Kicker advice

[Gonzo]

I have an older 16' Deep V Lowe with a 30 horse Yamaha 2 stroke.
I dont think it will idle down enough to troll (willamette/cr).
It's a pretty light boat (dont want to much weight on the transom).
Probably being be a starter boat for a year or two I dont want to break the bank.


Few questions.....
Electric an option?
Can I conveniently slow it down enough with a troll plate or anchor socks?
How well do older 2 stroke kickers (5 to 8 horse) work?
Older Honda 4 stroke kickers?

Thanks.

 

[Chromatose]

Have you tried to idle with the motor you have now?

 

[Gonzo]

Yes. It loads up pretty quik at low low idle.

 

[rogerdodger]

our 16' alumacraft 'Crab Bandit' with 30hp merc is certainly a light boat for the size. We troll entirely on a 45# minn kota with variable maximizer; 50% gets us ~1.5mph in fairly smooth/calm conditions with 3 adults on board; at 100% we move at about 2.5mph. we can troll basically all day (4 to 6 hours with motor at 50% will only drop my batteries to 50%) but I have lots of good batteries: up in the forward bench seat I have two Cabela's grp24 AGM batteries and in the back a smaller AGM battery. Also, our Merc has an alternator that puts juice back into the batteries whenever we run it to change locations.

I do also carry a "get us home" 2.5hp Merc 4stroke just in case but we never use it for trolling...cheers, roger

 

[Chromatose]

Roger is spot on with electrics and overkill with his gas kicker.......:thumb:...................Electrics and gas kicker along with the big motor on my boat as well.

FWIW gonzo, Your all set with 2 stroke fuel already, why not just get a older smaller 2 stroke for your kicker and be done. With Electrics your going to have a much bigger cost.


Good Luck & Safe Boating what ever you decide to do.

 

[eugene1]

Yes. It loads up pretty quik at low low idle.

I find this interesting, My old 15' smokercraft trolled really slow (compared to other boats around us) with my 1993? Yamaha 30 hp 2-stroke.

I wonder if you could adjust your motor somehow?

 

[Gonzo]

I might try to rebuild the carbs and see if that cures the idle issue.

 

[Gonzo]

RD,
Does that electric time your getting include some areas with uphill trolling, back trolling or mostly with current?

 

[rogerdodger]

RD,
Does that electric time your getting include some areas with uphill trolling, back trolling or mostly with current?

that would be a mixture of conditions with average motor setting of 50%. I am normally looking for ~1.5mph through the water, so with tide or against, about 50% gets that, brisk head wind might push us to 70%, tail wind just 30% will get us that...the huge advantage to using electrics, in addition to no exhaust and no gasoline needed, is the silence.

FYI- the 2.5hp merc 4strk will push us about 5mph but it is noisy. cheers, roger

 

[DrTheopolis]

I don't have the technical expertise to address this question well, but...

electrics sure troll nicely. I'm guessing even a small electric would do nicely on still water (lakes, eg.). Might need a 24V to deal with a ripping tide on the bays, or the Big C/Willy.

 

[DirectDrive]

I have an older 16' Deep V Lowe with a 30 horse Yamaha 2 stroke.
I dont think it will idle down enough to troll (willamette/cr).
It's a pretty light boat (dont want to much weight on the transom).
Probably being be a starter boat for a year or two I dont want to break the bank.


Few questions.....
Electric an option?
Can I conveniently slow it down enough with a troll plate or anchor socks?
How well do older 2 stroke kickers (5 to 8 horse) work?
Older Honda 4 stroke kickers?

Thanks.

Personally, I would not try to troll with the main.
They usually don't like to idle for extended periods and you have to do various countermeasures to slow them down.
I have a '93 8HP Yamaha that trolls well...these are 2 stroke and will digest a 100:1 mix...they are light...57 lbs IIRC.
There was also a 6 HP that used the same powerhead (de-tuned).

Electrics work well, too...just make sure you get variable speed control and NOT A CLICKER WITH SET SPEEDS...you must have infinite power control like a gas motor.