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. |
