Marinaut Kicker Information

[C-Nile]

We put a 9.9 HP, electric-start Tohatsu on our Marinaut, and love the engine. It has been trouble-free thus far. We had our Tohatsu mounted on a Garelick Offshore bracket. Here are our findings.

1) We use the motor only for emergencies, albeit we test it monthly, then let it run dry of fuel. The gas we use contains ethanol, so we use Blue Stabil at storage levels (twice the normal amount) to ensure we keep our fuel healthy.

2) On one level, we don't really like the Garelick bracket anymore. It suffers from the same issues as the Garelick bracket we installed on our CD 16 -- after a year or so, it sticks such that it is a devil of a time to push it down to lower it. I have to perch myself on top of the transom and step on it with all 250 pounds to get it down. On the other hand, we found we don't need to lower the motor. Since our kicker has a long shaft, we like it in the upper position because it will allow for shallow operation.

3) On the down side of not lowering the kicker, we found we could not go more then 1/2 throttle before the prop cavitates, as one would expect, because it is too close to the surface.

4) Speed tests. I think it pushes our boat at approximately 5 mph at 1/2 throttle. In tests against a 2.5 mph river current today, and heading directly into the wind, we were making 2.5 mph at 1/2 throttle. Downriver, we did approximately 8 mph. I was going to do a more formal test, but 9.9 HP is plenty of kicker for what we need -- an auxiliary function. If we lowered the motor bracket deeper, I estimate our top speed on a Marinaut with a kicker running WOT is around 5.5 mph. I would like to lower the motor bracket get the proper lower in the water to provide more empirical information, but it takes too much effort. It would be interesting to see what other people are experiencing.

5) Changing the motor tilt on a Marinaut is extremely difficult unless one climbs on top of the transom, and even then, it takes a lot of physical exertion. For those who intend to use a kicker regularly for fishing, power trim/tilt with a fixed bracket is a good option to choose, in my opinion.

Rich

 

[journey on]

You got the right motor. We use a Honda 9.9 on Journey On which weighs 110 lbs, about 20 lbs more than the Tohatsu. Since we trailer Journey On we put the motor on when we launch and take it off when we haul it out. I cry every time I think of how much lighter the Tohatsu would have been. and we've never used the electric starter.

I'm just too cheap to sell the Honda, take the loss and get a Tohatsu. Both are fine motors.

I'm not sure what Garelick motor mount you have, but I use silicone spray on all the rubbing surfaces, and then, yes, I stand on the handle to push that motor down or just to get it out of the locking slots.

Boris

 

[oldguy83]

I had the same problem, so I removed one of the two springs. It went down five than. JDB

 

[C-Nile]

I had the same problem, so I removed one of the two springs. It went down five than. JDB

Wow, that's so simple, but logical. If I might ask: subjectively speaking, how much force is required to return the motor bracket to its up position -- 20 lbs pull, 40, 60? Even so, I might try lubrication first, but should that fail, your idea seems solid if the amount of force required for the return is not to great.

Rich

 

[oldguy83]

My engine is a two stroke 9.9 @ 70 lbs on the port side of a 1985 Classic. I can stand in front of it and bend over and with one hand, grab the back hand grip and it comes quite easy.

You can always put the spring back or get a lesser, one if one is not enough.
By the way did I mention I'am Eighity three years old. :cry
















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[Jake]

And I assumed oldguy83 meant you graduated from high school in 1983 :lol: I love it when someone comes up with a simple solution to what appears to be a difficult problem. :cigar

 

[C-Nile]

I am pleased to report that a 9.8 HP motor performs excellently on my Marinaut 215. Here are my findings on returning to home port on emergency power over a varied course of 20 miles.
1) I used the aux shallow water drive to get back to the channel
Then I pushed the motor bracket all the way down, set the throttle to 100 percent, and lashed the tiller handle to the Marinaut stern railing
2) I used my main engine as a tiller. It was amazingly responsive. So for me, I don't need linkage to the main motor.
3) The autopilot works well using the main engine as a rudder. I went several miles staying on course.
4) We were traveling between 7.0 and 7.7 mph with the tidal current behind us on the river, and across Long Island Sound, we averaged around 5.5 mph.
5) The engine never came out of the water or cavitated when we hit occasional waves of three feet in Long Island Sound. So the combination of having a long shaft and ability to lower the motor deeply into the water with the Garelick Offshore Bracket was a big benefit. (Yet, this does not interfere with the ability to run the motor in a few inches of water when leaving the bracket in the "up" position.)
6) Upon arriving at the head of the slip at my home port, I sat on the flat, port splashwell as one would sit in a rowboat, and operated the kicker with my right hand while facing forward. I only had to lean slightly to port to see ahead, and executed a perfect docking.
7) A quick plug for Tohatsu: it starts the first time every time. I just love electric start!

Following is a movie of the kicker in action.

Rich

http://www.c-brats.com/modules.php?...ame=gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php

 

[Sunbeam]

...Then I pushed the motor bracket all the way down, ... lashed the tiller handle to the Marinaut stern railing... I used my main engine as a tiller. It was amazingly responsive. So for me, I don't need linkage to the main motor.

Thanks for this entire report, but the above snippet is especially interesting to me. I don't have a linkage between the main and kicker (Honda 8D), and it looks as though the tiller on the Honda (which I would just as soon keep) would make it difficult to fit one. I have run with a small engine locked "straight" and using a sailboat tiller to steer in the past, but didn't know how that might work on our type of boat using the main as the rudder. Of course I'll try it out, but this is good info, gained by real-world experience.

Sunbeam

 

[Jake]

Rich,

Was that 20 mile trip just a test of your backup system or did you have a breakdown of the Honda? Nevermind. Saw your other post. Ouch! Sounds like my kind of luck.

Jake

 

[localboy]

9.9 HP, electric-start Tohatsu

We have the same engine as a kicker. It does always start on the first try, runs perfectly and was the lightest 9.9 I could find. Although I don't "love" anything that can't love me back, I am happy w/ the engine.

 

[C-Nile]

Rich,

Was that 20 mile trip just a test of your backup system or did you have a breakdown of the Honda? Nevermind. Saw your other post. Ouch! Sounds like my kind of luck.

Jake

Hello Jake,

I ran my Marinaut over rocks, and the Honda was rendered unusable (see topic "Fate Is The Hunter"). What really made me very happy was the speed that we traveled (20 miles in 3 hours), that a long shaft motor pushed all the way down did not cavitate and the prop did not come out of the water when hitting 3 foot waves head on, that unlike my CD 16, the main engine used as a tiller was very responsive taking me 99 percent of the way home (even using autopilot at times,) and is very easy to use the tiller handle facing forward to make refined moves such as docking.

Rich

 

[C-Nile]

...Then I pushed the motor bracket all the way down, ... lashed the tiller handle to the Marinaut stern railing... I used my main engine as a tiller. It was amazingly responsive. So for me, I don't need linkage to the main motor.

Thanks for this entire report, but the above snippet is especially interesting to me. I don't have a linkage between the main and kicker (Honda 8D), and it looks as though the tiller on the Honda (which I would just as soon keep) would make it difficult to fit one. I have run with a small engine locked "straight" and using a sailboat tiller to steer in the past, but didn't know how that might work on our type of boat using the main as the rudder. Of course I'll try it out, but this is good info, gained by real-world experience.

Sunbeam

Sunbeam,

I think that the length of our boats really helps in giving us a greater measure of directional control as compared to having a shorter length boat. For fishing or coming back in an emergency, it works well. However, I think direct linkage is better for making tight turns. Even the S1000 autopilot worked well using the main engine as a rudder as it made minute adjustments to keep us on track. It made it less fatiguing. It would be interesting to hear how your boat handles in similar conditions.

Rich

 

[Sunbeam]

It would be interesting to hear how your boat handles in similar conditions.

I'll try to remember to report back after I try it (although hopefully without *exactly* duplicating your scenario).

Speaking of engines, I sure wish my 22 could handle one of those Honda 115's -- what a sweet engine!

Sunbeam

 

[C-Nile]

The Tohatsu 9.8 kicker is a sweet engine. With her push start, she starts first time, every time. And she got me home after I stupidly ran my lower unit over rocks. But a major problem with her occurred this year: her tilt stopper bracket bent on two occasions, preventing us from keeping the engine tilted out of the water. This is particularly an issue for us, because we use a rack storage service. The kicker has to be tilted up for the forklift to get underneath the hull.

I just spoke with my mechanic today, and agree with him that Tohatsu, in all probability, did not intend for the motor to be tilted out of the water most of the time. If they had, they might have engineered a better mechanism. The current design allows the engine to be supported by the stopper at only one point. There exists no locking pin. Personally, if I was engineering that motor, I would have designed it differently. This engine is too heavy to rest on one point.

I think highly of Tohatsu, but if any of you are considering a kicker, get a kicker with an automated trim/tilt to avoid the problem. Whatever you do, make sure the engine has some sort of locking mechanism or robust design, or you will run into the problem I had.

My workaround was to design my own support mechanism, and I have a few ideas for future modifications to go beyond this quick and inexpensive fix as shown in my photo album.

[url=http://www.c-brats.com/module...ts.com/modules.php?set_albumNa ... _album.php

 

[starcrafttom]

take a look at the lock tab of the honda 15. Its just a piece of "L" shaped steel attached to the upper frame and sits on the lower frame. It's attached via a bolt and swings up and out of the way with the flick of a finger. the weight of the motor locks it in place when in the up position. the 15 is electric tilt so you would need a way to lock it in on your motor.

 

[C-Nile]

take a look at the lock tab of the honda 15. Its just a piece of "L" shaped steel attached to the upper frame and sits on the lower frame. It's attached via a bolt and swings up and out of the way with the flick of a finger. the weight of the motor locks it in place when in the up position. the 15 is electric tilt so you would need a way to lock it in on your motor.

I hear you, and there may be a way to efix an "L" brace that can be slid out of the way. Currently, the weight of the motor keeps my PVC pipe in place. I'm thinking about replacing the PVC with iron such that a rubberized yoke is braced against the engine, and the other end attaches to the lower unit reverse lock rod. What would be nice is to attach a second rod to the support to engage the reverse lock tabs on the engine. To deploy the motor, all I would have to do is pull the motor back, which will cause the support to drop to its vertical position. Then the engine reverse lock tabs would engage the second lock rod. We'll see.

I have to go into a slight rant here. Why should I, a customer, have to spend my time to make a product usable that an engineer should have designed better from the beginning? Other manufacturers like Honda do it right, why not Tohatsu? They are the biggest motor manufacturer in the world, and I have to stick PVC pipe into the engine to keep it tilted. As I stated earlier, it is a shame, because they make an otherwise wonderful engine.

Unrelated to boating, I had a situation with a Honda track drive snowblower twenty year's ago. It had tiny skids that made the blower very difficult to use in certain types of snow when the pavement underneath was dry. I heated the skids in order to twist them ninety degrees, attached hardened steel axles with two inch rubber wheels, and she works like a dream. The cutter bar floats about 1/4 inch above the pavement. The difference was night and day. The track drives made today still have steel skids, albeit significantly wider, but I would challenge anyone that my design change is superior to skids for that type of machine. Don't engineers test equipment before they pawn it off to the public? In my opinion, that is the central issue.

Rich