Merc 9.9 – 4 stroke kicker too fast

I have an 05 Merc 9.9 hp tiller 4 stroke kicker…I was told its actually a tohatsu dressed up like a Merc. I cannot recall what the prop on it is but it is not the pro kicker model. It is on an Alumacraft Trophy 175. It is for trolling and for back up incase big motor ever lets me down. I can get right around 5 to 5.5 mph gps wide open as a back up..which is ok I guess-I wouldn’t want to give any of that up by re-propping, but currently I cannot get it to troll down slow enough for crawler harness’s. Cranks and Lake Mich trolling is ok. I mainly use an AutoPilot 70pd to troll crawler harness’s and I really like that setup, but last year after a long day the batteries finally wore down too much to continue so I started up the kicker but couldn’t get it down to .9 mph or so and wound up calling it a day . Any thoughts on getting it to slow down some…is there idle adjustments or other ideas. Thanks- Satch

Tie a five gallon bucket to the boat. Acts like a mini drift sock/anchor. They’re cheap too. Drill a few holes in the bottom or you will pull the handle off.

I also think the troll master will give you finer speed increments and allow you to get down that far. I guess yes I look at my kicker as being a back up, but it’s main job is to troll cranks, spinners, etc. So if I could re-prop it or adjust the idle and get the slower speed I was looking for and eed to get the job done, I wouldn’t hesistate to do so. If you lose even 1 mph on the top end big deal. My guess is that you troll with it more than you go WOT with it???? If you want to go fast use the big motor.

There is a 4-blade “sailboat” prop available for your kicker. It looks much like the prop on a T8 yamaha or pro kicker. Sorry, I used to know the number off the top of my head.

Otherwise Jim Carroll and Johnnie Candle advocate their two-bag system.

Tie a rope from front cleat to front cleat under the boat. On this rope put two small bags (30″ give or take) that would deploy roughly under the driver and passenger seat.

This gives phenomenal speed and steering control!!!!

Merc/Tohatsu is a joint venture. IT is NOT a Tohatsu with a Merc sticker!

I have a trollmaster and it will help you make finer adjustments but it won’t make your idle lower. You could also make sure your main motor is tilted all the way down. This will create more drag and slow you down.

Your right Traum.

Also shifting the big motor in and out of gear helps also.