4 stroke kickers

[hack2ee]

i need to know, why would anybody want to buy a 2 stroke kicker? my 9.9 merc 4stroke rocks! no smoke! nice slow troll! runs smooth and quiet! pushes my 19' alumaweld in a manner the salmon seem to enjoy! its made fishing so much more fun! i understand the technology does not yet exist for the larger motors to come in anything less than a tun, but the kickers rock!

[HOGTIDE]

I love my new 4-stroke merc ,too! But I can think of one reason. My merc 4-stroke, 9.9, xls, big foot, weighs in at 137 pounds! My old 2 stroke , 8 hp,ls, weighed 78 pounds...quite a significant difference if you are bolting it to the corner rearend of a smaller or narrower boat.

...smokeless trolling is nice, however. images/icons/smile.gif

[TH]

I have the 9.9 bigfoot Merc 4 stroke on my new Willie predator along w/ the 115 Merc EFI 4 stroke and they are both awesome... The 115 is as big as any 200hp 2 stroke... but it sure pushes my 22 1/2 predator along... 42+ MPH w/ full gear.. and so quiet!

[ampersat]

i'll weigh in on this discussion because it pertains to me and my situation.

i'm 31 years old, i got married and bought a house last fall. i'm not yet independently wealthy. in fact, i'm lucky to have some money in savings right now. my wife and i will be starting our family in the near future. the money that i will have to devote to a boat and motor will be nominal at best, but i will get something. in fact, i'm thinking of selling plasma on a regular basis and picking up cans on the roadside so that i can afford to buy one. it will be the ugliest boat on the river and will probably have the smokiest engine you've ever seen (at least until i get the balls to rebuild it), but i'll be out there floating somewhere near you.

i would love to have a four stroke engine for my boat, when i get it. they're quiet, you can both slow troll and run full bore without fouling your plugs, they're economical and they are better for the air and the water. the downside is they cost a fortune and they weigh twice as much as a two stroke and, in general, don't put out as much power.

before you go looking down your nose at the smokey boat next to you on the river, consider that some might not be as fortunate as you. you were probably in the same situation as that guy once in your life. when that big blue cloud of smoke drifts over the water when he fires it up, he's probably hanging his head in shame as much as you're glaring at him to get a cleaner running engine. hopefully, one day we will all be as fortunate as you. but until then, we'll take what we can get.

don't take it personally. i hope i don't offend someone. i just hope you'll understand how the other half is living.

[ 07-21-2001: Message edited by: ampersat ]

[Tacklebuster]

Nice post Amp...
I can remember the boat I had before a bought my sled. It was a 17 foot Beachcraft with 1972 55 Horse Evinrude. I put a 8 Horse Nissan kicker motor on it. Between the main motor and the kicker, it smoked like a mother. That boat was a big part of my life because we spent just about all my free time together. I remember taking her out to the estuary and getting the looks as I fired her up around everybody else in there 20 plus thousand dollar boats. I had the best times and caught a ton of fish in that old boat and felt a sense of loss when I sold her and ordered my sled. Every now and again I smell the sweet smell of 50 to 1 ratio of blue smoke and remember the good old days before boat payments. Tell you what, smoke or not, she always got me back to the dock.

[Pescador]

I"m very happy with my 6hp Evinrude 4 stroke -no smoke, QUIET, and runs forever on a tank of gas. The only negative is it's a single cylinder motor and therefore doesn't run as smooth as the 2 stroke 6hp motors which I think all have 2 cylinders.

[RKB]

AMP
Any boat is better than no boat I went years with out one waiting for just the right boat and I missed out on some good fishing.The fish don't care what your boat looks like buy what you can afford You can always upgrade.RON images/icons/grin.gif

[Fountainhead]

I allways troll into the wind, fire up the big guy and go do it again, OK I am a tight *ss with a hack. images/icons/smile.gif

[Thumper]

You can have the four-stroke engines. Too heavy, most have no gear change on the handle, no torque, and they are half again the price. And the advantages are???????/

[Gone Fishin]

I have had my 8 hp Merc 2-stroke since new in '95. It now has 2857390057264755983.5 hours on it. It's never failed me and always starts first or second pull every time.

The smoke is something that your have to enjoy, I use it to make sure my tear-ducts are still working. Once, when I got the mixture a little too rich and my head was covered in the blue fog, my eyes were watering so bad the tears were running down my back!

The doctor called it bacteria (back-tear-ia)! images/icons/grin.gif

[fishbait]

86 Honda 7.5, still starts every time 1- 2 pulls, runs great, never a problem, never a repair bill. Who needs a gear change on the handle. What else do you need to know?

[Stz ll]

AMP, Here is one more. My first kicker was an air cooled 10 hp Sears outboard which sounded like a chain saw. I used it for 2 or 3 years. I think I paid something like $150 for it. However I think if you looked around hard you might find an older Honda 4 stroke which might be affordable.

[Trick]

I've read a bill in the house that will eventually ban 2 -strokes all together. It also went on to discuss proposed yearly registration fees on the owners of 2-strokes. I wish they would implement some kind of rebate program with some descent money to allow us underfunded fishermen to retire our "blue cloud".

[Get Bit]

Whats all the hype about these 4 strokes ?My 2 Stroke Mercury 8hp is awesome. Always starts 1-2 pulls and can shift on the tiller handle. Beats turning around to shift on the 4stroke.3 gallon gas tank lasts forever. Don't know how you can improve on that. I have yet to see a 4 stroke that trolls down any better then my 2stroke and the added weight of the 4 stroke kills the driftboat. Thats all a driftboat needs is more weight at the transom. My vote goes with Thumper and Marty.

[zipper]

Sorry Amp - but I already own the uglies boat on the water, and am quite proud to have it. zip

[WaterDog]

And I thought I was the only one who still likes 2-strokes. images/icons/grin.gif images/icons/tongue.gif

[FM2]

I put a Merc 9.9 4stroke on my 21' NW Jet boat, tied it into the main fuel tank and installed a Nautamatic trolling system then sat back, ate sandwiches, drank CAB (cold adult beverages) watched rods fold and felt like I was in heaven images/icons/grin.gif images/icons/grin.gif .

[Wood Shampoo]

Zip-
I am very sory to inform you, but you do not have the ugliest boat on the water. That Honor would belong to me. I bet, that when you but your boat in the water, people don't laugh out loud. Well, they do at mine! To make it better, it has two wonderful smelling 2 cycle Mercs on the back! But, I can't complain, the price was, FREE!

I think we should have a "Post Your Ugliest Boat" thread. What do you think?

WTB

[umrules]

Can I get in this ugliest boat contest?? 1960 Alumacraft with a 9.8 hp Merc (1985?) . Motor runs like a champ, I can troll the mouth of the Cowlitz or the Columbia for a weekend and not burn a full 6 gal tank of gas. It may be ugly, but there have been plenty of fish in it. Plus I got the whole package with FF/rod holders life jackets, everything you need , for less than the cost of a new 9hp 4 stroke.

[salmonquest]

I love my two stroke kicker. 8hp mariner '95. Never failed and runs great. I can't imagine a heavier motor would do my boat any good. I also have a mariner 105jet and the only regret I have is that I didn't get the 140jet. It will push me along at 47 Mph. fully loaded. I don't even want a 4stroke. Think of all the extra maintence and parts to break, not to mention the cost and excess weight.
As for the bill in the house, They can just flush it!!!! They want to take away our two strokes, but every time it rain's portland sewer's find there way to the river. What a bunch of hippocrates! images/icons/rolleyes.gif images/icons/mad.gif images/icons/wink.gif images/icons/cool.gif

[Pirate]

Aqua
Excellent point....I'd rather rather swim in a sea of oil than the Willamette after a big rain. images/icons/shocked.gif

[I'mThe10Percent]

I've always ran my 6hp Mercury, 2-stroke...However, I just invested in a 6hp 4-stroke Yamaha and I love it! I honestly believe that the quieter a boat is, the more fish you will catch (refering to: trolling for salmon in the bays, or where ever the water depth is 15ft or less).
****Also, for those who know a little about the new Yamaha 6hp, I can get more power(8hp) if needed by changing a .75 cent part in the motor.. Best deal around****

[Thumper]

Ten Percent: I'm interested in just how great that deal was. How much for that 4-stroke? How much does it weigh, and where is the shifter located?

[RIPPLE]

I own a 5 h.p. Honda 4-stroke. There are pros and cons. The positives are that it's clean burning, does'nt foul plugs, and a big plus for me was that I could run one gas tank for it and my oil injected 2-stroke main motor. (no extra pre-mix tank)
The negatives are the extra weight, (61#'s for a 5-horse!) and the fact that this particular model is a single cylinder, which is not too smoothe and fairly loud, (for a 4-stroke) - you have to make the jump to the Honda 8 h.p. to get the second cylinder.

F.Y.I. Honda weights - 2 h.p. = 27#
5 h.p. = 61#
8 h.p. = 92#
9.9 h.p. = 92#
15 h.p. = 104#
(tiller handles / manual start)
Happy Fishin' Ripple