Posts: 433
Location: Cedarburg, Wisconsin | The weight factor can be important. I ran an Evinrude 15HP kicker on my Alumacraft 185 Competitor from 91 till last year. The first one was a 2 stroke. It had the best acceleration, the best top end and weighed the least. It also fouled the plugs the most and was the loudest. After about a thousand hours on that one I got a 4 stroke. It weighed about 30# more and had the transom sitting lower, had better speed control for salmon trolling and didn't need a special tank of mixed gas. It also had a lower spark plug that was darn near impossible to get at to change. I was considering drilling a hole in the lower pan just to get a wrench on it. It was also about 1 mile per hour slower with a top speed at around 6.4 mph. The 2 stroke would push the big deep V at over 7 mph for trolling. The 4 stroke was also pretty loud at certain rpms when the cover would resonate. After a couple hours at that rpm range you would be shaking your head at people trying to talk to you as there was no way you could understand what they were saying unless they shouted.
Now I've got a 9.9 Merc Pro Kicker. I love the electric start and the self centering strap when it is tilted up but it doesn't get my new Tuffy up to 6 mph which may be a problem when I get to trolling up in Ontario. Jury is still out on this one. No 15 HP was available at the dealer when I got it so that is what I had to settle for. I know Merc is coming out with a 15HP Pro Kicker soon but I don't know what the weight difference will be as I heard it will be a different block. This one is quieter and also a little better at the bottom end for walleye fishing.
It just depends on what you are looking to accomplish with the kicker. For me, mounting it on the drivers side was a huge mistake on the deep V. It never winched on the roller trailer straight as it sat so cockeyed in the water. Driving it on was worse. The nice thing was I could sit on the gunnel and was high enough that my legs were straight out. I moved it to the other side when I put the 4 stroke on and it fixed the loading problems. I could sit on the back cover over the battery and oil tank on a cushion while trolling but I was lower and my legs were angled up. You wouldn't think that was so bad but when you trolled in the rain, now your lap was a low spot and soon the water pooled and started running through the zipper on the rain suit. Not good!
Now with the new boat it is still up in the air which side for me. I started with it bolted on the passenger side but with a higher performance hull it seems to be a liability from what I hear. Something to think about for sure.
For a boat your size, I'd think a 9.9 would be OK, but if you could get a 15 for the same price or close, go for it. The gas consumption isn't that much different I'd wager. I also ran props that had bigger blades and lower pitches so the motor could rev higher and get farther into the HP band on the top end. Most 15's I've seen are rated for 6000 to 6500 rpms so you really need to rev them up to get the performance from them.
Last thing to think about is where the tiller handle is. Can you swing it full range without banging your hand into something? That'll get your attention in a hurry when you are trying to make a sharp full speed corner and suddenly it feels like a baseball bat just hit your fingers.
Just some things to think about. You have to do what works for you. |
