Kicker Motor Size

[Snow Goose]

Hi folks,
As my 2000 Honda 50 ( 2001 26X ) ages, I am feeling the need to add a kicker and would welcome any thoughts you all might have as to best hosepower. Keeping in mind that I am boating in Trinity Bay, Newfoundland and would possibly need to push boat into strong wind and wave conditions.
I was thinking 4 stroke, 8 or 10 Hp but concerned about weight.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Hope you are enjoying a great sailing season.
Thanks
Rick

[DaveB]

Replace engine or find a bracket that will handle a 8hp/2 cylinder or greater. 6hp Nissan weighs 55 lbs, go to 8 hp is 74 lbs depending what outboard you want.
Any type kicker on a Mac. X or M is not worth it. ( bracket for a 2.5 hp Suzuki for your dingy is worth it. Can tow your boat at 2-3 knots in calm waters to dock.)
I suggest you replace motor. I have a 1997 BF 50 on my boat, runs great but I also want a newer engine and probably go with the big foot 50 hp @$5300 plus controles and hookup. (est. cost $6300) installed.
I can sell older Honda and get around $1500.
So replace outboard would cost around $5000 for a Big foot 50 hp.
Quote Bass Pro.
I have been following all the 90hp on X and M and my feeling is you will only use the power in seas 2 ft. or less, (probably 1 ft to 1ft.5 Waves)

Dave

.

Hi folks,
As my 2000 Honda 50 ( 2001 26X ) ages, I am feeling the need to add a kicker and would welcome any thoughts you all might have as to best hosepower. Keeping in mind that I am boating in Trinity Bay, Newfoundland and would possibly need to push boat into strong wind and wave conditions.
I was thinking 4 stroke, 8 or 10 Hp but concerned about weight.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Hope you are enjoying a great sailing season.
Thanks
Rick

[bartmac]

We have a 15hp Suzuki 4 stroke as our main motor....which is more than enough...reaches hull speed at less than 1/2 throttle...that's with a 4 blade hi thrust prop.As a kicker we use our dinghy 3.3hp...able to propel our 26x but have never tried in adverse conditions but thought another form of propulsion was not a bad idea.The modified bracket ie longer parallelogram arms in the moveable bracket allows for both storage in the up position and reaches the water in the down.

[DaveB]

Bloke, Ya got's ta have Wings beneath ya Keel.
Dave

We have a 15hp Suzuki 4 stroke as our main motor....which is more than enough...reaches hull speed at less than 1/2 throttle...that's with a 4 blade hi thrust prop.As a kicker we use our dinghy 3.3hp...able to propel our 26x but have never tried in adverse conditions but thought another form of propulsion was not a bad idea.The modified bracket ie longer parallelogram arms in the moveable bracket allows for both storage in the up position and reaches the water in the down.

[bahama bound]

i have a 8 horse nissan sail drive motor i want to use as a kicker ,i just hate to have anything else hang off the back of this boat ,i thought about a slide in bracket that could be lifted out ,but if you needed it ,it would be a pain to set it up ???

[mastreb]

8 or 10 horse is way too large for a kicker on these boats imho, unless your goal is to do full displacement hull speed. If it's permanently mounted on a kickup jackplate, great. Otherwise, it's way to heavy. If you plan on moving it between the boat and a dinghy, there are only two motors I'd consider:

2.5hp Suzuki. It's the lightest HP per lb. of all outboards.

or

3.5 Tohatsu. It's heavier but same price as the Suzi for an extra hp.

You'd be surprised how well these little motors can move a Mac around. Unless you're fighting a current in excess of 3 knots (which you may be), they'll get you where you need to go and can get the boat up to about 4 knots. More than enough for a kicker.

Or for twice the money, Consider a Torquedo Travel 1003.

If you want to post the max current you need to push against, I'll do the calcs to determine the minimum necessary kicker.

[Catigale]

The difference between weights of the small kickers and a 9.9 is about the size of a small child crew member..it won't affect sailing ability. I would want a 9.9 or even 15 in areas of heavy tides and winds. A 9.9 will have better resale vale as percentage of new cost. Best part of all these engines is thy are self installable and removable!

[raycarlson]

totally agree, why fuss about 30-40 pounds of weight,anything less than 6hp is a total waste unless you only boat on" golden pond",and then you better not be out in the summer when thunder storms are around.9.9hp is the best value out there regardless of brand for sure.

[Paul L]

My 2 stroke 9.9 pushes our at 6 knts. I think it weighs 70lbs (same as the 15hp version).

I'm still fit enough to transfer it down to the dinghy (Tethered of course, in case I drop it) The trick is to tie the dinghy securely to the Mac while making the transfer.

[K9Kampers]

The difference between weights of the small kickers and a 9.9 is about the size of a small child crew member..it won't affect sailing ability...

...as the kickers & small child crew members both can be heaved overboard when they give you trouble!!...

[mastreb]

My issue with weight isn't the impact on sailing, it's hefting the motor around when transferring it onto and off of the Dinghy. I'm a pretty big guy at 6'5" 250lbs. and I can easily carry 100 lbs., but slinging around a 70lb. motor while on the water in an inflatable dinghy is a recipe for dropping it in the drink in my opinion.

Others can chime in with their experience

I've seen small motors get large boats up to surprising speeds, but it's true that I'm not typically dealing with heavy currents.

[dlandersson]

I concur

My issue with weight isn't the impact on sailing, it's hefting the motor around when transferring it onto and off of the Dinghy. I'm a pretty big guy at 6'5" 250lbs. and I can easily carry 100 lbs., but slinging around a 70lb. motor while on the water in an inflatable dinghy is a recipe for dropping it in the drink in my opinion.

Others can chime in with their experience

I've seen small motors get large boats up to surprising speeds, but it's true that I'm not typically dealing with heavy currents.

[bahama bound]

my issue is all the stuff on the back of the boat ,ladder ,motor ,two rudders and add a kicker motor and bracket and it seems like it would be really hard to get of and on the boat

[DaveB]

I have the 2.5 hp suzukie on a fixed mounted bracket that won't get banged at the dock. This motor weighs 27 lbs and can easy lift it off the bracket sitting down on dingy.
Safe and easy without riping my bracket off docking and if nessary can tow boat on short distance in calm waters.
It's important not to have your outboard past the beam docking.
Dave

8 or 10 horse is way too large for a kicker on these boats imho, unless your goal is to do full displacement hull speed. If it's permanently mounted on a kickup jackplate, great. Otherwise, it's way to heavy. If you plan on moving it between the boat and a dinghy, there are only two motors I'd consider:

2.5hp Suzuki. It's the lightest HP per lb. of all outboards.

or

3.5 Tohatsu. It's heavier but same price as the Suzi for an extra hp.

You'd be surprised how well these little motors can move a Mac around. Unless you're fighting a current in excess of 3 knots (which you may be), they'll get you where you need to go and can get the boat up to about 4 knots. More than enough for a kicker.

Or for twice the money, Consider a Torquedo Travel 1003.

If you want to post the max current you need to push against, I'll do the calcs to determine the minimum necessary kicker.

[DaveB]

235 lbs no problems going down the ladder, just use flip flops or get teak flat stread on steps, be cool Mon, be happy... Summer time.
All the stuff fits.
Dave

y issue is all the stuff on the back of the boat ,ladder ,motor ,two rudders and add a kicker motor and bracket and it seems like it would be really hard to get of and on the boat