Kicker Motors on Salty boats?

[tunaorlater]

I was wondering what size kickers people are mounting on their boats for trolling for salmon in the Ocean? I'm going to be mounting it on a 26' Sea fox walkaround, it's similar in style to a Striper or Trophy. How have you guys mounted them (brackets, transom mount etc...) is there anything I should consider when picking motor&location? Do you guys have a remote system set up like a TR-1 or a trolling bar? If anybody has any photos I would love to take a glance at it.

I tried to see how Tracker has his kicker mounted but the camera keeps focusing on the fish and the people having fun!

[Something Good]

I run a T-8 on my 26' boat. It's mounted on the extended transom. Tiller for backing down while hali and bottom fishing. Steering link and troll master used if I want to drive it from up front. Auto pilot would be nice if you have the means. I have twin outboards so hopefully it won't be used as a backup. If I had single main power I probably would have put a 25 horse on just in case I had engine problems.

Picture of bracket taken at the factory.


Engines installed.


Happy Shopping!

[Tip-Sea]

I run a 15 hp merc 4 stroke on the swim platform. Good for trolling, but if I had to do it again I would probably go to a 25 just so I could come back over the bar with a little more power if I lost the main engine.

[HiTekRdNek]

I have a 26' Striper. I put a 15hp on the swimdeck at first. It almost fell off in transport. So I cut the swimdeck down and mounted a bracket for it. No pictures sorry.

[Onokai]

T-8 here as well. i have a snap on stainless control rod between both motors to use the auto pilot-it controls both motors at the same time with the rod. Mark



The bracket

[namu mac]

Originally Posted by Something Good

I run a T-8 on my 26' boat. It's mounted on the extended transom. Tiller for backing down while hali and bottom fishing. Steering link and troll master used if I want to drive it from up front. Auto pilot would be nice if you have the means. I have twin outboards so hopefully it won't be used as a backup. If I had single main power I probably would have put a 25 horse on just in case I had engine problems.

Picture of bracket taken at the factory.


Engines installed.


Happy Shopping!

[The Duck]

I asked this question a couple of weeks ago. The response was great. I sugest you do a search for kicker motors and look for one that says "Adding a kicker motor and bracket". It seemed that the majority of people recommended a Yamaha T8 with a solid mount bracket with electric start and power tilt. I ended up with a Yamaha T9.9, electric start, manual tilt and a solid bracket. I got a good deal on a used motor so I went with the 9.9 instead of the 8. I can't tell you how well it works as I just got it this past week and haven't had it out yet. I also have a 19 foot boat so our requirements might be different.
Good luck.

[BiteFactory]

If you are using a T8 as a backup be sure to go through the process of manually lowering (say the battery is dead) and rope starting. Actually go through it. You may find, as I did, that you need tools you do not have. There is a plastic cover over the flywheel underneath the removeable cowl. I ended up just leaving this plastic cover off. I can imagine losing the working socket/ratchet overboard or wasting valuable time screwing with it. You will want to learn and practice all the steps to lowering and starting before you are in a pressure or nasty situation. Getting that temporary rope onto the flywheel and starting it can take several tries in itself. Thanks to a spate of low battery events I can now get it going in probably a minute or two.

[Captn]

Thanks for the heads up BF, hadn't thought of that. Will look into it.

[Bluefinn]

Originally Posted by BiteFactory

If you are using a T8 as a backup be sure to go through the process of manually lowering (say the battery is dead) and rope starting. Actually go through it. You may find, as I did, that you need tools you do not have. There is a plastic cover over the flywheel underneath the removeable cowl. I ended up just leaving this plastic cover off. I can imagine losing the working socket/ratchet overboard or wasting valuable time screwing with it. You will want to learn and practice all the steps to lowering and starting before you are in a pressure or nasty situation. Getting that temporary rope onto the flywheel and starting it can take several tries in itself. Thanks to a spate of low battery events I can now get it going in probably a minute or two.

Very good idea Thanks

[retaliate]

I have a 15hp 4 stroke on my little Boat, & used it for Salmon trolling the first year, but been running the Main Motor ever since learning the Commercial trollers troll 4 to 5 kts, started trolling faster(3 to 4 kts), & found out why Commercial trollers troll faster.

[Big Billy]

I have an 05 21' NR Seahawk with OS Bracket I have a 225 yamaha 4 stroke with a 15 horse yamaha 4 stroke kicker, the kicker will only push the boat at 5 to 5 1/2 knotts @ full throddle

[Onokai]

My t-8 in good condtions will push my heavy 23 whaler loaded at 5 knots-its way heavier than the above 21 NR seahawk with the 15 horse.The t-8 is made to push -beefier in gears and prop than regular outboards- Get the electric start power tilt.With handle. Merc makes one called the bigfoot i think as well.

Originally Posted by Big Billy

I have an 05 21' NR Seahawk with OS Bracket I have a 225 yamaha 4 stroke with a 15 horse yamaha 4 stroke kicker, the kicker will only push the boat at 5 to 5 1/2 knotts @ full throddle

[Moldy45]

I have a 8 hp zukie 2 stroke on a 21 striper and it pushes 5 knots in ideal conditions,I dont know if a larger kicker would justify for the weight and fuel burn for a scant knot or 2 more

[Triple C]

I have a 15 hp 4 stroke Yamaha electric tilt and start. Also have a TR1 gold auto pilot with wireless remote. It pushes my 26' Striper just fine for
salmon.

[offthehook]

I have a 8hp honda on my 19ft .solid bracket. all manual. It will push 4.6 to 5 mph full out.depends on the sea's . works good for me. 1 tuna on troll
out of Winchester so far.

[FINZ]

I have a 15hp Yamaha on the back of my trophy. I have an aluminum bracket bolted to my swim platform that the motor is bolted to. Not the best photos of the bracket but you can kind of see how it is mounted.

[tunaorlater]

This what i have to work with. Do you think there is enough room between the main motor to mount it on the motor cut out and not have any problems or do you think I'm going to have to get a bracket? (Sorry for the quality of the pix's but camera phones are pretty neat!)

[tomictime]

One issue that many of the 25 HP motors have is really swinging a workboat prop (low pitch)..in many apps, mine included a T-8 with Big a prop and gear reduction and HD lower unit will be just as fast as a 25. I know, I have had both

[PIR8 Hook]

I have a 25 HP 4 stroke Zuke on my dory as the kicker...I wanted to be able to troll for tuna with it.........on my 26' Macgregor sloop....I guess I have either a 50 HP Honda kicker with a mainsail and 150% genoa or I have a 50 HP main and sails as the "kicker"

[flapbreaker]

I would think that the speed difference that you could achieve between a 8hp or 25hp would be minimal. Might not be worth the price difference. I say this due to the fact that even a 25hp motor wouldn't get most deep V boats on plane so you would just be pushing a lot of water for nothing. I would think it to be almost impossible to achieve much more than 7knots. Just a thought. Some might find comfort in the larger motor though.

[Something Good]

Not so much the speed but the control seems better trying to keep the nose into the waves or if the bar is a little sloppy. I could drive my old 22' boat with the high thrust 15hp kicker into the waves to reset a drift no problem. On my 26' boat I have to use the main engines to get back uphill. Very hard to turn into the wind and even harder to keep a heading. There is a sizable difference between the boats so I may be comparing apples to oranges.

[retaliate]

For me My 15hp is more about Safety than Trolling for Salmon, altho it works fine for Salmon trolling, I havent used it for trolling in 6 years, there is no doubt in my mind that a 25hp will be faster & have more power to keep your boat going the way you want to go, & not get pushed around by the Wind, Swell, & Current than say a 8hp, or 15hp on any Boat...it's all Math, however, No! you will not get up on plane with a 25hp, on any larger Boat & the weight difference might outweigh the extra power for some applications.

[flapbreaker]

Originally Posted by retaliate

For me My 15hp is more about Safety than Trolling for Salmon, altho it works fine for Salmon trolling, I havent used it for trolling in 6 years, there is no doubt in my mind that a 25hp will be faster & have more power to keep your boat going the way you want to go, & not get pushed around by the Wind, Swell, & Current than say a 8hp, or 15hp on any Boat...it's all Math, however, No! you will not get up on plane with a 25hp, on any larger Boat & the weight difference might outweigh the extra power for some applications.

Very true. I would think the larger motor would be more about control than speed.

[Hoghunter]

Go with the Yamaha T8 with electric start and tilt. You will never regret the decision. The T8 is built as a high thrust unit and pushes large boats at a good trolling speed just fine.

I have one on my Grady White 305 Express and troll with it for salmon very successfully. I'm pushing close to 14,000 lbs with it when fully loaded with fuel and gear for an extended WCVI fishing trip. I can troll with it in winds up to about 12 knots and then it's time to move to the big motors.

[tomictime]

..it is all about the math..

at below plane speeds it is blade area and torque that do the work and equal control, not horsepower. Most 25, with a few exceptions are designed to spin small props fast and plane boats. They are geared for this and optimized for this. you need to get a low pitch workboat prop to sort of optimize them for the push big boat slow application, note the sort of..You still lack the gearing and HD lower unit..and in many cases..your prop selection is going to be minimal..

. The slip on a planning prop and loss of control with 15's and 25's is real. IF you want the 25, prop it right..but do not be suprised when a T-8 does just as well. IT is designed and optimized to do just this. The big foot w 4 blade is an exception to this.

[Green Machine]

Don't forget about the weight of a 25 versus the T8 or Bigfoot. 40 extra pounds bouncing on a bracket is huge!!!

Green Machine

[tunaorlater]

I think that I'm going to go with a Yammy Hi-thrust 8. It seems to be the best option for me. Now I'm just trying to figure out how the heck I'm going to mount it!

[Onokai]

Here are some more bracket photos









t-8 best choice-good move. Mark

[tomictime]

Mark:

look at the top photo again..clearly..YOU..have the T-8 mounted way too high..


mount that lower where it can do some good...keeping that lawn under control.. !

Nice.

Originally Posted by Onokai

Here are some more bracket photos









t-8 best choice-good move. Mark

[DJHooks]

I have a swim platform and a 15 hp 4 cycle short shaft. Would like to use it if I can but i am not sure if it will be of any good. The prop does not get down below the boat so it is only pulling water from the area between the prop and boat, about 3' or so. I have a 28' bayliner. Thoughts?

[Fish Mode]

Originally Posted by DJHooks

I have a swim platform and a 15 hp 4 cycle short shaft. Would like to use it if I can but i am not sure if it will be of any good. The prop does not get down below the boat so it is only pulling water from the area between the prop and boat, about 3' or so. I have a 28' bayliner. Thoughts?

I always thought that with a short shaft kicker where the prop doesnt enter the area underneath the hull, that it didnt really matter when going forward. As much, the water you are pushing is able to fully head away from the hull when going in forward. BUT, when in reverse, all that thrust is hitting the transom and doing very little. Am I correct to assume this? This was always the case with my old bayliner.

[fish_on]

Originally Posted by Fish Mode

I always thought that with a short shaft kicker where the prop doesnt enter the area underneath the hull, that it didnt really matter when going forward. As much, the water you are pushing is able to fully head away from the hull when going in forward. BUT, when in reverse, all that thrust is hitting the transom and doing very little. Am I correct to assume this? This was always the case with my old bayliner.

Yep you want to make sure the prop clears the bottom of the boat if you plan on using it to back into a swell when bottom fishing. If not the thrust will be sent into the hull and you will not be happy with the results. This is my #1 boat complaint and I have a XL shaft kicker.

North River really screwed up the bracket height on a lot of the transom kicker mounts they put on their seahawks. If they would have lowered the bracket just 2-3" it would make it a totally diffrent boat.

[MedfordMako]

I run a 23-foot Mako center console with a 225 HP Yamaha 2-stroke as my main motor and a 15 HP XL shaft Honda 4-stroke with a 4-blade high thrust prop as my kicker. The kicker is mounted on a bracket with electric start and elecric tilt.

At wide open throttle, I can scoot along in moderate seas at 6 knots. The motor is only used for trolling in the estuaries, and was primarily purchased as an offshore insurance policy that fortunately has yet to be used.

Those bars scare me, and I always stop and warm up the kicker before returning across the bar. Good news on my motor is that the pull handle is already installed and ready to go. And it starts up quite nicely when warm. No need to pull the cowling and wrap cord around the flywheel while hanging off the transom under emergency conditions.

Regards - Medford Mako

[Capt Bob]

I am running a 25hp Merc Big Foot with four blade prop on my 26' Striper. Sure it will troll for Salmon. And will not troll for TUNA. But if your main has a problem in the estuary, or maybe on a jetty while bottom fishing, or crossing a bar, or backing up for Halibut, you need enough "thrust" to over come the tide and current, and wind, and chop, and... Something to think about.
As stated above, be sure to prop your kicker to your boat and set bracket height to water level no matter what HP,for max performance.

[hot wire]

I am running a 15HP kicker and find that most slow trolling is ideal for my kicker. Of course, without a second fuel source, I would expect my kicker to not be used often as a backup motor..

[DJHooks]

Originally Posted by fish_on

Yep you want to make sure the prop clears the bottom of the boat if you plan on using it to back into a swell when bottom fishing. If not the thrust will be sent into the hull and you will not be happy with the results. This is my #1 boat complaint and I have a XL shaft kicker.

North River really screwed up the bracket height on a lot of the transom kicker mounts they put on their seahawks. If they would have lowered the bracket just 2-3" it would make it a totally diffrent boat.

Plan on Halibut fishing so it sounds like I need a xl shaft high thrust kicker. This adds yet another potential problem, what about having the shaft in the water while underway. I can add a lift but from what I have seen they only go to about 15" lift. Thoughts?

[DJHooks]

I have a pratically new 15hp tohatsu 4 stroke short shaft and need a xl long shaft. Anyone have any idea where i might sell my current outboard?

[Good-Times]

I prefer to use at least a 15 HP so if you lose my main engine at least you can maintain control if it is not to bad out there. Mine is mounted by a tub (bracket bolted to the transom). When I had my boat built they sugested not welding the bracket to the transom they indicated that they have seen some of the welds actual rip the transom. As far as location I chose the opposite side of where I drive from to counter balance the boat. In one photo you will see how the transom has extra support where the troling engine bracket bolts to the noat and the otehr photo you can see how it mounts outside the boat.

Originally Posted by tunaorlater

I was wondering what size kickers people are mounting on their boats for trolling for salmon in the Ocean? I'm going to be mounting it on a 26' Sea fox walkaround, it's similar in style to a Striper or Trophy. How have you guys mounted them (brackets, transom mount etc...) is there anything I should consider when picking motor&location? Do you guys have a remote system set up like a TR-1 or a trolling bar? If anybody has any photos I would love to take a glance at it.

I tried to see how Tracker has his kicker mounted but the camera keeps focusing on the fish and the people having fun!

[Grizzly II]

I have a 15 HP two stroke Merc. Before the Merc people got my main figured out, it brought me home on two occasions . Once back over the bar. I will be staying with at least a 15.

[gerberman]

I use a 50 hp Suzuki kicker, next to the two 250 Suzuki's and they are all controled by the auto pilot so I can troll on auto with any of the motors. It works great to back troll into the wind, just set the Auto pilot and fish. I have a wireless remote to do small adjustments from the stern fishing area. I have three separate fuel sources, I never fill all three from the same pump. I always add fuel stabilizer to each tank, keep them full all winter. The three tanks only hold 386 gallons. I would not go out without a kicker that works great. Gerberman

[Onokai]

If your heading out on the salt do Not Kick your motor. Just let it run. Mark

[Fish Mode]

Originally Posted by gerberman

I use a 50 hp Suzuki kicker, next to the two 250 Suzuki's and they are all controled by the auto pilot so I can troll on auto with any of the motors. It works great to back troll into the wind, just set the Auto pilot and fish. I have a wireless remote to do small adjustments from the stern fishing area. I have three separate fuel sources, I never fill all three from the same pump. I always add fuel stabilizer to each tank, keep them full all winter. The three tanks only hold 386 gallons. I would not go out without a kicker that works great. Gerberman

Woah, what kind of a boat do you have that runs off a total of 386 gallon fuel tanks?? And a 50 kicker I drool

[Onokai]

If your heading out on the salt do Not Kick your motor. Just let it run. Mark

[gerberman]

Originally Posted by Fish Mode

Woah, what kind of a boat do you have that runs off a total of 386 gallon fuel tanks?? And a 50 kicker I drool

It is 34 ft plus bow spritz, and the motors stick out of the stern, so a total of about 40 ft. with a 12 ft beam, it takes up most of the road when I tow it to Charlston. Top speed of 42.5 MPH, I just installed Flow meters so I will have an exact fuel usage this summer. Can not wait to get out to the BLUE Water. The boat with fuel weighs about 14,500 lbs. Gerberman

[Jedcraft]

I hear alot of talk of the kicker prop not being below the hull. I had an alum. boat that was like that and when using the kicker it seemed to wander real bad. After extending it down so the cavitation plate was level with the hull it trolled nice & straight.