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 |
