trolling/kicker motor

[walleyeJoe]

Hi, I have a 1974 Searay 19' I want to install a kicker/trolling motor on the stern. I bought the Mount needed but I dont know how to measure the distance from stern to water to get the best performance. also can anybody recommend what size outboard motor i should use. i mainly want to use it for trolling but it would be nice to have enough power to get me to shore just incase my inboard/outboard acts up. my boat has a 302 with merc outdrive. any help would be appreciated. Thanks WalleyeJoe

 

[Jlawsen]

Re: trolling/kicker motor

A 8-9.9 hp motor is what you want for 19' boat. Any larger and you defeat the purpose because you won't be able to troll slow enough. Measuring the mounting point is done from the water line. The top of the cavitation plate should be 1" below the normal water line of the boat when it's lightly loaded. Since the motor is mounted to the side of the boat this will allow weight shifts without rasing them motor so high that the water pickup is out of the water.

Most trolling motors are high thrust motors. The Merc 9.9 Pro Kicker and the now discontinued Yamaha T-8 are high thrust motors. Keep you eye out for a use T-8 and if you find one you'll love it. I'm not a fan of he pro-kicker and would take a Honda are a new Yami T-8 over it any day of the week. That's comming from a guy that has Quicksilver in his blood!

 

[Texasmark]

Re: trolling/kicker motor

One thing to keep in mind when considering all of the above. For a propeller engine/motor to function properly it needs a continuous supply of new water. When your kicker is mounted, you should be able to put it in the run position, go to the bow of your boat and look down the bottom of the hull and see a full prop. If you only see half or none, it's too high and will not function as expected.

Oh, another thing to keep in mind is that on the stern it pushes the boat rather than pulls the boat meaning that cross winds and waves can play heck with your determined heading. One thing that can help this if needed, is to put your main drive lower unit in the water and turn it the way you wish to go as an aid. Bow mounted units don't have this problem but your boat probably isn't setup for that and you may not want it up there.

Oh, and yet another. They make steering systems whereby you can link your kicker to your main engine and steer it from the helm where you steer your main engine. May work for you.

HTH,
Mark

 

[Jlawsen]

Re: trolling/kicker motor

One thing to keep in mind when considering all of the above. For a propeller engine/motor to function properly it needs a continuous supply of new water. When your kicker is mounted, you should be able to put it in the run position, go to the bow of your boat and look down the bottom of the hull and see a full prop. If you only see half or none, it's too high and will not function as expected.

Oh, another thing to keep in mind is that on the stern it pushes the boat rather than pulls the boat meaning that cross winds and waves can play heck with your determined heading. One thing that can help this if needed, is to put your main drive lower unit in the water and turn it the way you wish to go as an aid. Bow mounted units don't have this problem but your boat probably isn't setup for that and you may not want it up there.

Oh, and yet another. They make steering systems whereby you can link your kicker to your main engine and steer it from the helm where you steer your main engine. May work for you.

HTH,
Mark

Very good advice. I run a bow mount on my 16' and chose it over a kicker for the above reasons. I keep the main down most of the time and make minor corrections with a touch of the helm. I do that even when I have the trolling motor running in GPS autopilot and on cruise control. As it turns out, on that boat it is the right decision. On my bigger boats it is not. My main on that boat trolls down to 2.4mph but when the wind kicks up it is a bear to keep on track.

 

[Georgesalmon]

Re: trolling/kicker motor

Got a merc 9.9 pro-kicker this spring. Love it! I got the 25" shaft because at trolling speeds it dosen't make much difference if the propellor is to low for a performance engine mounting location. My thoughts were that if I got a different boat where I actually needed a longer shaft I would not have to buy another kicker. The price difference was small for the longer shaft. It would cost a lot more to change engines some time in the future. The motor is too deep but works fine even when wide open. I included a picture of my steering even though its an outboard installation and yours will a bunch different. I have seen steering linked to the outdrive and its usually done from the back of the engines.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: trolling/kicker motor

I'd be inclined to use the main engine for trolling, and save the effort, weight, space (both on the transom and for its fuel tank) and money for something else. As far as fuel savings it can't be cost effective.

I don't subscribe to the "spare motor" theory for most small recreational boats.

It would be different if you already had the small motor laying around.

 

[Georgesalmon]

Re: trolling/kicker motor

I can't get down to walleye trolling speed with my main engine without using bags or 5gal pails. And no matter how I arrange them they always manage to get in the way. With 4 downriggers and running dipsey divers, boards, flat lines at the same time it becomes a real mess for me. We typically run 9 - 12 lines at the same time. I even tried a trolling plate on the main engine with little success. The kicker seems the only option. I didn't really want to spend the money but,,,,,,,,,

 

[ondarvr]

Re: trolling/kicker motor

I'd be inclined to use the main engine for trolling, and save the effort, weight, space (both on the transom and for its fuel tank) and money for something else. As far as fuel savings it can't be cost effective.

I don't subscribe to the "spare motor" theory for most small recreational boats.

It would be different if you already had the small motor laying around.

HC

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I have always wondered what you (and a few others here) troll for and how much you do it. I ask that because no matter where the person asking the "kicker question" lives, or what they fish for, you say don't buy one. I live in a part of the world where we may troll at very low speeds for some fish, slower than 1 MPH at times, or the motor may just be used to hold your position and not go anywhere, and we may do this for 10 hours a day several times per week.. So there is no way I can troll with my 200hp main on a 19' boat. If you fish the salt off the East coast I can easily see why a kicker isn't needed, the speeds are much higher and it would be an added cost with little reward. In some parts of North America a Kicker is a standard component on any serious fishing boat, even up to the 25’+ range, without it the boat just isn’t versatile enough. I have three different boats set up for different types of fishing and where I live and the kicker can be a very important part of the equation when it comes to a successful trip.

As for a backup in an emergency or something to get back to the dock…that is for each person to decide for themselves. For me I would much rather rely on myself and be able to be under power in seconds or minutes than to wait who for knows how long after making a phone call, and that’s if you get reception and the battery isn’t dead.

Just a few weeks ago we were launching my buddy’s boat on the river, there was no one else there so he started both motor’s (kicker and main) before backing off the trailer and let them warm up for a minute. He shut off the kicker and then backed off the trailer with the main, this part went well and I pulled the trailer out, that’s when the problems started. As he went to put it in forward the shifter went to neutral and the cable broke before going into forward, this left him with no power and drifting quickly towards a log jam near the bank. It only took a few seconds for him to drop the kicker and be under power again. With the speed of the current that day and without the kicker, he would have floated into the log jam and instantly sunk. I can list numerous other instances over the last 45+ years of boating where a kicker either did, or would have, saved the day. So for me a backup source of propulsion is worth it.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: trolling/kicker motor

Point taken and I stand corrected; for you and Georgesalmon who know what they are doing, i have to defer to your skills. I was making the same mistake that we often see here, projecting my experience from certain conditions on others who have different conditions. So now Iunderstand why in y'alls case, a kicker is an important piece of equipment for serious fishing of that type.

That being said, it seems the question also comes up from those new to boating who seem to think the kicker is standard equipment, like an anchor, for the recreational boater, especially for the spare/back-up engine reason. Like the guy the other day who has a 15' boat. In that case it was neither practical nor necessary. And while the spare motor may be a good idea where safety is really involved (remote/offshore boating alone in areas with few other boaters around) it's no different than considering carrying an inflatable life raft because boats do, occasionally, sink.

SO before offering advice in response to a kicker question, I will first try to discern the OP's needs, especially as to the fishing equipment part. BTW a friend here swears by his bow-mounted electric troller on his 22' saltwater boat; he has the wireless remote control and uses it for sneaking up on fish in the flats and holding position under the bridges especially at night. And he holds the world (as in world) record for striped bass on a flyrod. Can't argue with that!

 

[Texasmark]

Re: trolling/kicker motor

Point taken and I stand corrected; for you and Georgesalmon who know what they are doing, i have to defer to your skills. I was making the same mistake that we often see here, projecting my experience from certain conditions on others who have different conditions. So now Iunderstand why in y'alls case, a kicker is an important piece of equipment for serious fishing of that type.

That being said, it seems the question also comes up from those new to boating who seem to think the kicker is standard equipment, like an anchor, for the recreational boater, especially for the spare/back-up engine reason. Like the guy the other day who has a 15' boat. In that case it was neither practical nor necessary. And while the spare motor may be a good idea where safety is really involved (remote/offshore boating alone in areas with few other boaters around) it's no different than considering carrying an inflatable life raft because boats do, occasionally, sink.

SO before offering advice in response to a kicker question, I will first try to discern the OP's needs, especially as to the fishing equipment part. BTW a friend here swears by his bow-mounted electric troller on his 22' saltwater boat; he has the wireless remote control and uses it for sneaking up on fish in the flats and holding position under the bridges especially at night. And he holds the world (as in world) record for striped bass on a flyrod. Can't argue with that!

Say man, don't be so critical of yourself. You were only doing what we all do and are guilty of on here. Back off......yourself. Grin.

Mark