PA Matt

Does anyone use a solar battery charger / maintainer to keep their batteries charged or "topped off"? Do you have a panel for each battery or can one unit charge 2 or more batteries? What size solar kit do you have? I have an inboard main engine and a kicker to troll with. I do not run the main motor that much since I primarily use the kicker to fish (I have a short run from the slip to where I generally fish). My alternator is good but since it doesn't run much it can't do its job. I got the kicker to save on fuel so it seems pointless to idle with the main motor just to charge the batteries. This is the first year with the kicker on this boat so that is why it is a new problem for me. Thanks Matt

This winter I replaced my 5.7 inboard with one from Michigan Motorz. They were great to deal with and so far so good. Would definitely buy from them in the future.

Good for you taking them out. Believe it or not, you'll miss days like that in the future. Be patient and enjoy it.

Update for anyone considering the TR-1. As mentioned above, a little modification to the bracket is all I needed. Been using the TR-1 for almost 4 weeks now and it works perfectly!!! I'm just using it to hold a course right now and make minor adjustments, haven't got it to anything more yet. I'd do it all over again if I had to. Those of you with older kickers like mine that still run like a champ may want to consider this option. Matt

Sid It doesn't look like they make one for your motor. There was not one for my motor either. What I did was buy the closest one to my motor that was listed. Once I received the bracket I made sure the mounting holes lined up with the bolts on my motor. The next thing I did was buy the hyd cylinder to make sure I could mount it so that there would be no interference with the cylinder operating. This involved making an aluminum block to shim the bracket out far enough so the cylinder did not hit the motor in either the full open or close positions. Once I did all this I bought the rest of the gold kit. I figured if the bracket and or cylinder did not work I was not out a whole lot of money. I installed it last weekend and it works great. Have not had the boat in the water yet but have been testing it out while I wait for my prop to be repaired. Here's a link to Garmin's list of brackets. https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=iWIKkJsON5AUtL3TUMduC7 Hope this helps.

Does anyone have their kicker fuel tank mounted below deck? I'm considering mounting a larger tank below deck and running the fuel line through the transom and to the kicker. I'm just wondering if there is a limit to the fuel lift I'll get from the tank to the kicker. Thanks Matt

It is my understanding that the steering function will work without the throttle control. I am ordering the TR-1 in the next few days. I had to machine a piece of aluminum in order to make the cylinder bracket work with my kicker. I'll probably forgo the throttle control this year and just set it at the motor for now.

Thanks guys, I went with Michigan motors.

Hello Anybody have first hand experience where I can buy a new base 5.7 350? I have been searching and searching and coming up with a lot of places. However when you start reading reviews you see about an even split of satisfied responses vs. unsatisfied ones. Any help is appreciated. Thanks Matt

Where did you buy the engine? I'm looking for a new base 5.7 Thanks Matt

Has anyone successfully used a TR-1 Gold bracket and actuator that wasn't specifically "called out" for their kicker? I have a 1996 Yamaha 15 hp that I bought new. I'm looking at using the TR-1 on it and the closest bracket/actuator setup sold is for a 1998 and up Yamaha. I found mounting instructions for the 1998 and up kit and it looks like I may be able to make it work. Thanks Matt