16' kicker 5 or 8

W

Wheeler Dealer

New member
When I bought the Denebola :star. I kept my 9.8 Merc. cuz it's been a great motor for me. I think now that I want to go with the 4stroke so I don't have to mess with another gas tank & oil mixing. (probably look good with the silver & silver combo too)

I need some input from you 16' CDers. Will the 5hsp. Honda push okay or do I need the 8hsp.?

I'm thinking that with the heavy tidal flows and Columbia river I can just idle down my main, and the switch to the kicker for slack, down current, lakes ect...

All input welcome :D. Jon
 
Hi Jon,

A 5-hp motor is sufficient to push the CD16; the speed difference between a 5hp engine and an 8hp engine will be very slight. What the 8hp engine would give you (since they're all 2-cylinder engines versus single cylinders on the current 4/5/6 offerings (the Yamaha 6 being an exception...it's a detuned 8 )) is a smoother and quieter engine and you'd have a bit of reserve horsepower. This won't help you 'fight' the current as you're limited by speed through the water (in other words, if 6 knots is your top speed with the kicker, it's going to be 6 knots through the water whether you're in still water or pushing against a 3 knot current; the ground speed will sure change though!); however, it will give you some extra power to push into the wind or waves.

If you're going to primarily use the engine on the Columbia the Honda BF5 is probably ok; I personally don't recommend it for saltwater use.

I think, on a small boat, that keeping 'extra' weight out of the stern is always better for a balanced ride. The more you shift the center of balance to the rear of a planing hull the more the ride changes from a teeter-totter motion to a fly-swatter motion (like too many bricks in the trunk of the car); the bow wants to bounce up and down with every little wave. However, the 20 pounds or so difference between a BF8 and a BF5 is not really a big deal on a CD16 unless there's aleady too much stuff in the stern. The BF8 will be able to run at lower rpm (quieter and easier on the engine), it will be smoother, it will keep a higher resale value (percentage-wise) and will fit on a larger boat if you ever decide that's the next step (it's typically the 'kicker of choice' on a CD22), and its got a 20+ year history. The price difference isn't huge either (here it's $200). So unless you're really concerned about the extra weight, I think the BF8 is a better choice than the BF5.

EDIT...I was referring primarily to the BF8A Classic in the above with regard to weight difference (which I corrected above) and money. The BF8A Classic is the 7.5/10/8 that Honda has been building for so many years. It's only available in a manual (rope) start version, weighs about 78 pounds (dry) and has a 6-amp alternator (the 12-amp is only on the new "D" model with electric start).
 
Wheeler Dealer":3lthv4vb said:
I need some input from you 16' CDers. Will the 5hsp. Honda push okay or do I need the 8hsp.?
Click to expand...
The 5HP is a single, and the 8/9.9 are twins. Given how much smoother running the twins are, that would be reason enough for me to choose them...

On edit...Les beat me to it, and as usual, put it much more eloquently... :lol:

On edit again...Just looked at the Honda web site - there's also a big difference in charging capacity between the 5 and 8/9.9.

On the 5, there's an optional 3 amp alternator.

On the 8/9.9, the included alternator puts out 6 amps@1000 RPM, 12 amps@3000 RPM. This might be another good reason to go for 8/9.9; most 16's I've seen have a single battery, and it would be nice to keep it juiced up when trolling for extended periods of time.

Honda specification links: BF5HP and BF8/9.9HP
 
Thanks Les & Bill,

Les: Why do you not recommend the 5 hsp for salt water. I was ready to go for the 5 until you said that :shock:.

Also, Weight can be a factor, most of the time it's just the lovely Terrie and I but when the salmon are in I'll probably end up with an extra rod or two. With the 16' every lb. count's.

Also on price, I can get a new 2003, 5 hsp model with a long shaft here for $1299. The cheapest I could find an 8 classic was $1772.

Also, My dealer says I have to have a long shaft if I want to just mount this on the transom. What's your take?

Bill: Thanks for the links to the specs. very informative :thup.
 
Our 16 Cruiser is even more butt heavy than your 16 Angler as our seating is over 2' further aft. I don't think the lateral trim of our boat would take a kicker on the starboard side unless I never sit on that side.

Since we're an open cabin I'm thinking of moving the fuel or battery forward. Probably the battery to avoid even any tiny fuel leaks when changing tanks.

-- Chuck
 
Chuck,

I have the battery starboard/aft with the two 6gal. gas tanks evenly distributed. I am thinking I will carry the kicker on the port side. With a new kicker they usually give the 3gal. tank, so I will just pull out one of the 6gals. and put in the 3gal. to port. to run the kicker when we are just fishing. Because we fish here in the bays, we never have a long run to the fish. Carrying the kicker port will also be a good balance when I'm out alone.

I drove a 16' cruiser and it's amazing how that 2' seating difference makes the boat respond. With two of us on our angler, I don't even have to trim out on hole shots. She just pops right up and goes 8).

Hope to hear from Les on that saltwater / 5hsp question as I want to go get a kicker today while the dealers are open and I'm not tied to a desk.

Jon
 
I put the Honda SST hydrofoil on our outboard and she keeps the bow down nicely. Really need trim tabs for lateral trim, but I doubt I'll do this on a 16 footer.

Our swim step is to port. No kicker.

-- Chuck
 
I went down to my CD dealer and talked him in to letting me take a 5 hsp. down to the coast so I can put on the Denebola :star and see if there is the room I need for a port mounting. Nice little motor and has a shorter than usual tiller which should be a good thing. It does run a bit shakier than the 8 hsp. but for $500 less than a 2004 8 hsp. and 20 lbs. less weight, I'm hopin' it's the ticket.

There is still that lingering statement from Les about saltwater dancing in the back of my mind. Don't have to have it back til' Tuesday, so maybe I'll get some more feedback.

Anyone else have one of these 5 hsp. Hondas out there?
 
WD. I was waiting for Les to chirp in but I can tell you I remember him posting his opinion regarding the 5HP Honda on a much earlier thread last year on the other site. Could have been the Tech site. I took a look around earlier this morning trying to find it with no luck. I remember him describing a significant problem with corrosion and rust in a place that was not easy or impossible to mitigate. If I remember correctly, he discovered this problem when working on a 5 hp and encountered the same problem on other engines. Thats all I can remember. Tim
 
Tim,

Thanks for taking time to look for the thread. Hopefully Les will be able to chime back in on this. I talked with the mechanics at the dealership and they did not seem to have any problems with the 5. I asked in a way that would have given them and the salesperson a chance to up-sell the 8, but they said the 5 was a great motor and thought highly of pushing my 16' with it. I liked what I saw with the 5 and it has all of the features you would want on a kicker. Started first pull out of the box without choke too :thup.

I'll head down to try it on the boat tomorrow or Monday and maybe Les will respond during that time :clock.

Thanks again. Jon
 
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