What works best, a trolling motor or a kicker for a backup on the river?

[Cat nip]

I sold my catfishing boat to get a pontoon for the recently expanded family. I will still use the pontoon primarily for river fishing and im on the water till 3am sometimes alone and dont always go up stream. Im looking at 20footers . Does anyone make a kicker brackets that works for toons? Or does anyone have a suggestion as to how much thrust it would take to pull the toon up stream in fast spring water for a few miles?

 

[1983 ercoa 21']

Depends on the current of the ?

if the current is not really strong a big trolling motor might get you there slowly.

if the current is strong it's gonna take a decent sized kicker.

 

[Reel Kahuna]

Not only the current, one also has to factor in the wind which can pick up w/o advance notice.

 

[1983 ercoa 21']

Very true

 

[Silvertip]

An electric trolling motor does not have the range to be used as emergency propulsion -- especially if you need to deal with wind or river currents. The limiting factor is the battery. At full speed, a troller can suck dry even a high capacity battery in a very short period of time.

 

[littlerayray]

I would look at getting a kicker with its own separate fuel cell no point in having a kicker if you run out of fuel right

 

[Cat nip]

Ya that's kind what I was thinking also. But thought I would ask around. Mostly Mississippi and minnesota rivers. What size kicker y'all think? Ya think 7-10 hp would be enough?

 

[littlerayray]

I would go no less then 20hp

 

[littlerayray]

That's a lot of boat to move with a 10hp especially in current

 

[Cat nip]

That's a lot of kicker lol! Good thing I have a buddy with a couple hundred outboards to play with other that could get expensive quick. Maby twin kickers? 2 smaller ones would give better thrust and control? 2-3 mph up stream is enough for me in that situation.

 

[ondarvr]

I always chuckle when I read these kicker questions and people answer with 20HP or something similar. I've mounted 8 and 9.9HP kickers on 24' pontoon boats and they do fine, you don't need some big. Get a high thrust model, or at least put a high thrust prop on it and you'll do OK. It doesn't take much to mount a bracket for the kicker.

 

[ahicks]

I'm left wondering if we're all on the same page when considering a "current". That word alone says the water is moving. It does not say how fast. I've seen sail boats under full sail (able to make 6-7 knots) barely able to make headway in some river currents. A 10hp motor on a draggy 'toon heading upstream into an afternoon breeze could leave you wanting..... especially if maneuvering in areas without a lot of room is required.

 

[ondarvr]

The 9.9 pushed the 24' toon at about 10 mph, worked fine on the Columbia River.

The difference is I have about 50 years of experience using kickers because virtually every fishing boat in this part of the world has a kicker on it. I've used just about every combination you can think of in all types of conditions.

So it comes down to me having done it before and other people guessing.

 

[Cat nip]

That sounds like sound advice. I have floated down stream in fast and high spring water and the gps read 5.5 - 6 mph on the Mississippi river so 10 hp I guess should be enough with a hi thrust prop. Il see what my buddy has. And when its on the water I will let everyone know how it does.

 

[ahicks]

The 9.9 pushed the 24' toon at about 10 mph, worked fine on the Columbia River.

The difference is I have about 50 years of experience using kickers because virtually every fishing boat in this part of the world has a kicker on it. I've used just about every combination you can think of in all types of conditions.

So it comes down to me having done it before and other people guessing.

That was my point. No matter your experience, YOU are guessing what kind of wind and current the OP is going to experience. Saying a 9.9 is going to be safe under all conditions (without knowing any more than we've been told) could be a bit of a stretch. Just sayin....

 

[ondarvr]

Nothing is going to be safe under all conditions, not even the main motor, you need to plan for the conditions you will mostly likely experience where you go boating. From my experience on large medium and small rivers when using a 9.9 on a 24' foot pontoon boat it worked well, even in current and wind. It also worked well on lakes of all sizes. Now would it be good for crossing Lake Michigan, probably not. If you have used this combination and know that it performed differently please inform the OP of it.

 

[aspeck]

Shucks, we have lakes around here with a 10hp limit and there are 24 - 28 foot pontoons in the docks. That is their MAIN motor, not a kicker. Yes, it is a lake and not a river, but that means probably more wind ... In MOST conditions, I would not be afraid of a 9.9 kicker on a toon.

 

[ahicks]

Second thought. We're talking kicker here. If it get's ugly, just fire up the main! Sorry, wasn't considering that an option earlier. I had myself trying to get home on 10hp. I have been out when I was getting impatient with a 40 though. The right wind can kick up from the wrong direction, and it might take hours to go where I usually can in minutes. The thought of doing that on 10hp was not sitting well.

No rookie here either. Have had a 'toon since '78 and a native of Great Lakes and adjoining rivers (Port Huron, Blue Water Bridge area = BIG current!), Tennessee River, Gulf of Mexico some of the bigger water I frequent/have been on. Lifetime lakefront resident. Have 'toon, will cruise/explore.....

 

[JoshOnt]

A 9.9 hp as a kicker should be fine can't see you needing much more than that. Bad weather comes fire up the main and go.

 

[Cat nip]

The only reason I want to have a kicker is a back up if the main motor craps out and I dont feel like rowing up stream or camping for the night. If I wanted fast id mount triple 350 ho etecs have them blue printed and add some nitrous and shatter the world record for speed on a toon lol! Ps if anyone wants to see that I am accepting donations hahahahahahahahahahaha! I dont care how fast the kicker pushes up stream as long as it pushes up stream. Slow on the river is better than just about anything else except for fast.