Kicker on a 27 ft osprey

[Holeymolar]

Hi all,

A cousin is looking to buy a 27 ft Osprey. It has an 8 hp kicker. The question is, is this enough power for the boat. We're talking in an ideal situation. I'm sure the 8 will work, but I wouldn't want to have to run a kicker hard for normal trolling situations. Thanks for the input!

[Boat Doc']

My opinion for trolling and backup min 15 to 25hp.

[tomictime]

if it's a T-8 yami, you will be fine

[DriftR]

I run a Yamaha High Thrust 8 HP with electric start and tilt with remote steering on my 24' NR offshore Seahawk for trolling offshore. It really works great. I bought the new High Thrust 9.9 HP Yamaha with tiller,electric start and tilt for my 15' Klamath last summer. Nice little motor that has plenty of power and trolls well. Not a lot of speed generated by either the 8 or 9.9 HP Yamaha but they were not purchased for that reason.

[Capt Bob]

I am running a 25hp Merc Big Foot on a 26' Striper. I mainly fish off of the CR and would not want to fight that current with anything less.

[Short Fetch]

27 ft. Osprey? I wasn't aware that they built one that size. No matter though tell him to get a high thrust yamaha and never look back. I have a high thrust 9.9 yami on a 15000 lb. 30 ft boat and it does remarkably well. The reason they perform so well is the fact that the lower unit has a lower gear ratio allowing it to swing a bigger prop. They are made to push heavy loads at lower speeds, I doubt they would even plane a 14 ft skiff. Tight lines, Osprey

[Snowwolfe]

They built Ospreys as big as 30 feet. I know for sure because my friend has one!
The 8 will work when you are not fighting the tides or winds but if you need to make it back to dock with only the kicker you will be in for a long long ride.
Not sure if increasing the hp would be any better though.

[Short Fetch]

Yes Osprey builds 30's, 28's 26's, 24's, and 22's but not a 27 that I am aware of. And yes you will only go about 5 knots max with a yami high thrust at full throttle on a boat in they 27 ft size range, but I doubt you would get much more speed out of a 25 hp. For example if you have a 28 foot boat with 200 hp twins that push the boat 40 mph at full throttle. Guess what if you lose a motor and have to run on a single motor max speed will be about 8.5 knots max . That is with a 200 hp and a large wheel so how much faster do you think a 25 or even a 35 hp motor will push the boat. You come up against the dynamics of hull pushing water and you get to the point of diminishing returns. Not worth the added expense and weight in my opinion. That being said yamaha used to make a high thrust 25 and mecury might still make a bigfoot model in that hp range and it probably would gain you better control of a larger boat but not much more top end speed. Tight lines Osprey