Kicker - 9.9 - 15 - 20 - 25?

[J-GLOBAL]

Contemplating getting a new kicker.
Nothing wrong with the Yammy 9.9, 3 seasons in it runs better now then when it was new.
Having to go 18 miles on my kicker recently, I found the top speed I can get to is 7.3 knots in favorable conditions (no wind)

But thinking about a bigger kicker, maybe a Honda 15 or 20 Power Thrust, or the Yamaha 25 High Thrust.

Not sure how much faster I'll be able to go, but hopefully would be able to run even quieter?
Boat is a Kingfisher 2825, so not that heavy, maybe 7,000 lbs. loaded.

Yamaha 25HT = 201 lbs

Honda 15 or 20 = 110 lbs.

Was kinda thinking Honda 20 because of the HP/Weight.

Anyone have any experience moving up from an 8 or 9.9 to a 15/20/25?

 

[AlK]

My understanding is that unless the boat has enough power to get on plane the boat is limited to hull speed.

 

[salmon slayer]

AIK is right. Hull speed is all your going to get if you don't get on plane. Bigger kicker will burn more fuel and that's about it.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[TenMile]

I had a Tohatsu 20 on my 9000 lb Bayliner 288 and max I was able to get was hull speed ~ 6.5kts. You need an order of magnitude more horsepower to get the boat past hull speed. You can calculate the maximum hull speed you can achieve by the square root of the waterline of your boat x 1.34 -- so yours will be between 6.5-7kts max without the boat starting to push the bow wave.

 

[pescador]

I agree you will never get on plane and are restricted by physics in terms of max speed, but, will a 20HP motor versus a 9.9 not generate more torque therefore providing a more consistent level of forward force (less work effort on motor better directional momentum)?

 

[trendsetter]

I agree you will never get on plane and are restricted by physics in terms of max speed, but, will a 20HP motor versus a 9.9 not generate more torque therefore providing a more consistent level of forward force (less work effort on motor better directional momentum)?

The 20hp might develop more thrust with the correct prop but the maximum speed will not change. Neither motor is strong enough to push through displacement speed so the only benefit of the larger motor would be more power available at slower speeds. If the 9.9 is good enough for trolling and pushes the boat up to 7 mph then there is little to no benefit in buying a larger kicker.

 

[JAC]

The larger kicker may get you more speed in worse conditions then the 9.9. You are limited to the speed of the hull which is all about length of hull and design the displacement speed. 7.3knots with a kicker is really good

 

[TenMile]

The larger kicker may get you more speed in worse conditions then the 9.9. You are limited to the speed of the hull which is all about length of hull and design the displacement speed. 7.3knots with a kicker is really good

Yes, there's that (more throttle left to generate more push), plus the larger engine can generate more thrust for turning the boat -- that's why I went with a 20hp on mine as the flybridge created a big wind profile on the boat so on windy days it was difficult to manage and the 20HP could get it turned.

 

[spring fever]

Just to add my 2 cents-hull speed is all you can get-however on my Orca I can get hull speed in reasonable conditions with a 9.9 high thrust yammi (2003-detuned 15hp) but in rough conditions I cannot get hull speed. If I was to replace my 9.9 this year I would look at minimum 15 hp and probably have a hard look at a 20 tohatsu. All up on my boat loaded is around 8000.

 

[trophywife]

i have a 20 on my kingfisher.. pushes consistently at 7mph.. steers alot bettter now with more thrust

 

[Fisherman Rob]

Does more horsepower mean that you have less fine control at low speed? For instance, assuming ideal fishing conditions , if the 9.9 gets you hull speed (say 7knots) closer to max rpm, while the 20 gets you to hull speed at 1/4 rpm, doesn't the 20 reduce your ability to feather your trolling speed at around 3 knots because your dealing with tiny throttle adjustments?

 

[J-GLOBAL]

Does more horsepower mean that you have less fine control at low speed? For instance, assuming ideal fishing conditions , if the 9.9 gets you hull speed (say 7knots) closer to max rpm, while the 20 gets you to hull speed at 1/4 rpm, doesn't the 20 reduce your ability to feather your trolling speed at around 3 knots because your dealing with tiny throttle adjustments?

That's a great question, hadn't thought about that. I like to be able to troll down as low as 1.8 knots. Wonder what the lowest troll speed possible would be with a larger HT or PT kicker?

 

[tubber]

My buddy has a 9.9 on his 28" Lifetimer. Only once was it not strong enough to handle the wind and swell, so we trolled on the main. The lesson was that the weather was miserable and a 20hp kicker would not have changed it, so why were we out there getting beat up when limits were waiting the next day?

 

[FisherTim]

I don't think you have to worry about achieving a slow enough speed. I Fish a 16' boat with a 50HP Yammie, at 700RPM, I am in the perfect slow troll, 900 is a fast. I guarantee that if I can get slow enough in a 1200lb boat with a 50, you can slow down enough in a 7000lb Kingfisher with half the HP.

Bigger engines(to a point) are also usually quieter, even if I had a 9.9, 8, or 5hp kicker, I would troll on the main because of noise. Also It's nice to have that extra bit of punch when you need it(Currents, winds, etc.).

 

[barrie]

I had the same "slow boat" ride with my Yammie 8HT From Beale to Bamfield. Good conditions but it got me thinking what if........? So I was looking at a Suzuki 20 , what's the difference between Tohatsu 20 , Suzuki 20 and the Merc Prokicker 15. Ya I know one is 15 and the others are 20. What's it like fishing with the 20 non high thrust?

 

[Sculpin]

We are talking about thrust and power which will equal better control of the vessel at said speeds. We are not worried about vessel speed. This includes nasty weather and the extra power will help with that for sure bucking a nasty rip tide or in the swell.

I'm going to replace my old 9.9 Honda really soon with a 15 or 20 hp kicker. My boat is 23' with the pod makes her 25' and she weighs in around 4800 lbs loaded up.

I want the extra umpffff when she needs it. My 9.9 barely makes 7 mph topped out. The trolling speed thing with a larger kicker is not going to matter with the horsepower difference we are talking about. Yes, you can troll at 1.8 mph with anything up to quite a bit larger horsepower of an engine.

I would go as big as you can afford on a boat of that size. JMO.

Cheers,
John

 

[dmurph]

I just switched from a 9.9 to a 15. My boat is 6500 or so all loaded up maybe more. My thinking was it will handle better in the current and wind and hopefully run a much lower rpm to achieve what the 9.9 did, thus less noise. Have yet to try it out as it's all getting rigged right now. My friend just put a 15pro kicker on his 20000 lbs boat and he got his hull speed no problem, just over 7 knots. Excited to see the difference

 

[Fish Camp]

Anyone with a PCOC can operate a unlicenced tender you may have along with 9.9 or less.

 

[BigHog]

I had a Yami 9.9 on my 232 Grady and it was fine. Just upgraded to a bigger boat and bought a Merc Prokicker 15. More thrust, an oil filter and 12 amp alternator. The 9.9 had no oil filter and a 6 amp alternator. Merc weighs about 130.

 

[777]

My boat (22 Seasport) came with a 30 hp 2001 Johnson (absolutely awful motor). As everyone says, it pushed it at the same speed as my current motor - 9.8 tohatsu. I noticed a big difference in my my ability to get the speed I wanted when trolling on the 30 hp. It would jump from 1.7 to 2.5, and there was no middle ground, where as with my 9.8 I can hit any speed i want. I have had some problems making turns in the amount of space that I wanted in big currents with my 9.8. though.