Kicker on a CC?

[KJM]

I have a 21.5ft center console in Canada on the St Lawerence River, I mostly run the river with a bit of Lake Ontario. I currently have a Mercury 225 XL Verado on it that is in good condition and runs well. I would say I fish maybe half the engine hours I'm on the water with the rest running around for fun.

I'm thinking of adding either a Merc 8hp or 9.9hp kicker engine to the back of it and getting a steering linkage and fuel line to run directly to the main tank (not sure of details yet). The goal was to save money on fuel, lower hours on my primary (more $$$ engine) and as a fallback safety if I were to have an engine failure for whatever reason. In theory, my insurance covers a tow of up to 50km however that does not cover half of where I go and when I checked they say up to 3 hours to get to half the places I am in - low coverage/high response time.

All said, does a kicker make sense for me in your opinion? I've been reading a bunch of why kickers are pointless and why they are awesome. I'm a bit torn.

Just recently bought a 9.9 Yamaha new as a kicker. Haven't installed it yet, I have a 20ft cc. Most people say this is more then enough. Waiting for the weather to warm up for that project. I plan a separate gas tank as often enough, gas is the problem with the main. Mine is a pull cord, so electrical isn't a concern.

 

[airshot]

Show of hands... who wants to trade in their (new) 4 stroke for a 20+ year old, oil belching 2 stroke?

Once you have purchased that new 4 stroke, of course no one wants to trade, but .....my 1992 is in mint condition, if it were to go boom...would I want to spend 10K on a new motor or spend a couple thousand on another like new 1992 is the more honest question. If I could find another motor in the condition of mine, why would I want to waste another 8 K ??

 

[rxl650]

An acquaintance just had a new 50hp 4 stroke Yamaha installed. Just over 13k....ouch.
I personally like a kicker. Cheap way to troll and peace of mind. There are plenty of electric throttle servo's on the market if you dont have controls.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Show of hands... who wants to trade in their (new) 4 stroke for a 20+ year old, oil belching 2 stroke?

I don't like the emissions of the old 2 stroke engines, but we have a 4 hp 2-stroke outboard, a 9.9 2-stroke outboard and a 9.9 4-stroke Mercury outboard. I would trade the finickiness of the Mercury 4-stroke in a minute for a simple, reliable 2-stroke. Maybe we have a lemon, but we never know if the 4-stroke is going to decide if it wants to start. Sometimes it want the choke, other times it doesn't... sometimes it starts easily when warm, other times it won't. My wife and daughter won't use it anymore because it's so hard to get started sometimes. I usually can get it started, but sometimes it gives me trouble, too. We never have those issues with a 2-stroke.

I like the cleaner emissions of a 4-stroke and freedom from having to mix oil and gas, but every 2-stroke we have ever owned has been pretty much bulletproof.

 

[racerone]

Small 4 strokes sometimes need electric start.----Reason is that flywheel needs to turn once to get spark to 1 cylinder.----A 9.9 fires both cylinder for every turn of the crankshaft.

 

[dingbat]

I don't like the emissions of the old 2 stroke engines, but we have a 4 hp 2-stroke outboard, a 9.9 2-stroke outboard and a 9.9 4-stroke Mercury outboard. I would trade the finickiness of the Mercury 4-stroke in a minute for a simple, reliable 2-stroke. Maybe we have a lemon, but we never know if the 4-stroke is going to decide if it wants to start. Sometimes it want the choke, other times it doesn't... sometimes it starts easily when warm, other times it won't. My wife and daughter won't use it anymore because it's so hard to get started sometimes. I usually can get it started, but sometimes it gives me trouble, too. We never have those issues with a 2-stroke.

Have never run or owned a carbureted 4 stroke.
All 150 hp and above EFI motors.
Like your car, they start with the turn of the key.

 

[racerone]

Know of a dealer that only sold small 4 strokes with electric start.-----Said that they were too busy to deal with the typical -----" My motor won't start phone calls "

 

[JimS123]

I don't like the emissions of the old 2 stroke engines, but we have a 4 hp 2-stroke outboard, a 9.9 2-stroke outboard and a 9.9 4-stroke Mercury outboard. I would trade the finickiness of the Mercury 4-stroke in a minute for a simple, reliable 2-stroke. Maybe we have a lemon, but we never know if the 4-stroke is going to decide if it wants to start. Sometimes it want the choke, other times it doesn't... sometimes it starts easily when warm, other times it won't. My wife and daughter won't use it anymore because it's so hard to get started sometimes. I usually can get it started, but sometimes it gives me trouble, too. We never have those issues with a 2-stroke.

I like the cleaner emissions of a 4-stroke and freedom from having to mix oil and gas, but every 2-stroke we have ever owned has been pretty much bulletproof.

Interesting!

Two of my boats have little 4-stroke kickers. I seldom troll any more (my fishing buddies have passed or moved), so I merely fire them up a few times a year to keep them active.

Pump the bulb, pull the choke and they both start on the first pull. I DO pull the hose when I'm done to drain as much gas as possible.