Kicker motor suggestions

[eenakoK]

This weekends fishing trip made me realize that my electric isn't going to cut it out there. I am going to start looking for a kicker motor. My boat is 16' and very light weight. What size HP would you suggest looking at? Would I be crazy with anything under 6? Thanks as always for your suggestions!

 

[SuperD]

4 hp to 6 hp if you are in a light 16' metal boat.

 

[eenakoK]

Thank you! This is kind of what I am looking for..

http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/boa/1723147262.html

The boat is a 16' Starcraft Holiday I think I read the hull weight is like 650.. but I have a 85 on it for the main motor..

 

[onlychild]

The honda 8hp may be to large but it has some nice features ele. start which also has a charking system and power trim

 

[eenakoK]

I was looking at those too.. too much for my now, I am going to have to get something old for now.

 

[SilverBullets]

Yep, like SuperD said a 4-6 HP should do it. Try the motor on the transom to make sure it will fit first though. If your electric is mounted on the bow save it for maneuvering over schools while jigging...works great.

 

[SuperD]

I'm pretty sure the long shaft will be too long but it would probably work other than effecting you in shallow water.

 

[eenakoK]

The electric is on the transom. I was told that the way my transom is I would need a long shaft. Does the prop need to be below the bottom of the boat?

 

[SuperD]

Yes, the cavitation plate should be below or level with the bottom of the hull where the motor is mounted on the transom.

 

[eenakoK]

I just measured from the top of the motor well to the bottom of my boat and it is 16 inches.. I am going to go look at what a Short shaft or Long shaft is now. Thanks again for the advise!!

 

[SilverBullets]

I just measured from the top of the motor well to the bottom of my boat and it is 16 inches.. I am going to go look at what a Short shaft or Long shaft is now. Thanks again for the advise!!

some good info here...
http://www.kokaneefishingforum.com/fishing-forums/showthread.php?t=1866

 

[eenakoK]

Thanks for that post. It looks like that I would actually get a short shaft. Cool, there are more of those around.

 

[SilverBullets]

http://www.smalloutboards.com/shaft.htm

 

[eenakoK]

http://www.smalloutboards.com/shaft.htm

Thats where I realized that I needed a short shaft.. it said that true measurement was 16 inches, and that is where mine sits...

 

[skookum9]

Dbfield, you've gotten lots of great advice here on your motor choice but I would like to offer one of my considerations about motor size. Even a two horse will push you around at trolling speeds so a four or a six would easily do even better. I personally consider any of the motors up to about 15hp to be adequate for trolling purposes since they can all troll down slow enough, at least with the use of a trolling plate and or sea anchors. I like to go a little bit larger than the 4 and 6 horse motors just for the soul purpose of travel speed if something goes wrong with my main motor. I like to select a motor that has enough propulsion to push me upwind in a strong wind at a reasonable speed. While a 6hp might do this with your boat, I would be very concerned about the 4hp model doing it. I think an 8hp, or 7 1/2 if you choose older, would be a better choice. I'm a big fan of the 15hp just because it doesn't weigh any more than the 10hp units and I have been known to venture out into salt water from time to time. When you put yourself out to sea it's nice to know that you can make it back should the unforseen happen. Obviously, the bigger the hp the more it's going to weigh and this is a very important factor too so you will want to find the best balance for you. Best wishes to you and I hope whatever you choose brings you years of happy and trouble free fishing.

 

[lowe1648mt]

You may be happier with a twin cyl than a single cyl motor. I don't like the added vibration of a single cyl.

 

[Bduck]

I have a Merc 9.9 4stroker. Sometimes I have problems when it comes to certain wind conditions but overall it performs very well. I prefer to be independent from my batteries. My kicker doesn't have a charging system to keep the batteries charged. But thats alot of money to convert. I see it as don't fix it if its not broke.

 

[SuperD]

If you go larger for the good reasons listed but end up with a 2 stroke, you'll also have more possibilities of loading up problems at low idle. An 8 or 9 hp 4 stroke is the almost perfect answer but if it isn't in your budget, you have to sift through all this advice we're giving you.

 

[skookum9]

SuperD, I've not had any trouble with loading up on the 2 strokes, even on the 15hp outboard that has no trolling plate. I do have a question for you about the 8 and 9hp 4 stroke motors though. I may well be wrong but it is my understanding that with the 2 stroke motors, a 9.5hp and a 15hp motor is exactly the same unit except that the 15hp lacks the governor on the throttle that restricts the rpm. In this case, either motor should perform exactly the same at low idle, I would think, and only their top end would be different. My question is if the newer 4 stroke's work the same way. Is a 10hp and a 15 the same motor? If indeed they are, as long as weight isn't a factor, wouldn't the larger motor perform just as well as the smaller one? I don't know the answer to this but I thought I would see if you or someone else knows. The only experience I have had with a 4 stroke outboard is an older 7.5hp Honda that makes a far better anchor than it does a propulsion system. I do hope to have better experiences in the future.

 

[SuperD]

skookum, remind me what your boat is. Talking about motors generically will be misleading as each boat size and weight is different.