advice

Island Fish Lifter

Island Fish Lifter

Well-Known Member
Im rebuilding my transom to accomodate my twin 250 suzukis. Today I removed both mains and my 9.9 kicker. Im considerind not reinstalling my 9.9. and just using one of my mains to troll with... oh, yea, I guide so I will rack up the hours, however trolling hours mostly dont mean **** as far as wear goes, mostly affects resale.. which I dont care about. I think I answered my own question. Anyone wanna buy a 9.9 yamaha? All riggin included, used for one season.

nootkalasttrip015.jpg
 
Do you really want to troll with a expensive motor. I see lots of twins with a kicker on.
 
Im not sure Will. I find its generally not enough power, especially offshore, so Im using one of the mains almost half the time now. Also, the things really heavy and I really dont need that extra weight back there. The Suzukis are over 600 lbs each as it is. When I troll with the 9.9, im usually using about 3/4 throttle, so I dont think the fuel economy is an issue.
Having said all that, and having some time to think about it, I dont think Im gonna sell it right now.

nootkalasttrip015.jpg
 
Good idea . You can sell the 9.9 later.We have a cabin in canoe pass and we get alot of use out of the tin boat. They are not hard to sell.Cheap to run and the big (Adults) and small kids have alot of fun. Thanks Willyd
 
canoe pass, Id love to have a place there. I remember as a Kid going to the cabin called the high five with my dad. Someday Ill find one to buy into or something...

nootkalasttrip015.jpg
 
quote:Originally posted by richmake

I've got a grady with twin 225 Zukes on the back
Absolutley do not mount that kicker...call me and I'll fill you in...

www.coastwidesportsfishing.com
Click to expand...

If you have an older Grady, those transoms are NOT meant for the weight of a 4 strokes---most boats aren't for that matter. Run the heck out of them with 2 strokes in any water, but you're not designed for that weight sitting on there all the time.

Also, the talk about racking up hours on larger 4 strokes doesn't mean too much--there are severe duty four strokes being run a lot harder than that.

You have twins, it'll take forever to put tons of hours on those before they're toast. Even if you put 100 hours on your mains a year, that'll be 20 years of use..and you won't require too much maintenance other than oil changes. Fish 50 days averaging 10 hours a day (that's lots of fishing) means 250 hours each engine after a season. 250 hours each engine x 10 years is 2500 hours each.

Assuming you're not running with the throttles pinned forward all the time, that should be a realistic lifespan.

I know of a few people who had risers and manifolds on I/O screw up with less than 1000 hours on the main. A couple of cracks on the manifold/riser and the next thing your cylinders are ingesting salt water....and then bye bye engine.

Treat your engines well and they'll treat you well.

There are many benefits to running on a main, it keeps your batteries charged, you have more control, more consistent trolling speeds and it allows you to get the hours out of the engine before corrosion, age and mishaps put you out of pocket.

:)

FM.
 
Fishin Magician,
Grady won't support the weight of 4 strokes on some of the older hulls, your right.
I will tell you this though....
Any reliable marine architect and surveyor will pass it everytime and most importantly, my insurance and Tranport canada both gave the boat the thumbs up....
The difference of weight is minimal and you are not carrying 2 huge oil resovoirs in the rear full all the time cause your 2 stroke burns a ton...
I put my rig through the **** the past 2 years and it handles/rides unbelievable with the 4 strokes...
You can say the same for numerous old hulls...the 4 strokes just weren't around when the older hulls were made.
To show you how stupid the reasoning is for Grady not supporting it, desine has nothing to do with it, it's all about liability...
The hulls are desined in the U.S.A and they won't support anything to do with hull modification in Canada...
I phoned them up about 4 years ago and I told them I was going to put twin 4 strokes on and they said they can't support it unless they are 2 strokes.
I said O.K....how about 2 strokes and a kicker on the back....the guy said I don't see why not...
Are you kidding me....resovoirs and a 4 stroke 150lb kicker but no twin 4 strokes....
I think it's more important to make sure your bracket(Grady Drive)
is in top shape.
Here's another point...
You can't run a boat my size properly while guiding a kicker unless you have a TR-1 or equivalent.
The boats are just to big to manuvere properly from the stern and the easy steer system will cause you nothing but greif...
You troll one day with those twins and you'll never go back...they burn no fuel and you will actually have to speed them up at times to troll properly....

www.coastwidesportsfishing.com
 
i've got a 27 grady sailfish i use my 9.9 every day and i'm in the worst s**t posible never had a problem and it tracks perfect rather buy a new kicker every 4 years than put the hours on my mains.
I've tried trolling on my mains hated it i run my boat from the back helm while fishing so with the main i can't slow down or speed up.
 
quote:Originally posted by richmake

Fishin Magician,
Grady won't support the weight of 4 strokes on some of the older hulls, your right.
I will tell you this though....
Any reliable marine architect and surveyor will pass it everytime and most importantly, my insurance and Tranport canada both gave the boat the thumbs up....
The difference of weight is minimal and you are not carrying 2 huge oil resovoirs in the rear full all the time cause your 2 stroke burns a ton...
I put my rig through the **** the past 2 years and it handles/rides unbelievable with the 4 strokes...
You can say the same for numerous old hulls...the 4 strokes just weren't around when the older hulls were made.
To show you how stupid the reasoning is for Grady not supporting it, desine has nothing to do with it, it's all about liability...
The hulls are desined in the U.S.A and they won't support anything to do with hull modification in Canada...
I phoned them up about 4 years ago and I told them I was going to put twin 4 strokes on and they said they can't support it unless they are 2 strokes.
I said O.K....how about 2 strokes and a kicker on the back....the guy said I don't see why not...
Are you kidding me....resovoirs and a 4 stroke 150lb kicker but no twin 4 strokes....
I think it's more important to make sure your bracket(Grady Drive)
is in top shape.
Here's another point...
You can't run a boat my size properly while guiding a kicker unless you have a TR-1 or equivalent.
The boats are just to big to manuvere properly from the stern and the easy steer system will cause you nothing but greif...
You troll one day with those twins and you'll never go back...they burn no fuel and you will actually have to speed them up at times to troll properly....

www.coastwidesportsfishing.com
Click to expand...

Agreed on trolling with the mains..and yes, your transom/grady drive better be in top notch shape.

However, there are structural differences. www.greatgrady.com is a great website...and dependent on the model...it makes a difference. For example, there is a big difference between running F350 Yamahas and F250s.

Anyways, I'm sure he'll love his 250's.
 
quote:Originally posted by bananas

i've got a 27 grady sailfish i use my 9.9 every day and i'm in the worst s**t posible never had a problem and it tracks perfect rather buy a new kicker every 4 years than put the hours on my mains.
I've tried trolling on my mains hated it i run my boat from the back helm while fishing so with the main i can't slow down or speed up.
Click to expand...

I hear what you're saying Bananas...as a "pro" a kicker makes much more sense for you than it does for the average sporty.

Given your circumstance, I'd run the kicker, however different boats, different people, different thinking, different abilities, etc etc etc definitely leave things up to interpretation.

I cringe at the guys dropping $4-5K on a new kicker only to put 300 hours on it in 3-4 years. $4-5 K over 4 years in an investment makes big $$$, not to mention the depreciation you end up eating because of the aging kicker.

Anyways, if he's not guiding, he's probably making a wise move by running the mains.
 
If your running 2 stroke mains...you won't be able to slow down to troll without issues and they won't speed up well either...
They will also smoke the **** out of your clients...
I personally like watching everyone in the pooring rain sit on the rear of the boat for hours steering that stupid long arm off a kicker...
I prefer the comforts of the hardtop, heater, etc...

www.coastwidesportsfishing.com
 
I have my kicker rigged up pretty well, It charges my 4D house battery which runs the riggers, inverter etc... not a big deal though to swap around the wiring. Its a power tilt high thrust, great charging system too. Oh yea, I do guide, but this year, as well as last will be another offshore year and the 9.9 is not enough power out there bucking the wind so I use the mains out there anyway. I guess what it comes down to for me is im getting my transom rebuilt and I dont want to drill the holes for the kicker if I dont have to. Lots of pros and cons on this topic.

nootkalasttrip015.jpg
 
True enough...lot's of opinions on this one.
Early on..4 stroke kickers were the norm, and for good reason.
But with the eventual edvancement of the large 4 stroke...they just simply aren't needed overall.
Out of about 10 guy's I know, only one uses his kicker anymore but he has it set up with a TR-1...


www.coastwidesportsfishing.com
 
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