WX2000T and 9.9hp Kicker?

Hi all,

I’m considering adding a 9.9hp Yamaha kicker to my WX2000T in order to reduce hours on the big motor plus give me an emergency backup in case something catastrophic happens to the F150 when I’m 15 miles away from camp. Kicker props and lower units are also cheaper to replace than the F150’s when I drive over a boulder in October on Lake of the Woods!

Does anyone run this combo? What kind of forward-trolling performance can I expect? I’m a muskie fisherman so want to be able to run comfortably in the 4-5mph range.

Thanks!

Ben Garver run’s the WX2000T, F-150, and a T-8 on the back and that guy pulls cranks a ton. Hopefully he’ll chime in otherwise shoot him a PM.

Question for ya, what do you get for top speed with your set-up with a two man load? Thanks!

mostly i run in the mid-30mph range at ~4000rpms, which i find to be plenty fast while still getting good gas mileage.

but on those times when i just gotta open it up? with 2 guys, 40 gallons of gas, and a full complement of muskie fishing gear it tops out at 47mph…if it’s just me and half tank of gas i get up to 48.5mph. the load doesn’t really seem to matter very much, that F150 is an awesome motor and i’m just running the stock black stainless steel prop.

it throws a giant rooster tail too, which i find absolutely hilarious in a tiller.

man i love this boat. should be even better with a kicker!

I wanted a kicker because of the number of hours I would accumulate on my big motor. I bought my boat new at the Skeeter Boat Center and this was the first tiller they mounted a kicker on. I was there the day we mounted it and we tried it on both sides. It did not work on the starboard side of the boat because of the right side tiller handle on it. It had to go on the port side. This seemed odd because the handle couldn’t be reached from the drivers seat. We solved this problem by using a connecting rod between the T8 and the F150. We also added a Troll Master. Now I just leave the key in the on position on the F150 to keep the power steering engaged. Both motors steer together and I can easily run the throttle with the Troll Master. It’s an awesome setup that a lot of people want to see, it definately turns a lot of heads. The T8 will push my boat 6mph. I would think you’d have no problem hitting you faster trolling speeds with a 9.9, and I think you can get a different prop as well. I would look at a different prop so your not running it at too high of rpms.

that’s awesome info, Ben, thanks!

i’m especially pleased about the speed you get from the 8hp on this hull and the likelihood i’ll get a tad more from a 9.9hp. i could never get anything much over 5mph from the Merc ProKickers i’ve run on previous boats and that meant it was pretty noisy (even for a four-stroke) since it was running WOT all the time. sounds like i’ll be able to back off the rpms (and volume) some with the T9.9 for normal trolling speeds of ~4mph.

and…since SBC will be getting my business it’s great to hear you already played guinea-pig figuring out how to get it rigged just right!

one thing though…all of the images on the Yamaha website show the tiller handle on the left/port side of the F- and T-series kicker motors. it seems this would be what you’d want when mounting the motor on the right/starboard side of the boat so you could reach it from the driver’s seat? just reach back slightly more? this was how i had my last tiller boat setup with a 90hp Opti and 9.9 ProKicker.

could you post pictures of your setup?

thanks again!

Here’s a picture for you. Lwt me know if you have any questions.

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Here’s a picture for you. Lwt me know if you have any questions.

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great, thanks for posting the picture.

so what was it that prevented you from mounting the kicker on the starboard side? in the picture the handle is on the kicker’s left side and looks like you should have been able to reach it from the driver’s seat without too much trouble. was it too tight to the big motor and thus had limited range if the kicker handle bumped the main cowling?

i’ve never used a kicker that’s tied to the big motor in this way. i assume you’re still able to tilt them separately without having to disconnect the linking bar every time?

The linkage is a strong cable, so its rigid and also has some flexibility. Each end of the connector has a cup that fits on a ball mounted on the main motor and kicker. Similar to the system used to mount the shocks in each compartment. I probably didn’t explain it very well, but I know someone who runs this same setup on a Yar-craft and it works great.

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Here’s a picture for you. Lwt me know if you have any questions.

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great, thanks for posting the picture.

so what was it that prevented you from mounting the kicker on the starboard side? in the picture the handle is on the kicker’s left side and looks like you should have been able to reach it from the driver’s seat without too much trouble. was it too tight to the big motor and thus had limited range if the kicker handle bumped the main cowling?

i’ve never used a kicker that’s tied to the big motor in this way. i assume you’re still able to tilt them separately without having to disconnect the linking bar every time?

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You guessed correctly on why it couldn’t be mounted on the starboard side of the boat. With the sponson’s extending at the rear end it gives you limited space for a kicker. We set it on the starboard side to see how it would work and it just wasn’t an option.

Having the two motors tied together is the only way to go on this setup. They tie together perfectly. The tie bar didn’t need bent in any way to connect them and you don’t have to unhook them to raise or lower motors. The big motor helps improve steering by acting as a rudder. With the power steering it is a breeze to steer. I have my Trollmaster controller attached by my seat with velcro so I can easily move it to my lap or where ever is most covienient. This prevents me from having to reach over and adjust the throtle on the kicker. Another thing I do with this setup is run my Terrova iPilot to steer the boat. I can set the speed on it at 2-3 and then set my Trollmaster. This allows me to use the auto pilot and not have to worry about steering while landing a fish or netting a fish. In really windy conditions using both the big motor and the iPilot together make it very easy to precisly control the boat. I’ve guided several expierenced fishermen and they all seem to really love the setup.

thanks again for all the input, Ben, it’s really helpful in making my decision. i wondered if the sponsons would crowd the kicker a bit. it’ll cost a bit more to rig things with the Trollmaster, but i know they work like a dream so it’ll be a slick setup.

who was it at SBC that rigged it for you? i want to be sure and talk to someone who’s familiar with how to do it.

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who was it at SBC that rigged it for you? i want to be sure and talk to someone who’s familiar with how to do it.

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I worked with Sean. I’m sure he would be involved with rigging yours. I’ve got a friend that is going to be buying a 2000T from them soon. He plans to rig it with the 115 and a 9.9 so the rigging should be fresh in their minds.

As a matter of fact, we will be rigging one just like that with-in the next 2 weeks, so yes it will be fresh in our mind!!

Looks like a great setup. Do you run an advantage on the back also? Does someone build splash guards to fit with both motors hanging on the back.

These 2 didnt have a vantage on them but you can have one installed. Wave Wackers do make splash gaurds that will fit with a kicker and/or vantage or any combo of each!!

Tiller + rooter tail at wot = awesome