Best kicker for 16' cruiser?

Z

zuunami

New member
We're in negotiations to buy a 16' cruiser, and the seller may want to keep the kicker. Any thoughts on the minimum/perfect horse power kicker for a 16' that will be used on the Pacific Ocean? Not going out far, just offshore (always in sight of land :)
 
some folks can tolerate the vibration and shaking of a single cylinder, some can't. I would look for a 8 hp yamaha (hard to find) or a 8 hp honda ,
 
There was a 6hp Evinrude On Pocket Yacht when I bought her and though it doesn't make her any speed demon, it's more than adequate.

If I were to start from scratch with what I know now:

1. I would make sure both engines used the same type of fuel.
2. I wouldn't go less than 6 hp.
3. I would mount the kicker opposite the helm station for balance.
4. I would make sure my steering connection between the motors was
readily accessible from the cockpit. :wink
 
Not much difference between a 10 hp and a 20 hp when it comes to weight on the back of the boat. Where you see the jump is from a lightweight 6 hp on a small manual lifting bracket with no power trim/tilt to a 10 hp or more on a four stroke safe bracket with powered jack plate with wheel steering and controls, power trim/tilt, battery start/starter, and all the rest. Wish we could buy the old 2 strokes from Yamaha, they had the grunt but were very light. Hope this turns out well for your.
Bob in Nevada
 
thanks everyone! I think the buyer's decided to give up the kicker, so at this point we think we'll stay with that until we know what we want. Don't really want to deal with deciding on a new kicker/bracket, etc. with all of the other things we have to learn as new boat owners with boating experience wayyy in the past :) The current kicker is a Lehr 9.9 propane - not excited about two fuel sources, Lehr is out of business, and haven't seen good reviews on it online, but there's just too many other things to focus on right now :)
 
We're thinking of staying with propane for the kicker - we didn't think we'd like two fuel sources, but we've found a nice squatty 10# propane tank, and like the idea of less fumes when going slowly on the river. Not to mention never needing to de-gas, etc. Now we need to decide between a short shaft and long shaft, and whether we should go with a Tohatsu 5HP or a Mercury (our main motor is a Merc). I kind of like the idea of the white Tohatsu, but it may be blindingly white compared to the boat :) Anyone have any thoughts on the two brands? I haven't really researched this yet, but it's possible that Tohatsu makes the Mercury :)
 
It's my impression that the smaller mercuries and tohatsus are the same, with some cosmetics.

Also, usually the 8 and 10 hp are the same block weight and size,but with a larger carb for the 10. I know tohatsu does that.

Boris
 
Boris,
Tohatsu makes a lot of outboards. They re-label the small ones for Mercury and all previous Nissan and Evinrude (4 strokes). There is absolutely no difference. One line of small outboards that fits a lot of needs, is the 4, 5 and 6 hp. They make them in short, long and extra long shaft. The only difference between the 4, 5 and 6 is the carburetor. They also make this engine in a high thrust version. This is still the same outboard, but with a high thrust prop and a charging connection. The prop and the charging system can both be purchased and added to any of them. The high thrust prop, would be best for pushing a C-Dory at hull speed. I use a 6hp Mercury (Tohatsu), to push my 24' Corsair trimaran sailboat. I replaced the standard prop with a high thrust prop and pushes the boat at hull speed at about 1/3 throttle. The standard prop required 3/4 throttle to achieve the same speed.
The best part of this is that you can buy parts for any of them, under the Tohatsu label and pay less, then buying the same part with Mercury or Evinrude labels on them. You can look any of this stuff up on www.boats.net.
PS, Honda sells their mid range and large outboards under the Honda and the Tohasu (rebadged) names.
 
Steve, do you think the difference in the standard and high thrust prop would be the same on the propane Tohatsu or Mercury motors, and would there be any benefit or drawbacks to a high thrust prop on a 16' cruiser? thanks!
 
The standard prop is designed for a lightweight skiff. Your boat will not plane with this outboard, regardless of the prop. The high thrust prop on your boat for displacement speeds, will be a game changer. Less rpm, less fuel and less noise at much less throttle.
Propeller 8.38in Diameter 6 Pitch R 3 Blade Aluminum Tohatsu
399B645121.
 
The kicker's only going to be used as an emergency "get me home" from one to two miles out in the ocean, then when we want to slowly cruise up and down the Noyo river for photography. Less noise would be nice. So will a high thrust prop really make a difference in those scenarios? thanks again!
 
The standard prop is designed for a lightweight skiff. Your boat will not plane with this outboard, regardless of the prop. The high thrust prop on your boat for displacement speeds, will be a game changer. Less rpm, less fuel and less noise at much less throttle.
Propeller 8.38in Diameter 6 Pitch R 3 Blade Aluminum Tohatsu
399B645121.
 
The Torqeedo does have some more motor noise-so it is more than just wake, water splash--more of high to mid pitched whine.

We found Max speed with the older 1103 to be 2.5 knots with my Caracal 18--both heavier and longer LWL than 16' C Dory. I would expect somewhere in the 3 knot speed for a 16. The problem is the range. With the 16 certainly 5 to 8 miles would be do-able. At slower speed (2 knots) then the range would more than double. A 3.5 hp Merc 2 stroke, will give slightly more speed and of Course almost unlimited range on any of these boats--with the lowest pitch prop available. The newer 1103, has a bit more power and larger batteries, so it might go slightly faster, and with maybe a mile or so more range.
 
Thanks everyone :) Electric is tantalizing, but about $4k with the motor, batteries, cabling, etc - not really what we want to spend right now for a 16 footer that we'll only use a kicker to get us back, or a bit of trolling up the river at high tide. I like the idea of propane (less maintenance, less emissions, etc.), tho the 9.9 that came with the boat takes an inordinate amount of space next to the main 50hp. And, I've posted elsewhere, I'm not too keen on what it takes to do a propane storage locker if we were to get a 5 hp propane Tohatsu or Mercury, with the limited space on a 16'. Although my Captain disagrees :) I'm leaning toward a 6hp gas Tohatsu, or similar Mercury. I'm not sure I want the internal gas tank of the Mercury. I saw some 2020 Mercury 5hp motors online for less than $1k, nor sure how reputable the online dealer is, and not sure the warranty runs with date of manufacture or sale. More research :)
 
We took our Newport electric motor out as a kicker last time out on our 16 just for jollies. We normally use it on the tender (9' inflatable) on our trawler. It is made for saltwater, 36# thrust, weighs nothing, and costs $150. We went into little backwaters with no wind or current and snuck around looking at birds. Worked fine for that use. Probably didn't hit 2 knots, but maneuverability was fine (but slow) and it really is silent. Slow and silent was what we wanted.

This is the smallest of the Newport electrics and doesn't gobble up a Group 24 battery, but we have two 24s onboard the Limpet and could save one as a starter just in case. If you had one of the larger Newports for an actual get home kicker, you would need a much bigger battery.

On our dinghy, we use a Group 27 100Ah deep cycle battery with the Newport as we sometimes sight see in the dinghy for 3 or 4 hours. At 70 pounds, it is a bit of a chore getting it in the dinghy. I have been looking into getting a LiFePo battery to use with the Newport. A 100 Ah lithium with it's own charger would give more usable amps and weigh 24#. That would be a great combination with the Newport. A 200 Ah lithium with a 55# thrust Newport would be a screamer on our dinghy for $800. Probably only 4 knots for 4 hours on a 16.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VY ... UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/FLYPOWER-LifePo4 ... 43&sr=8-11
 
thanks, Marco, but for a kicker to get us home from 1 to 2 miles out in the ocean, not sure this is feasible considering the extra batteries just for a kicker, etc. ?
 
So, I think we're going to sell the Lehr 9.9 propane kicker (just too much to think about a locker, venting,etc.), and get a new Tohatsu or Mercury 5 or 6hp gas kicker. Since fueling in the harbor here is problematic, if nonexistent, we can have two 3- gallon gas tanks and carry them to the boat easily, and change them out between the motors to keep them fresh. And lose some weight. Six gallons total will do what we need.

Can't decide between the Tohatsu, which doesn't have the integrated fuel tank, and the Mercury, which does - I'm really not that keen on having fuel sit in a kicker that won't be used that much? The Mercury costs a bit more, and I know that Tohatsu makes them both. Thinking of the sailpro models with the high thrust prop?

Not any dealers in our area, anyone have any experience with or ideas about buying online from onlineoutboards.com ?

Thanks for any input! :)
 
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