Prop guard issue

W

Wooly

Active Member
So i went to talk to the local marine shop about throwing on a prop guard on my kicker The guy who is very knowledgeable kind of talked me out of it saying that they may cause problems like cavitation etc..... anyone know anything about the guards? are they worth it? I nicked my d rigger line last time I was out trolling in 25 mph winds. So i figured the guard would somewhat prevent that in future. any advice would be great.

Thanks,

Wooly
 
Some will say there is a risk of jamming wood debris in there causing more damage than the price of an occasional rigger ball and downrigger cable. My kicker is very close to the starboard side and I'm thinking I should have one as well.
 
Do it, cheap insurance, ever had a cable wrap around?
You don't want to be hanging over cutting it loose........trust me!
Tim
 
Its worth the $80 in my opinion. At trolling speeds it won't make any difference at all. If you take your motor off and put it on a small boat that you might go WOT with then you need to remove it, but even that isn't a big deal 2 wrenches and 5 mins done deal....
 
Also I was told to use the Aluminum prop guard rather than the stainless. The aluminum was not only cheaper, but apparently the stainless prop guards cause the zincs on your motor to corrode more quickly. That i can't prove, just what I was told, and frankly it was 60-70 bucks cheaper so I was happy.
 
burnsy22 said:
Also I was told to use the Aluminum prop guard rather than the stainless. The aluminum was not only cheaper, but apparently the stainless prop guards cause the zincs on your motor to corrode more quickly. That i can't prove, just what I was told, and frankly it was 60-70 bucks cheaper so I was happy.
Click to expand...

I don't see this as much of an issue, the average kicker is not immersed in sea water long enough to make a big difference even if this is true.

I've had a stainless prop guard on my kicker for 6 or 7 years and haven't needed to put on a new zinc yet. The zinc still looks fine.
 
Had my present boat for 21 years and never had a prop guard on the kicker. Have had the downrigger cable get in there a couple of times in the first few years but you learn to turn slower when that direction pulls the line in close to the kicker side of the boat. Guys who have had them and got rid of them did so because of the wood debris jamming in there and busting out chunks of cav plate. Another tip....troll with the shut down main engine in gear so the prop doesn't spin as you troll. That way any line that gets into that prop won't wrap up, you can just lift the leg and pull the line off of it.
 
Have had a prop guard on my kickers forever! If you look at my kicker you can see wire marks all over the leg-really quite scary!! I wouldn't be without one-alum or stainless doesn't matter-what matters is to get the 3 point fastening system rather than 2 point-I have seen problems with alignment with the 2 point.
 
Most people who fish with kickers have guards on. We can't all be wrong. I've never had an issue with cavitation and at the speeds we run out I'd doubt it would ever happen. As others have said, the risks of cable fouling in your prop is high in rough water and worth the installation alone. I've got one on my 8HP Yam HT and have never found it cause any disadvantage whatsoever.
 
pescador said:
Most people who fish with kickers have guards on. We can't all be wrong. I've never had an issue with cavitation and at the speeds we run out I'd doubt it would ever happen. As others have said, the risks of cable fouling in your prop is high in rough water and worth the installation alone. I've got one on my 8HP Yam HT and have never found it cause any disadvantage whatsoever.
Click to expand...

X 2
I installed a prop guard on my Yam 8 HT after I lost some cable and a cannon ball.:mad:
 
Got one and love it. But then my kicker is on the far outside corner, the riggers are mounted fairly far forward, I like to make sharp tight turns, use braid on that side; use 20lb balls and therefor not always fully extended on the rigger boom; all great reasons for a prop guard.

Once put a piece of wood through it and we had to hammer out a slightly bent prop blade with a rubber mallet but otherwise it has been great and may have had that problem even without it.
 
Prop guard yes or no

I will be installing a kicker on my boat for the first time soon...I am on the fence about a prop guard for $80 to $100

Any current up to date experiences on this

Thanks
 
Mine has lots of scrapes on it where the down rigger lines would have otherwise wound themselves around the prop. No question in my mind about their value.
 
I still don't use one. I have secondary downrigger mounts that are on the stern corners which keeps the cables way behind the engines. In winter when fishing deeper depths I can use the stern mount locations. In summer I move them back up forward .
 
I love them,peace of mind when turning sharp in fast tides or fishing deep. Still waiting for sculpin to start building them...
 
Wife turned too sharp lost 200ft of downrigger braid, snubber and weight....put on a prop guard and no more lost gear, cheaper than a new wife.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
17.2 double eagle prop selection
Replies
8
Views
938
seabeyond
S
Macdeep
Prop Advice for Merc EFI 115 on Malibu 182
Replies
34
Views
2K
Macdeep
Macdeep
Hexxen
My first Boat!
Replies
31
Views
3K
BC Coast Pilot
BC Coast Pilot
Wondermur
prop advice Yamaha F225
Replies
13
Views
3K
brutus
brutus
smokedvw
Determining my next boat and looking for help (17' DE/Hurston, 185 DE, Campion 542, Hewes Sea Runner 180 etc)
Replies
17
Views
4K
Aces
Aces
Back
Top