach this, thanks.

 

[Don S]

Re: Kicker Mount Suggestions

Moving to Boat Topics and Questions (not engine topics)

 

[Boatist]

Re: Kicker Mount Suggestions

I have a 21 foot I/O and use a 15 HP kicker and it gets just over 5MPH.
People use from the 8 Hp high trust Yamaha to the 20 Hp Honda.

In inland waters you can use a bracket that mounts to the swim platform.
However in offshore water even with a 25 inch shaft it does not work well.
The motor mounted at the back of the Swim platform means on swells the Motor
will sometimes submerge and other times the prop will come out of the water.

My 15Hp Johnson 2 stroke has some of the same problems just mounted on a Lift bracket with 15 inches of lift.
I use the motor for saftey should the main Mortor fail and also for trolling.
I use it most for slowing our drift when the winds are over 20 knots.
My motor is a 20 inch shaft and even when all the way down the prop will some times come out of the water.
Also the waves will sometimes cover the motor.
The biggest problem with this is it limits the amount of power you can use.
With my motor in reverse to slow our drift if the prop comes out of the water it will
throw water up into the air and the wind will blow it all over my starboard side stern fisherman.
In foward if use too much power when the prop comes out the motor will rev way up and
when the prop drops back in the water can brake the flywheel key and will be dead in the water untill get to shore and pull the flywheel and replaed the broken Key.

Inland and in calm seas works good but more power would not hurt when the swells and winds up.
When need to turn into the wind and swells it very slow to turn up.

So far never needed it to get in but have tried it to see how well it work lots of times.


Bodega Bay Weather June 7 2008 Big Swells but far apart and average Steepness.

Winds NW 320 degrees true at 29.1 Knots with Gust to 36.9 Knots, Water temperature 48.2 degrees F
Seas 14.4 feet every 11 seconds, Wind wave 7.7 seconds, Wave steepness = average

http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=46013

 

[BigB9000]

Re: Kicker Mount Suggestions

you cant lock the johnson in the down position to keep it from kicking up?

 

[Boatist]

Re: Kicker Mount Suggestions

Yes you can lock the Johnson in the down position and it does not kick up.
My boat like most drifting will turn the bow down wind so we run the motor in reverse to slow our drift.

On day where the swell are over 6 feet and the wave steepness is Steep the following wave will cover the Kicker.

After the stern rises and the swell passes under the boat the prop will come out of the water and throw water in the air at any speed over idle.

I converted from a 15 inch shaft to a 20 inch shaft and that helped a lot but still does that. I went to a 4 blade 10 inch prop that has a lot more reverse thrust and does not need more than a fast idle to do the job.

I seen two boat that come to Bodega Bay where we fish with motor mounted to the back of the swim platform. One has a 25 inch shaft Sail 9.9 motor and it still comes out of the water.

The other has a 25 HP with a 20 inch shaft and when I ask him how it worked he said it a joke. This one is on a 24 foot boat. HE said he has broke the flywheel key so many time he can not count so does not even use it. He also does not do his own work so has to take it to a dealer.

Anyway on the back of the swim platform does not work well in big swells.

Bodega Bay Weather June 7 2008 Big Swells but far apart and average Steepness.

Winds NW 320 degrees true at 29.1 Knots with Gust to 36.9 Knots, Water temperature 48.2 degrees F
Seas 14.4 feet every 11 seconds, Wind wave 7.7 seconds, Wave steepness = average

http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=46013

 

[jennis9]

Re: Kicker Mount Suggestions

We have a similar setup on our 20' openbow. Here's how we solved the problem.... adjustable motor mount so we can take the kicker out of the water when the I/O is running.

For mounting: on the inside of the transom, we mounted and additional plate of starboard for reinforcement and bolted through the transom and starboard. Works great - and we don't lose the use of the swim platform. Since we dry dock - wee got a python cable lock from Master lock and locked the motor to the boat.

 

[dodgeramsst2003]

Re: Kicker Mount Suggestions

5meter,

There is no perfect solution for mounting a kicker motor. The adjustable lift mount seems to work the best as you can get it out of the water when running at speed. I read through Boatist's post, and I had to check and see who had written it as it sounds oh-so familiar. My boat is a 22ft hardtop with a 15 Johnson 15" shaft mounted on a lift mount. I boat on lake erie and the motor will come out of the water when dropping into wave troughs ( if its rough) and submerge when going into waves. I get about 5-6mph on top end ( tested it last weekend when a bearing went out in the main outdrive) Also make sure you chain it with a lock or something as the kicker motors are easy targets for thieves of opportunity.

Chris