Kicker advice

Hey Guys, need some advice here. Currently run a 16.5ft Alumacraft dominator with a 75hp Yamaha (2stroke) I do a fair bit of trolling but my bow mount doesn’t get fast enough and the 75 only gets down to about 2.9mph but it doesn’t like slow trolling the best. Been somewhat looking for a kicker motor but not really looking. Stopped at a place that deals motors today for something to do and they’ve got a mid 90s 2 stroke merc (15hp pre mix) he wants $1100 for this one. Also has a late 90s 9.9 Yamaha four stroke this one would be about $1200. Yammie has electric start merc does not. I don’t know a whole ton about these smaller outboards. But if I had to choose I’d do the yammie I think. Both would have a 60 day parts and labor warranty and have been inspected and all fluids changed. What’s y’all’s thoughts? Thanks!

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Yamaha

Yamaha would be my choice of motors. But I did 2 separate gas tanks after I added my new 9.9 Yamaha to a boat with an older 2 stroke. I didn’t have a convenient spot for the second tank. But I got by till I bought my new boat with 115 4 stroke. Ideally if you really like the boat and it’s in good shape. I’d save up for the new Yamaha lite 70hp. It’s supose to troll down to slow speed. All done with one motor. 2 motors can crowd and weigh down a transom on a 16.5. If a new motor is not an option. Don’t rule out a 6hp or even smaller. For trolling even a 3 hp would get you a couple mph. With half the weight or less. Right now there have been a lot of 3hp range motors on Craig’s list. Your price range, a lot newer. Good luck.

That merc would be about 77lbs and the Yamaha would be 83lbs. From my research even smaller and newer four strokes would be in that 40-60lb range. I would need to run a external fuel tank also like stevenoak said as I run premix now for the 75hp. I did do some looking on marketplace and Craigslist and there is not much within 75 miles of me.

You could put a smaller prop on your main motor if you know you are going to do a lot of trolling on a given day but keep in mind you will over rev it at full throttle.
That little yammie would be a great motor but do you know the hours on it?
same with the Merc.
In my mind, spend the money on a bigger bow mount and batteries.
And, keep in mind, that little yammie is prone to sticking rings which is no big deal if you run ring free through it once in a while, or open it up and wring it out every couple of hours after trolling for extended periods.

You can buy a brand new 4 stroke tohatsu for that money… I’d recommend a 4 hp for your boat

Buying new is a good idea. The only problem with that is trying to find something that is in stock which is not easy.

I have a 1996 Sylvan Pro Select – 950 lbs per manual. 60 hp 2-stroke Evinrude – not sure weight but say 300 lbs. I have a 9.9 4-stroke Tohatsu that works fine for slow trolling. Recommendation: if you buy new, get electric start. Good luck.

Check these guys out I purchased my new Merc 9.9 Pro Kicker EFI from them cheapest I could find.

OutboardDirect.com

Think those mercs at that vintage are supposed to be excellent (had a 90s 25 that was awesome) Grouse is the guy to ask. Can’t go wrong with Yami though, I now have 2.

AlwaysFishing23 wrote:

Buying new is a good idea. The only problem with that is trying to find something that is in stock which is not easy.

2022 Mercury 4 HP 4MLH Outboard Motor

That ’22 merc is just a tohatsu with a merc cover and a higher price tag.

My tohatsu shipped to my door in a few days. 2c.

FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

That ’22 merc is just a tohatsu with a merc cover and a higher price tag.

My tohatsu shipped to my door in a few days. 2c.

You’re talking a price difference of $41 and one that is in stock and one that isn’t. The point was showing the OP that there are motors in stock.

2022 Tohatsu 4 HP MFS4DDL Outboard Motor

Dang, they went up in price.

Haven’t looked since 2016 when I bought mine. Thanks bdog.

3 dozen small outboards on Minneapolis C.l. couple newer Hondas that looked reasonable. May need to drive a few miles in this market. I sold a 15 Merc last November. Guy drove almost 400 miles round trip to get it.

Looking at a 4hp either a merc or Suzuki both are available locally. Suzuki seems built a little bit better and has over all better reviews so kinda leaning that way. Anyone have a rough guess what a 4hp would push a 16.5ft Alumacraft single console, 1 guy? Was hoping to get 3mph top speed but maybe that’s unrealistic?

Think 3 mph should be doable. My 1850 Alumacraft will do 6mph with 9.9 high thrust Yamaha with the 115 trimmed all the way down. I use it to steer.
I wouldn’t hesitate going Suzuki. They are rising fast over Merc. and even Yamaha in saltwater. Great warranty, and bullet proof reliability. My only concern is I travel a lot fishing. Check dealer support in the areas you fish.

AlwaysFishing23 wrote:

Was hoping to get 3mph top speed but maybe that’s unrealistic

You should be able to hit 3mph going up stream in high current.

Ended up picking up that unit last week and got it out over the weekend. Just under 60lbs it didn’t affect the boat at all. Never know it’s even there. Have little over 3 hours on it now wanted to at least get it partially broke in. So far couldn’t be happier gets down to less than 1mph and top speed of around 5mph. In those 3 hours it ran (broke in per the manual) it burned about 1/3 of a gallon. I was gonna get the external tank setup but they claim 45 min of run time at WOT. Which at trolling speed which is around 1/4 throttle you could easily get a couple hours of run time. So far couldn’t be happier with the purchase. Only thing with this one is it does take a small oil filter which no other smaller outboards take.