Put a fork in it .. Seastar kicker cable tie bar

Han Solo · May 11, 2023

I finally gave up on the cable tie bar I installed two years ago. It worked ok for a few months but then it needed alot of attention to remain useful. Without greasing and constant attention it was unusable. Also the excessive amount of crap hanging out on each end of it was a nuisance.

This year I tried to turn the wheel on the first adventure and it was really stiff. I got a look at the drive end of the cable tie bar and saw the pin was bending. That was the last straw. I removed the offending junk with a sawzall. No need to dismount and sling the kicker to remove the parts. This was all replaced by a steel rod type kicker tie bar. I could not be happier. Turns easy, no obvious failure points, takes up almost no real estate, and the kicker retracts and deploys with no issues.

Save yourself some grief and skip the cable tie bar device made by seastar. Better stuff is easily available and cheaper too.

John Wells.

Threeweight · May 11, 2023

Thanks for posting this. I have a super basic tie bar system on my boat (just stainless all-thread connecting the kicker to my main) that works decent and has been reliable. It creates some steering resistance when the kicker is trimmed all the way out of the water, but otherwise works fine. I had been thinking of upgrading to that Seastar cable, but I think I'll pass now!

Han Solo · May 11, 2023

Threeweight. I probably just bought the same setup you have. Threaded rod, tilt/twist gizmo that fits on the Seastar hydraulic cylinder and a rod end for the kicker. Meets both of my tests, 1) works good, 2) simple. Compared to the cable tie bar there is almost no resistance felt at the helm. Before I **** canned it the cable tie bar would stall my autopilot pump at hard stbd turn.

Muttenchop · May 11, 2023

I have the typical all thread bar between my Honda 9.9 kicker and Honda 225 main. I am not real happy with the rattling at times and worrying about the ends popping off. I have seen the heavier bars with the ball swivel ends, but not sure where to get them. Anyone know who manufactures the heavier ones?

bolen05 · Jun 26, 2023

It’s called a heim joint

Han Solo · May 12, 2023

I'm not endorsing this product since I have about 1 hour of use on it since install. But it is better than the crap I sawzalled off the back of the boat.

Panther trolling motor tie bar. Got it off the website run by the guy from texas that builds rocket ships.

Reacher · May 12, 2023

You use this instead of an autopilot on the kicker? Or to use an autopilot on the main while trolling?

Han Solo · May 13, 2023

The autopilot works great with the kicker instead of the main. Why spend $$$$$ on an autopilot just for the kicker?

Kirkll · Jun 25, 2023

I wish I could easily connect my out dive to my kicker motor so I can operate it at the helm in nasty weather, but…. I’ve got my kicker mounted on a nice panther Jack plate that I really like because I can raise that kicker straight up and run it in shallow water sometimes, and when lowered it pushes the kicker out a bit more from the transom giving more room for tiller arm and it responds nicer too.

But hooking up a linkage bar from the out drive to the kicker is a nightmare waiting to happen. Oh I could do it…. But easily disconnecting it to run the kicker tiller by hand, or just raising the kicker to run the main isn’t happening…. Leaving it connected isn’t a good option with an out drive connection either.

I’m going to play with a Panther 4 remote steering set up for the kicker in the near future myself. Maybe even incorporate the Troll master throttle control too…. We’ll see…. Kirk

Misguided · Jun 25, 2023

I did a bit of retro fitting, built a bracket on the T-8 then put in the quick connects on both motors. I install it when I’m trolling but I remove it when I’m under power.

Put a fork in it .. Seastar kicker cable tie bar

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