Kicker motor

jakerboy

jakerboy

Well-Known Member
Hello, I have been thinking of adding a kicker motor . It will mostly be used as a back up engine while out on the big water to keep the wife happy. I have been looking around and people tell me that a Tohatsu is the way to go. Just wondering if anyone has used this motor . I am told that they make Mercury engines . Thanks .
 
pretty much all engines theese days guts come out of the tohatsu plant, including the big three. if your looking for a motor i just bought a yamaha 6 hp that has a top tank and an external tank 12 ltr . brand new @bridge yachts for 1500.00 i find they have extremly competitive pricing FYI.


see below from wikipedia

Tohatsu Outboards[edit]
Tohatsu Outboards are produced by Tohatsu Corporation. 1956 ushered in the production of the first Tohatsu Outboards (1.5 hp). Since then, Tohatsu outboards have served a variety of marketplaces: commercial fishing, military, marine transport, surf life saving, recreation and competition racing. They are the second largest producer of outboards in the world.[citation needed] All Nissan outboard engines in North America are Tohatsus with a Nissan decal.[citation needed] In 2011, Tohatsu and Evinrude Outboard Motors made a deal to make smaller engines ranging from 15 HP and down with Evinrude decals. [1]
 
I found Bridges to be expensive for some products like fenders, seats, even 2 stroke oil. I looked at the 9.9 Tohatsu there a few years back and they were about the same as a 9.9 2 stroke Merc. Not knowing the price of potatoes I thought an unfamiliar name would be less. Those engines have become very familiar now.
Chef look for PM shortly.
 
I have a Tohatsu 8hp I use as my kicker it has never missed a beat and starts on the first push. If I were you I would look at the long shaft electric start it will charge your batteries while your trolling.

Just my thoughts.
 
Thanks for the info . Are there any dealers close to this area ?. Think that there is one in Bayfield .
 
It is my understanding that Tohatsu manufactures the portable four stroke Mercury and Evinrude motors and of course, they sell under their own name plate as well. I bought a new 2008 - 6 hp Merc four stoke to push my 17 ft aluminum boat. I found it to be a good starter and it ran well at medium and high RPM's, I found that it ran rough at low RPM's. It was also louder than I was hoping for at higher RPM's. It pushed my boat at a maximum of 6 Mph and it did have trouble with maintaining a good constant speed below 3 Mph. I found out that anything less than an 8 HP is a one cylinder and starting at 8 HP they shift over to two cylinder. It bugged me enough that I changed to a 2013 9.9 Big Foot and it is way smoother at low RPMs, runs quieter and it idles down to a lower speed and holds the lower speed much better. It pushes the boat at about 8 Mph on wide open. My advice would be to spend a little extra to get an 8 or 9.9 HP (9.8 if you want Evinrude but it is the same motor and it is quite a bit more money).

Fuel economy is awesome with the portable four strokes and I would highly recommend to go four stroke for fuel economy reasons. I really like the better speed control that you get with a portable motor as opposed to the big motor (mine is a 90 HP) but I would have a portable for safety reasons only. Over the years of having boats I have had to troll back to port at least four times because the big motor failed. It happened once with my new boat and I trolled back to Burwell with the 6 HP - I found it later that the problem with the big motor was just an air bubble and I would have been able to get it going but the portable motor was handy and I picked up a bunch of wally's on the way back in as a bonus!

I should mention that the 9.9 Big Foot is a little more heavy duty than the standard 9.9. The more rugged Big Foot is only available with the Mercury nameplate (as far as I know) but I am quite pleased with it.

My final comment has to do with motor break in. The four strokes need to be properly broken in and while this takes some time, it is an important process. If you are buying a used four stroke, be certain to ask the seller if they followed the break in procedures. If they look at you like they don't know what you are talking about or if you have any sense that they did not follow the break in procedure, I would not buy that motor.

JB (Wood Duck on radio!)
 
I'm looking at a 5 hp long shaft honda ,for my 16 ft sylvan . Hoping it will push it ok.
I would rather have a matching motor for my 50 hp honda .
That tohatsu at bridge yaucht sounds like a good deal.
I believe Don Hydes have a deal on their yamahas as well.
 
thanks jeffbrick but the 9.9s are a little bit heavy for what I want...
I will take a walk over to bridge later today.
 
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