Kicker motor H.P. choice?

[DaHunt]

I just upgraded boats, and on my old one I ran a 8 h.p. kicker, but the boat only weighed 1700 #s . The new boat is 24' long and weighs 4800#s. anybody out there have a simular setup? and what H.P. are you runnin? I dont want to go to small and have to run almost full throttle to obtain 1.5 to 2.0 MPH. Any help would be much appreciated!

[7MM Magnum]

DaHunt,.. I would personally suggest a 10-20 hp motor. I'm assuming this new boat is a fiberglass model and the increase in size and weight from your old boat would probably warrent this amount of Horsepower increase. You could probably get away with a 10hp but on those days when the waves & wind start to push you around a bit you'll be thankful you went the extra amount. ;) :D

[TONGA]

40-50hp ???????

[coverdog]

I used a 8 hp on my 27 Tiara for 9 years. It would troll up to about 4mph-5mph wide open. Of course I only used it for Walleye at half those speeds and very little throttle. Contrary to what some may believe it worked well except when the wind kicked up fairly high. Even then I mostly trolled with the wind or quartered it. It was more than enough most days. For Musky I used one of the inboards, which I would probably do anyway even if I had a bigger kicker. I would try it before you lay out the cash for a new one. I know a two other guys with 27 Tiara's as well with 10 hp on them and it's plenty for Walleye and Salmon. These boats go well over 8000 lbs. loaded.

[7MM Magnum]

My mistake on the previous post :o

I meant to say 10-20 hp to which I have corrected above. The whole reason for the higher horsepower on my mind is I don't like having to run a smaller outboard at a continuious maximum rpm just to troll around. I would rather use a higher horsepower and run it at a more comfortable mid rpm to extend the life of the engine.

My 27ft. Searay does just fine with the I/O for trolling but I have been considering getting a kicker outboard to save on the fuel consumption of the big V-8 engine. She too weighs a pretty good amount weighing in at 6500lbs.

[redshirt32]

I had a 71/2 hp. on a 21 ft. Silverline which is over 4000 lbs. and full throttle would push us up stream in the SCR. I agree with coverdog 9.9 should be enough.My2

[Ed Michrina]

I also have a 27 Toot Tiara. I ran a 8 hp. mostly for walleye and it worked just fine. I switched to a 15 hp. As far as controlling the boat there is no diffrence between the 8 hp. and the 15. If you were to go 20 hp due to the weight, The kicker mount to support that weight would run you more than half the price of a new kicker. I'd give the 8 a try this summer and move up if it's not sufficient.

[keducation]

I have a 28ft Sea Ray and a 8hp Evenrude which pushes me real good. The
newer engines have more power with less weight...I used to push it with
a 7.5 Johnson but finally wore the engine out with a million hours of trolling
and traded for the 8.0 which I have had for several years. I generally troll
with the wind....if you desire to troll against the wind go with a 10 or 15hp
the 8 will work to hard trying to push a 8.5 beam with length and canvas
into a wind. Also, it is absolutely necessary that you consider a LONG shaft.
Without the long shaft, your comeing out of the water on windy days.

Evenrude, Johnson Mercury are all great but I'd look at some of the new
4cycle just to see the price and hp comparisons.

[golfpercy5]

I've got a 21 ft. tiara that im planning on putting on my old johnson 15. It weighs about 4000 when its fully loaded. Does this seem about right?

[DaHunt]

Ed, did you ever see how fast that 15 H.P. would push your boat, and how much throttle do you think your using to troll 2 MPH. I went out pricing motors today and the price diff. between 9.9 and 15 H.P. is $150.00, which is a small price compared to buying and then selling the 9.9 . The reason for the new motor is also based on not having to carry a 2-stroke mix in a separate can, going 4-stroke. Here is a run down on the motor prices..Honda 9.9 $2700.00 ...Yamaha 9.9 $2480.00...Mercury 9.9 $1900.00, looks like Merc. is winning.

:) Thank's to all for the input! Look's like I have most going with the 9.9, I just had the same concerns about wind,as I usually troll on Lake Huron after salmon.

[Ed Michrina]

Dahunt I troll down wind. I think with any kicker it would be a total hands on operation to attemp to troll into the wind. I just picked up a 15 merc 4 stroke but it is not going on the big boat until I can afford a hefty type kicker mount. I think the 15 and the 9.9 are the same engine weight wise . its just carbed diffrent. You'll be happy with the 9.9. Did you check out US boat. They sell Merc's now. I picked up my 15 hp. for 2,200 pluss I'll get back a gift certificate of 15 bucks for every $300 spent. They run specials and you can get money off by starting a us-boat credit card. (then pay ;) ) good luck.

[FishTales]

New Mercury Outboards (http://mastercatalog04.boatus-store.com/0229.asp)
I just got my new catalog, They are coming out with a couple of 4 strokes in a "lightweight" model.