Kicker motor with twins?

WHY? You will have another 50lb or more for a 6-8hp Kicker .Hopefully the twins will bring you in safely . Won't your 40 or 50 hp twins slow down enough to troll?
 
I have twin Yami 40's and had the same line of thinking of a while back. I did some searching on the thread and have seen it done with a kicker bracket. The bracket was mostly for dinghy motor storage then using the motor as kicker but it could be done. I"ve only seen it with a 2.5hp Suzuki.

I do a lot of trolling and also hated the idea of putting all of those hours on the larger motors, but eventually just got over it. I use only one engine when trolling and keep the hours similar by rotating use. IMO, most cases would not justify the extra weight, maintenance, etc... with having an additional kicker, but that doesn't mean yours doesn't. Perhaps your trolling 20+ hours a week? I say run the motors, that's what they are there for!
 
We have all heard the old saying that "hours spent fishing are not deducted from your allotted time on earth"

I therefore assume that "hours spent trolling are not deducted from your motors useful lifespan"
 
The 30 foot Tom Cats have used a kicker in the center, for trolling. It makes a lot of sense. I made a bracket to use our 3.5 HP dinghy motor on the Tpm Cat when we owned it. The bracket with with the boat. Not sure if anyone else used it with a dingy motor. Would push the tom Cat at 3+ knots.
 
The adverse effects* of alternating twin engines for trolling long hours at slow
speed may be negated by running at higher rpm going to and returning from
your trolling course and by tilting the unused engine propeller out of the water.

My Honda DF90 Owners Manual states:

* "Running the engine below 3,000 rpm for more than 30% of the time so the engine does not warm up (does not reach operating temperature)."

and

* "If the propeller of the stopped motor is left in the water, it may turn as the boat moves through the water, causing a reverse flow of water from the exhaust side. This reverse flow will happen if the stopped engine's propeller is in the water, its gearshift is in “R” (reverse), and the boat is moving forward. Reverse flow can cause an engine malfunction."

Aye.
 
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