Kicker Motors!

[walleyeman]

I am interested in purchasing a kicker motor for a 19ft. Lund Tyee. Could I ask everyone what size I would need to troll lures and harnesses at around 1.5- 1.7 m.p.h.! I am looking at buying a 9.8 Tohatsu. Is this to Big?- Thoughts please! Thanks Walleyeman.

 

[Buckster]

Haven't had any experience with the tohatsu but that should be adequate. You don't want to be underpowered.

 

[HORTY]

Haven't had any experience with the tohatsu but that should be adequate. You don't want to be underpowered.

POWER is about right,Tohatsu is made by mercury ,or vice ,versa ??,go with big foot model ,they r bullitt proof

 

[Double D]

I run a Honda 4 stroke 9.9 goes real slow. Charges my batteries to boot. I get down to 1.3mph on my 19' SeaPro

 

[IamMoe]

I have a Yamaha t8 on my 23' walkaround. I second getting a high thrust model. This little 8 hp pushing my boat up to 6 mph and I can slow it below 1 mph. Charging system is a must, always keeps one battery fully charged.

 

[Extra Virgin]

Save your money & pick up a troll control.

 

[Dmanwithnoname]

Or a couple drift socks?

 

[bigdog]

I have a 8 hp Yamaha 4 stroke with an alternator for the electronics on our 20 foot Lund.
We can run at anywhere from 1 mph to 6 mph.
4 strokes are nice when trolling down hill
because you won' t have to breathe any nasty exaust.

Bigdog

 

[Wave Runner]

Save your money & pick up a troll control.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I was of the understanding that Smart Craft Troll Control only works on Mercury engines?

Merc's website says: The SmartCraft line of products are applicable to all Mercury/Mariner OptiMax outboard engines starting with Model 2000, and all MerCruiser 8.1 liter engines for Model Year 2001. The SmartCraft line of products will not retrofit to any previous Mercury/Mariner or MerCruiser engines.

 

[DaveJ]

I have a 6hp honda 4 stroke for my 18' Lund Alaskan. Its perfect for that boat and will troll down to almost nothing.

 

[gilfisher]

I tried all three methods..here are the pros and cons...I will start with drift socks..the pro it will slow you down to desired troll speed ...con..very hard to control boat ...engine works at higher rpm thus using more fuel ..Troll control.pro...gets you to desired speed...con..still use lots of fuel....lastly kicker motor...pros...gets you to desired speed..less fuel...less hrs on main motor...dont need to mention the safety factor peace of mind forsure....cons..i spent 5k..on a 9.9 merc kick with all bells and whistles ...now that being said i believe i will save that cost in fuel alone over the next five years so it ends up paying for itself..plus less hrs on my main motor better for mait costs and resale value once again i use to fill up on fuel every two trips out approx 8 hrs trolling each time out....now with kicker every 5 times out..huge savings on fuel

 

[Leaky]

I purchased a 9.9 Honda as a kicker last fall. Decided on Honda over others because it had a 12 amp charger, where most only have a 6 amp. Also look at the gear ratio if you want to go slow, the kickers for trolling have a special gear ratio.

 

[Extra Virgin]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I was of the understanding that Smart Craft Troll Control only works on Mercury engines?

I also own a Lund with a Merc. I just assumed @walleyeman does as well?
The backup motor is a huge plus. I cant see spending 5k in fuel in 5yrs personally.....maybe in time ill get more hall passes to do so . The other pro with not having a kicker, is you can put other toys onto your transom!

 

[sabakelaca5]

I have a 2014 8hp tohatsu longshaft electric start with an alternator. Tohatsu make pretty much all 4 strokes under 20 hp for Nissan, Mercury, Evinrude. The only difference in the colour and stickers. Had it on my 17ft seaswirl center console and now a 23ft Proline walkaround (4500lb) The 8ph is all I need for walleye or salmon up to 3.5mph. Even going uphill I have never had it above 1/3 throttle. On windy days for salmon it will burn about 10-12 liters of gas. On flat days for walleye about 5-7 liters even with the big boat.

 

[Wave Runner]

@gilfisher... Well said Dave, all makes sense to me.

 

[Wave Runner]

I purchased a 9.9 Honda as a kicker last fall. Decided on Honda over others because it had a 12 amp charger, where most only have a 6 amp. Also look at the gear ratio if you want to go slow, the kickers for trolling have a special gear ratio.

Most outboard manufactures list the 6 amp output in the specifications but that's for the manual start and is also the case for output of the Honda manual start. The 12 amp is the electric start Honda 9.9 and will be the case with most other electric start outboards as well. But even 12 amp is very minimal when compared to the 35-60 amp output of the alternators on our much bigger main outboards.

Another thing to remember is that kicker rpm at trolling speeds is too low to get full charging system output. Without some runs in between with the main motor to help it will barely maintain the house battery running one Lowrance sonar/GPS. Then add to the equation a second unit along with VHF, electric downriggers and all the other high tech electronics we like to plug in it can't possibly keep up.

 

[Leaky]

Hey Wave Runner Not sure were you saw those specs, but from what I had looked up, the electric start Honda was the only 9.9hp motor that offered a 12 amp alternator. The Mercury Prokicker has a 6 amp, the Yamaha T9 has a 6 amp and the Tahatsu has a 6 amp. Also when looking at gear ratios The Tahatsu looks like a normal 9.9 with a ratio of 2.08 : 1 , where as the rest had dropped their ratios for the high trust 4 bladed props, the Honda 9.9 has a 2.33 : 1 ratio and the Merc Prokicker has a 2.42 : 1 ratio, and then the Yamaha T9 has a 2.92 :1 ratio.

 

[bigbus]

I also have have tohatsu 8hp ls estart, had it on smokercraft, worked well, going to try it on my campion, I picked up a 4 blade prop for it, but I may not need it.

 

[G.Mech]

A 4 blade high thrust prop makes a huge difference from a 3 blade. They are meant for high loads at slow speeds.

 

[fish4fun]

Since we are changing the topic slightly, what about trolling plates? Any thoughts. I have a 2015 merc 150 4 stroke, and I'm contemplating a trolling plate..... curious to get feed back .