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Posts: 412
Location: Waukesha, WI | kicker motor or no kicker motor; that is the question that preoccupies my hour (actually been more). I trolled maybe a dozen times last season which was anywhere from 8 to 12 hours at a time. Between fuel consumption on a 150 Opti or Verado and a 9.9 bigfoot kicker, will the 3 to 4K investment in the kicker motor pay for itself? I realize it could be good to keep the hours off the big motor, the kicker would back up the main, I can run a trollmaster digital and really fine tune speed and probably others.
as for the main motor, the boat I'm looking at purchasing has a max of 175HP. However, the marine dealer often puts a 150 Opti on the back. The dealer I want to deal with because of proximity has dropped carrying motors other than Mercury, and motor brand loyalty aside, I'm struggling with 150HP versus 175 and Opti versus Verado. My brain says that 150 would be plenty and would push the rig close to 50MPH. I don't plan on selling the new rig to be, so I don't think a 150 would be a drawback. I also have to wonder what my luck would be getting the Verado which looks bigger than the Opti in the garage.
Thoughts? TIA, Mike | |
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Posts: 199
Location: Sandusky, OH | My opinion is that there is very little actual difference between the 150 and 175 Optimax; and what difference there is will be obvious only on the top end (torque should be equal, both motors having the same block). I'm not a believer in the Verado yet, but I hear they are improved from the first models as far as efficiency goes; they are just too huge for my tastes.
If you are going to troll at 4-5 mph, you could probably do just fine with the main engine only. Economics wise the kicker would take a very long while to pay for itself from gas savings. There are no guarantees with main motor longevity.
I would love a boat with a 150 DI or 4-stroke and an engine mounted Minn kota for my walleye/musky fishing.
Good luck, and don't let it keep you up at night.
Eric | |
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| I have been debating the same exact question and decided that I ONLY troll when the waves are so bad I can not stand or it is too cold and the rods keep icing up. I would say that I cast 90%-95% of my time on the water, and it was hard for me to justify going with a 9.9 kicker and spending the extra $4200. I am also going with either a 225 or 250 Verado, and decided that when I need to troll, I will use the big motor. It is a 4-stroke, but extra gas and hours on the motor will not be good, but it will be far less than $4000 on a kicker!! If I trolled all the time or even 25% of the time, it would not be a question, i would buy a kicker. | |
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Posts: 194
Location: Lincolnshire, IL | Boats with Kickers look cooler!!!
I think I would consider the 175 Pro XS with some field testing and performance reports to back it up, but not the straight up 175 Optimax vs the 150 Optimax. At best, top end would only be 2-3 mph better with the 175 Opti. Lots of debate between those motors on various sites....
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Posts: 7092
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | I can only speak from personal experience on my Tuffy 1760, but I ran a 150 Opti with a 9.9hp Bigfoot kicker. The Opti was quick, never didn't start and had a strong hole shot. For gas mileage, it was great, except when the need to drive really fast kicked in. At top speed (a touch over 50mph, topping out at 51.5 in one case) the Opti drank gas like a drunken sailor on shore leave. How that compares to other larger motors, I dont know as this is the first motor of this size.
The 9.9 Bigfoot was reliable as can be. There was a little trick in getting it started (need for heavy priming + opening the throttle to keep it running + allowing 5-7 minutes of warm up time prior to putting in gear) but once I knew the routine, she was strong whenever I needed her. In gear she would throttle down to the point where I could troll just under 1mph, and at full throttle would go up to around 5.7mph, understanding there are 6 cranks in the water and two downrigger balls. This little engine was surprisingly loud however versus other 4-strokes I have run or been around. Also, the manual tilt lift was very difficult to work. It would go down, but would take between 5 and 10 minutes at times to get back up in the locked position.
When I first got the boat, the kicker was rigged incorrectly so I did troll with the Opti for about 2 days. For an idea of gas mileage.....running about 5 miles at 3/4 throttle then trolling for around 5 hours.....ran about 7 gallons of gas through the boat. With the kicker driving that 5 hours of trolling versus the Opti, I believe I ran just under 5 gallons through the boat in that total time. | |
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Posts: 9
| My wife and I purchased a new 620 with a 225 verado and a 9.9 kicker this past spring. Why I choose to put a kicker on, first and formost was safety. Fish alot of big water. It is also used for control in big waves. I also use it in the fall if it is windy for sucker fishing. Now as far as the verado goes i have to take the cowl off the motor to get it in the garage. Kind of a pain but to us the boat is worth it. ESfishox if you would like to see where or how we get in the garge pm me and we can set something up as i live in wuakesha also. | |
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| i put a kicker (Merc 9.9 ProKicker) on my Tuffy 1890 primarily for trolling and it worked great for that. smooth running, good power and will troll down slow, quick power tilt/trim, just an all-around great motor. i was happy with the speed range it would run (<1mph - 5.4mph) and the control it provided.
as grif mentioned it also means peace of mind having a backup motor if something should happen. on the first day of the PI Outing this year, i'd forgot to charge my batteries for awhile and couldn't get my big motor started mid-day. running the kicker to get us across the lake and put a surface charge on the battery so that i could crank the main motor sure made a difference.
i also used the kicker a couple of times this year to hold boat position in big wind. it's much easier to put the kicker in gear real slow to hold your place and just use the electric for steering instead of wearing out your electric's batteries fighting strong wind or current. there's been a couple of good boat-control articles on this in recent muskie magazines.
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Posts: 144
Location: Green Bay, WI | The 175 or 150 verados would be the smaller 4-cylinder block. they should get in the garage. I'm told an 1850 tyee with a 175 verado will just get under a 7ft door and the windshield is probably closer than the engine. | |
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Posts: 412
Location: Waukesha, WI | thanks for the responses!
I mistakenly put BigFoot instead of Pro-kicker above. Seeing Slamr's response without power trim and tilt clinches the Pro-Kicker.
Between the Opti and Verado, I'm leaning towards the Verado. I haven't seen the difference in cost between them yet, but I like the Merc 90HP four stroke I have now. I don't notice any odor from the motor, and it is quiet. Both are characteristics that are important to me. The information I received from Mercury is that the 175 Verado is 5 to 10 dBa less throughout the RPM range than the 175 Opti.
Measuring my garage opening, it's just shy of 83". Merc even has a 4 cylinder version of the 200HP now.The measurements I was given on the motors are:
**EDIT** -- these must have been crate measurements. A 4 cyl 200HP Verado measured about 74" at the dealer. **EDIT**
150 Verado 87x32x49
150 opti 82x30x42
While the dimensions help, it doesn't seem enough to determine the difference. Where's the 5" of difference in height? Would it be safe to say that 25" shaft means that the whole difference is above? What set of holes would the Opti be mounted in versus the Verado? The salesman I am working with did bring a similar boat model to my house with an Opti, and it was a bit of a hassle in that I had to have the motor trimmed up to back up the apron to the driveway, trim it down to get it in the garage, and trim it back up again to make sure the skeg doesn't drag. It had a full windshield and had a couple inches to spare to the garage opening.
Edited by ESfishOX 1/13/2008 6:47 PM
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