How big of a kicker?

[Kuba]

Hi guys,

17ft aluminum boat with a 50hp 2 stroke motor. Most of the time i troll by myself or with my buddy. No more than two people on board. How big of a kicker do i need? im only interested in achieving 3mp/h.

[snyder]

I use a 7.5hp older 2 stroke merc on my 17' and it will run 7mph on the GPS wide open. Probably anything in the six to ten horse range will work fine. Some people say to stick with a 2 cylinder kicker as opposed the the single 5 or 6hp because they have less vibration.

[Chas0218]

I use a 7.5hp johnson on my 23' fiberglass cuddy and it pushes my boat close to 4mph in a heavy chop. I would think right around 5hp would be enough.

[Mortigan]

We run a 5hp kicker on a 18ft aluminum and although it's fine in flat to 2ft water, I wouldn't want to trust my life to it in anything more.  Go bigger, just in case.

[Tripleduece50]

Good point made by Mortigan.  A second motor in my opinion is also a piece of safety equipment.  I would think a 9.9 would suit your needs as a good trolling motor and could get you off the lake in a safety situation.

[spoonfed-1]

^{Wieght of the motor should be a consideration in your decision.}

^{That  said I've never heard  anybody complain because they were over powered.}

^{Put on the largest hp rating that your boat will support the weight of.}

^{I would guess about an 8 hp.}

^{Four strokes are nice.}

 

^{Good luck}

^Glen

Edited March 8, 2013 by spoonfed-1

[jimski2]

There is a danger in overloading the transom area of a boat allowing swells to flow over the transom in high waves. With fuel tanks, batterys and big ass persons like me, it happens. Another motor may not be safe. A smaller motor that trolls well like a 25 HP four stroke could be the answer.

[rolmops]

I would turn the question around. How small a kicker.

At low speed your boat becomes a displacement hull and for instance a 23 foot boat will not go faster than 8 miles an hour. Those 8 miles can easily be provided by 7 .5 or 6 horse engines, while a 15 horse will not make you go any faster,but just make you burn more fuel.

Just make sure that your kicker is strong enough to get you back into port in adverse situations with a broke down main engine.

[Blue Heron]

One other thing to consider is number of cylinders - I started with 6hp 4stk on my lund and while it pushed the boat fine it was a single cyl and ran a might 'rougher' than the 8hp 4 stk I now have which is a 2 cyl - the 8hp is much smoother and also seems a little quieter

[Speed]

I have a 17 ft starcraft with a 90hp and was using a 1976 6 hp Johnson as a kicker and it worked great for years trolling with just the riggers or planer boards but once I started using wire Dipsey rods I could not maintain enough speed while going against the down currents to get a 2.5 down speed on the depth raider. I upgraded to a 9.9 4 stroke kicker and that works great and burns less the 1/2 the gas trolling then what the Johnson did, The only negative to going with the bigger kicker was the added weight on the back but my boat does handle it so I've been happy with it.

[Sk8man]

In an earlier post you mentioned that although your 50 horse Merc trolls down OK you wanted something for SAFETY as well to get your butt off the lake if things turn nasty or your big motor quits. The previous comment regarding getting a trolling motor your transom will (legally too) tolerate is good advice. I used to have a 13 ft. Boston Whaler with a 35 horse Johnson and a 9.9 horse Johnnson electric start kicker and I chased salmon and steelies out in the shipping lanes on Lake O (12 miles or so out (the boat was half the size of the dinghies on those boats :>)The 9.9 would push that boat about 12 -15 mph at top end in an emergency (in big waves)If the 35 had quit it would have taken me an hour or more to get back in at top speed. One time a storm came up while I was out there out of the west and lightning etc. I had to run for shore with the 35 at about 38 or 39 mph with the lower unit coming out of the water at the crest of waves. The waves were at about 12 ft or over as I made it back to Sodus Pt. The folks on the pier were cheering for me as I came in the channel because huge boats were struggling to make it back in. I was much younger and much more foolish in those days obviously but the story gives some insight about the importance of having a good backup motor on Lake O but that even with the largest one your boat can take you could still get into trouble out there doing foolish things. If the big motor had quit I'm not sure that the 9.9 would have gotten me back (in time). The moral of the story is "go big" on the trolling motor....but don't get over confident either about it's ability to save your butt. :>)

And yes... I think I did have to change my pants when I got back in :>)

Edited March 8, 2013 by Sk8man

[Kuba]

My boat is rated for a 90hp motor or 330lb so I guess I'm ok weight wise.

I was thinking of one of those 6hp mercury motors with an integrated gas tanks

[Kuba]

Sk8man, glad you made it:) last year I saw a guy on an 8 ft pontoon trolling about 3km off shore and I wondered if he was ok in his head:)

[Sk8man]

Yeah....it wasn't me on the pontoon.. I'm a bit older and a littl e wiser now :>)

[tlr426]

I have a 165 crestliner and use a 5hp single for my kicker. I am careful what days I go out and make sure that I have my vhf for saftey. If the weather got bad in a little boat like mine I don't know that my 50 hp would get me back.

[Don Supon]

The question seems to have taken on several implications.

A kicker is typically used to troll at slow speeds, which most big engines can't do well, very long, or gas efficiently. It is also thought of as a safety precaution if the big motor fails.

I thoughts are that the kicker could be used in emergency situations to get you back to shore in good water conditions, it will just take a long time. If you get caught in a storm far from shore, you have a BIG problem! You have to be aware of approaching weather constantly, storms don't magically appear, and make the determination to head in well in advance of it or maybe wait to go out on another day. If you screwed up, and then the big motor quits on top of that, o-boy.

The safest option, I think, would be to just keep the bow going into the waves and ride it out with whatever motor is available. If the waves take you toward shore, a small kicker could probably allow you to "ride a wave" to get in. Even if the big motor still works, that will probably be your best option anyways. You have a smaller boat for Lake O or Erie (especially). Attempting to run over large waves in a small boat would be foolhearty.

So what I've been implying is that the kicker should not be counted on for you to beat a storm back to shore. It's function is economics and ability to go slow for extended periods. Therefore a 6-8 HP should be all you need (don't forget to run it hard for a while at the end of trolling after pulling rods). Four stroke is much quieter than two, but costs a lot more. Two trips out with a 6 HP one-banger and I was back to the dealer for a trade in because of the noise, vibration, and fumes. Speed-wise it was adequate. Got an 8Hp next for my 18' Lund and was pleased, but when I wanted to get power trim for it I had to upgrade to a (9.9).

Be safe-not foolish.

[Kuba]

I think I found what I will get, a mercury 6Hp sail pro, it is a high thrust motor, has built in tank and a connection. For an external one. It also has an alternator.

http://www.piscesmarine.ca/index.php?a=2&b=407

[quality time]

I started with a 9.9 Suzuki 2 stroke  that burned about 6 to 8 gallons in 10hr trip. My new Honda burns less than 3 gallons in the same time.Much less noise as well. My boat is a 20' trophy that is heavy so 6 to 8 hp should work fine. Wes

[Sk8man]

Don was right about the things he said regarding the way the handle bad weather aapproaching but when you have lightning happening it is imperative to get in as quickly as possible. It looks as though the motor you have selected is one designed for sailboats and therefore it is in all liklihood a longshaft motor which is good from the standpoint of steering if it matches up with our other motors lower unit etc. The weight of the motor (for a 4 stroke is good too). Something you may not think about though (until it is encountered) is that when you quit trolling and then put the trolling motor in the upright position you don't want it (lower unit and prop) to be dragging in the water when you are hauling butt back to shore. I have a long shaft (25 inch) 9.9 electric start on my whaler on a motorbracket which gets it up a little bit and when I am at speed with the big motor it just barely clears the water in the upright position. If your transom is low and /or you are not using an adjustable bracket to mount it you may need to check things out before hand in case you need a shorter shaft motor.

I did notice that on second glance that the 5 horse pictured in the URL you provided is 20 inch which I believe is closer to standard than my 25 inch so you may be alright.

Edited March 9, 2013 by Sk8man

[jimski2]

Twice my Honda 9.9 trim amd tilt brought me home at seven knots. Once it took me out and we won a perch contest. You can not have enough motors.

[apb]

Ran out of battery to start my big motor on a perch trip.(ran my electric motor to much) Seneca can get ugly enough in the middle of February.  I was glad I left my 8 horse Honda on from trolling season. Oh yeah...also its the right size for my 17.5 Crestliner.

[Adk1]

I got a older mid 1990's 15 HP Johnson for my kicker on the 221V Islander.. My kicker bracket is rated for a 25HP

[Roughrider IV]

I have a 5hp 4 stroke kicker, is not enough engine to push my 17.5 tiller to speeds needed on Lake Ontario unless its flat and no down current. I use it for walleye at speeds under 2mph