6 HP kicker for Venture 26?

T

teedidy

New member
Hello C-Brats, First of all I wanted to say hello as I am a newbie on your site. I have spent countless hours doing research on a 26 Venture and was unable to find a specific answer. So here goes.

For the purpose of fishing specifically for trolling (Assume WestPort WA with a stiff breeze)(Assume fastest speed required for trolling for any type of fish under 6 MPH), what is the smallest kicker that would be effective for a new Venture 26? I see that most people that have kickers use a 9.9hp, but the 110# is not likely to fit well on any dinghy. I have found that a Honda 6HP comes in at 63# and is able to fit on a 7'6" Zodiac (just using the Zodiac as a reference, it could be any dinghy that can handle 60#) Is the 6HP Honda going to work or am I likely to be disappointed by its performance? I know everything is a trade off, which is why I am trying to find which way the scale tips.

Thanks for any responses. I did try to research this previously and was not able to find an answer for the CD25/CD26. If I missed a prior post kindly direct me to it. Thanks everyone.

-T
 
Welcome aboard!

Can you use a short shaft? (I have on my 22's and 25's, and used a 3.5 hp as a kicker). The best kicker is a long shaft 8 to 9 hp high thrust. A 6 hp will do for 95% plus of your trolling needs--if you want to go faster than 4 knots then use the main engine.

A 6 hP would be a lot of engine for a 7'6" dinghy--Yes, you could put it on there. We usually use our small dinghies (and mine is 9'4") with small motors, unless wanting to plane. I agree with keeping the engines small. A 6 hp would plane my air floor dinghy with one person--and marginal with 2 people. The Zodiac 7'7" air floor is rated for no more than 4 hp-(and 60#). I would not be comfortable with 6 hp on that dinghy..and especially not with a long shaft. I am old and have back problems, so I try and keep dinghy weight down about 30# or less.
 
I've seen a huge number of boats trolling here on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. I don't think I've ever seen a 26 foot boat being pushed by a 6 hp kicker. With wave and current action, that small a motor will be pushed very hard most of the time. And the single cylinder motors vibrate terribly compared to the twin cylinder kickers. Over 20 feet the smallest I've seen is 9.9. Mid 20's will often have 15's.
 
I've seen a huge number of boats trolling here on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. I don't think I've ever seen a 26 foot boat being pushed by a 6 hp kicker. With wave and current action, that small a motor will be pushed very hard most of the time. And the single cylinder motors vibrate terribly compared to the twin cylinder kickers. Over 20 feet the smallest I've seen is 9.9. Mid 20's will often have 15's.
 
thataway and Saxe Point thank you for your responses. Perhaps I could ask another question. If as thataway said I could do "95% plus of your trolling needs"(thataway) of the trolling with a 6 HP. How well do the Honda 200/175 do at trolling above 4 MPH? (if that is the max of the 6HP at 80% RPM).

Saxe Point: I understand your point about the near max performance of the 6HP. I am mostly trying to understand as many options as I can dig up. I would really love to have my kicker used as the dinghy motor.

-T
 
For many years I've done what you are proposing - using a 6 hp as both a kicker and a dinghy motor. BUT, I'm not a fisherman the 6 hp was always just a back-up motor AND, my current boat is a 22' not a 26. (I used the same 6 hp and dinghy previously on previous boats, a 16' C-dory and a 16' Arima, for which the 6 hp was pretty adequate).

Recently however, I gave up this practice. The 55 lb 6 hp Suzki is light enough to lift from the transom, into the cockpit, into the dinghy, and onto the dinghy's transom. But, you have to be really careful and I noticed after only a couple of times doing this on my new 22 that I was accidentally hiting the prop on the boat while moving it around, scratching the gelcoat. The other reason was I already had a 6 hp Sail Pro sitting unused in the garage from my previous boat, and decided this would be better suited for the 22' because it has a high-thrust prop and 6A charging, not much but hopefully enough to run one GPS and a VHF while "trolling" home in an emergency. But a long-shaft high-thrust 6 hp like this is not a good dinghy motor, so I now have a 2.5 Suzuki which at only 30 lbs, I can practically lift onto the roof with one hand (see photo here)

On the 22, the High-thrust 6 hp does pretty good. Recently, just to try it, I "cruised" for about 2 or 3 hours with it and really quite enjoyed it the experience. Yes the vibration is more than a larger 2-cylinder kicker would be, but I was only running about 1/4 throttle and making between 2 to 4 mph depending on currents. (see photo)

In your case, since you are going to be fishing and using a kicker a lot, my recommendation would be a high-thrust Yamaha 9.9 (with charging to maintain all your electrics!!), plus a dedicated dinghy motor from 2.5 to 6 hp.

-Mike
 
Safety is always #1 w/recreational boating. Choosing the smallest kicker for
your best trolling speed when the seas may suddenly kick up finding your
primary outboard engine won't start for the mandatory return trip home leaves
you seriously underpowered.

So, personally, I'd get a larger kicker and re-prop it for your slow fishing needs
keeping the original "get home" prop handy to put on if needed per above.
Not the easiest way to do it but it beats getting stuck out there underpowered
when you need a whole lot more.

If you're last in, you may have a story to tell, but all the good seats at the bar will
be gone and the pretty ladies spoken for.

Aye.
 
Hi T,

For an offshore get home kicker with a boat of that size, I wouldn't go any smaller than a high thrust 8 hp. For the dinghy, a small short shaft motor like a Suzuki 2.5 hp would be a light weight, easy to store and handle option.
 
I would have to agree with the previous post, get a properly sized kicker for your 26, like a high thrust 8 or 9.9 and buy a separate tender kicker. I purchased a Suzuki 2.5 and am very happy with it, an integral fuel tank and a all up weight of 26 pounds makes it simple and easy to handle. I built an engine storage mount for the 2.5 opposite the kicker attached to the side of the live well that makes for an easy on off storage location.
 
OP: Go big. I have a 25 and I don't think a 6hp would move my boat very well, and even if it did get her moving then I cant imagine the steerage would be that great.

As mentioned before the 9.9 seems like a great option or even a 15. Since our boats are essentially flat bottomed and have no keel they need more "oommph " to get them going (and have some steerage).

I had a 4hp Yamaha on my 16 and I couldn't steer at all. I hated it! Now, that same 4hp on a 25 foot sailboat may be perfect. The keel and hull bottom is the key.
 
I agree with Dutch123. On my 26' ProAngler.. 9.9 hp as a kicker for trolling and getting home. My 9.9 has the high thrust 4 blade prop and will pull my anchor at 200'. It is slow but will do it. It trolls great and is not affected by windage. My main engine is a 200 hp Honda. It trolls well at 900 rpm and pushes the boat to 30 mph at 5500 rpm.
Buy a separate small engine for your dingy.

Jack in Alaska
 
Everything above is correct but heres something else to consider. Why have a dinghy motor? I used to and I might again in the future for the trip to Alaska but for everyday use we just row ashore. Now that is because we have a dinghy with blow up floor and KEEL. We had a flat floor dinghy before and it did not row for shit . Which is why we got a small 3.5 hp motor for it. After rowing some one else blow up keeled dinghy I changed rafts and stopped taking the motor. 300 or so yards is a quick row with me the wife and the dog. How far are you planning of rowing? do you really need a dinghy motor?
 
I think you're onto something Tom. We've had a Suzuki 2.5hp for years, hardly ever used it. I battled with a fuel delivery issue a couple of months ago and when it was finally resolved, I wanted to use the motor on our dingy to justify all the work I put into diagnosing and resolving the problem. Hung it on our Alaska Series tender and I was quickly reminded how terrible the motor works on that dinghy. Now I'm thinking about leaving the motor at home from now on and saving 30 lbs!
 
starcrafttom":rp3cif81 said:
Everything above is correct but heres something else to consider. Why have a dinghy motor? I used to and I might again in the future for the trip to Alaska but for everyday use we just row ashore. Now that is because we have a dinghy with blow up floor and KEEL. We had a flat floor dinghy before and it did not row for shit . Which is why we got a small 3.5 hp motor for it. After rowing some one else blow up keeled dinghy I changed rafts and stopped taking the motor. 300 or so yards is a quick row with me the wife and the dog. How far are you planning of rowing? do you really need a dinghy motor?
Click to expand...

I remember going with Dr Bob and taking a dinghy across the Escalante to rescue a lady who was stranded because of very strong wind. My suspicion is Bob was thankful for the kicker, and I know I was. Personally, I vote for a kicker on any inflatable, we use the little Suzuki.
 
A half a century ago, I used to row the dinghy--in fact I rowed a real dory 6 miles every morning before work...for years. My kids had to show me they could row to shore and back before I let them use an outboard motor on the dinghy...

Now days, I need the lightest motor I can get (a Torqeedo 1003, which breaks down into no part weight more than 12#.). There have been times a dinghy makes a great tug boat etc...But rowing is good--if you can.
 
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