6HP KICKER FOR 18" glass BOAT?

[Natepolean]

Do you guys think I can get away with a 6hp high thrust 4 stroke for Campion 542? it's an 18.5" boat with 150hp main. I was intrigued by Tohatsu sail pro 6hp which seems to get very good reviews with the sailing community. It comes in XL with charging which is what I need. 30 lbs lighter and half the cost of a Yamaha 9.9.

 

[scott craven]

I think you may get away with an 8hp high thrust , 6 hp will likely be too small and revving too high

 

[RiverBoy]

i think that 6 hp will be revved pretty high in order to achieve an appropriate troll speed of 2.5-3 mph.
even more if you’re trolling classic plugs.

it will be buzzing and hard to chat etc

 

[zurk]

I have a Kingfisher 1825. My tohatsu 6HP sailpro does 6mph at WOT. 2-3mph at roughly 40% throttle at its fairly quiet at that speed.i have doel fins to prevent ventilation.

 

[SpringVelocity]

I have a T8 on my 185 malibu and its overkill. I am also fishing sometimes in heavy current. Where are you fishing out of? To be honest your probably fine since it is a high thrust.

The high thrust are loud anyway.

 

[o8andholding]

If the six horse is only one cylinder I would definitely go with an eight . I have a 15 foot Arima with a six horse Suzuki and power isn’t an issue but noise sure is .
Two cylinders would certainly be a lot more relaxing .

 

[ratherbefishing]

Avoid the 6 as it's a single. It'll vibrate and make more noise than the twin. I thought I was saving money but in the end it wasn't worth it.

 

[spring time]

Go with the bigger one remember it is also a spare in case something happens to your main motor

 

[the butcher]

I wouldn't do a 6. It may work but I think if your in a fast current you may struggle. You may very likely wish you had an 8 or a 9.9 after you buy the 6 but that's just my opinion.

 

[Rockfish]

I would look for a good used Yami T8 or even a good T9.9. Get the tiller model with manual tilt if you are concerned about weight. I am not sure they still make the T8 so it may have to be used. It is not just trolling in low current conditions, it is what can happen if you fish in high current areas like many of us and the main won't run for some reason and you are into a strong current and strong on coming wind/waves/rips and going backwards at full throttle on the 6. One of my buddies has a T8 kicker on his DE 16 and it is not over powered, especially on south VI with the currents we get in places. I have a yami T9.9 on my somewhat bigger boat and there are the odd times and locations where it will not push it forward against the ultra strong current, even at almost full throttle.

 

[the butcher]

Do you guys think I can get away with a 6hp high thrust 4 stroke for Campion 542? it's an 18.5" boat with 150hp main. I was intrigued by Tohatsu sail pro 6hp which seems to get very good reviews with the sailing community. It comes in XL with charging which is what I need. 30 lbs lighter and half the cost of a Yamaha 9.9.

have you made a decision?

 

[Fisherman Rob]

I think your 542 is possibly bit heavier, but for comparison I have a 6hp yammie on my DE 176 and it's fine. I think it was the last year the 6 was a two cylinder (2006?) so it's very quiet and smooth. Previously I had a 1996 9.9 high thrust that the cooling system corroded up on. In some ways the 6 is actually better because it gives me more control of troll speed. With the 9.9 I was always fiddling with the speed with very small increments of low RPM. The 6 gives more range to play with. Even trolling in strong current I am still only using the bottom 30-40% RPM. And as a back up for the main it still pushes the boat to hull speed as the 9.9 did. Prop on the 6 looks pretty wimpy compared to the old 9.9 high thrust though .

 

[Natepolean]

I decided to go with 9.9 after watching some videos of the one cylinder 6hp running, it's definitely louder. Now I need to decide between getting an used yamaha 9.9 or a new Tohatsu EFI 9.9. Suzuki unfortunately doesn't make extra long leg 9.9 EFI in canada. Used 9.9 would be half the price of a new 9.9. Do you guys think new EFI is worth it?

 

[nicnat]

I have a 6hp 4stroke for a kicker on my 17.5 alum. it works fine but I just use it for emergency back up power, If I was planning to troll with it I would have bought a 2 banger for a smoother quieter experience, I bought my 6hp new 5 years ago and it has less than 2 hours on it, lol. I am mostly fishing the cap or mouth of the fraser so with the currents etc I want my main for power. definitely if you plan to use it a fair bit go with an 8 or 9.9, if just for back up the 6 is fine

 

[beemer]

get a 2 banger