Real world experience with a 6 hp kicker on a 22 cruiser

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Please chime in if you have used a 6 hp kicker on a 22 cruiser medium load in the PNW.

what is speed? is it enough power? would you do again or go bigger?

thanks
 
I noticed the new yamaha 6 is a one cylinder engine at 60 lbs vs the 100 lbs on a T8
 
My main went out due to overheating (I had installed a new impeller incorectly) as I emerged from Peavine Pass heading to Bellingham. I fired up the 6 HP, hooked up the remote steering and decided rather than figuring out what was wrong with the main I'd take it home & fix. Turned out the control arm on the kicker was not up to the chore of steering due to too much flex. As a result it would not begin to steer a straight course. So I sat in the stern braced between the main and side of the boat. With tide and wind & etc we got shoved around quite a bit. Took 6 hrs to go the 15 or so miles. Not an experience I'd like to repeat but I was glad to have the 2nd motor.

The other lesson was to try things out. The parts to connect the kicker to the main steering had been in the boat when purchased two years earlier but never used. (duh!) I think I've learned that lesson several times in this life.

Chuck
 
I have a Tohatsu 6hp kicker. It will power the boat up to 4-5 knots in calm conditions. Going into the wind or current it can be slow. Into 15-20 knots of wind speed is down to 3.5-4 knots. I've never actually needed the kicker, but I fire it up and test it out almost every time I use the boat.
 
are you planing to fish/troll with it? if yes it will do the job but a 8 or 9 with a high torque prop will do it better. I cant explain the math but the larger displacement motor with a larger prop will help in the wind and in the current. You sill never get above 5 or 6 mph but thats not what you want for fishing anyhow. You want to control the boat with in a very small range of error. On a lake with on wind a 2.5 hp with get you to 5 knots, but not in the wind. You would never get the ass end of the boat around fast enough to stop the bow from sliding side was and past the stern. Even my 15 honda kicker can do it sometimes but the 225 will at the same speeds.
 
I can not speak from experience regarding a small kicker on a C-Dory because my boat came with a 40 hp kicker.
Seriously though, I once had a 8 hp Yami on a Catalina 22, and I just loved that outboard.

Martin.
 
5hp Honda about 4-5 mph depending on tide and wind w high thrust prop, used for trolling, many hrs :) the 5 hp is a bit loud that is my only complaint.
 
Based on advice from the group a few years ago, we purchased the 6 hp Tahatsu and have been pleased with it. It will propel our 22 at 5-7 mph at 3/4 throttle. Full throttle does not gain anything. I have it set up with a quick connect steering linkage to the main and on it's own fuel supply.
 
Joe, interesting old thread. What does the prop on the electric motor do when you're running fast with the main? Does it run backwards?

Does it act as a generator in that mode if it does? 8)

Charlie
 
Captains Cat":3l4yhzsw said:
Joe, interesting old thread. What does the prop on the electric motor do when you're running fast with the main? Does it run backwards?

Does it act as a generator in that mode if it does? 8)

Charlie
Click to expand...

Charlie-

When running fast and the boat is planning, the trolling motor body and prop are out of the water because they are so far above the anti-ventilation plate.

I've never checked it out with a meter, but when the boat is in displacement mode and the electric trolling motor is turning, it should work as a DC generator because it is a PM (Permanent Magnet) motor, so doesn't need current to the field windings (which are magnets in this case).

However, to generate a significant current in terms of amperage, I think one would have to put a load on the output (formerly input) wires to make it do work (in electrical terms).

Like so many things in the electrical/mechanical area of physics, most everything is reversible, so the motor becomes a generator, and the generator can become a motor (at least in the simplest forms).

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it. :smiled

(You knew the answer all the time, didn't you, you old Electrical Engineer, you!)

Retired Physics Teacher Joe. :lol: :thup
 
The trolling motor, unless spinning very fast would not produce enough voltage to begin to charge. The switch from a trolling motor is turned off so it is isolated from the battery. There have been schemes where outboard props are trolled behind sailboats to run a modified alternator/generator. There are also "Shaft" generators. We did some experimentation with these years ago, but came to the conclusion that a big alternator on the main or separate generator made a lot more sense.

I have an 85 LB thrust trolling motor on the Caraal--it requires 24 volts. It will move the Caracal at up to 3 knots, but this is just slightly over one HP, there is a very flexible and low pitch prop--so it would not be practical to power a C Dory in any chop or seaway.
 
Sounds like a good case for twins. I wouldn't want to get home with 6 hp on a 22 in anything but perfect conditions.

(Sorry, I couldn't help taking the twins shot)

Carpy
 
I guess I'm going to experience this for myself, because I have an 8hp kicker as my second engine, but it's hard for me to imagine it being that bad. Or that a 40hp propped as half of a pair would be so much better. (Or do you carry a "single" prop to exchange with for the non-disabled twin?)

I know I don't have the experience yet, and you all do. But of course I'm reading the board and thinking about things. The thing is that I have motored long, long distances with 27hp on a 30,000# boat. I know that's not the same, and yet it makes it hard for me to "believe" (mentally, I mean) that 6-8 hp on a 3500# 22-er wouldn't work fine (not for main, every day propulsion but for a spare). What makes it not work well? Is it the windage? That the hull is flattish? That people still want to plane?

If I change my mind after trying it, I guess I'll have to re-power.

Sunbeam :hot
 
Again, I have gone thousands of miles in a boat very similar to a C Dory 25 with a 1932 5 hp Johnson outboard. 4 to 5 knots gets you there. If you are a sailor--then you are used to that speed, even crossing oceans in some boats. (Even with the biggest boat I owned 8 knots was unusual) Getting to safety is the issue, not the speed--but that is my opinion.

When the 1932 engine finally died and we could not longer easily find parts, we put in a 9.9 hp--and since it had a slightly smaller (but similar pitch) prop, it did not go any faster.

You are limited by the wave making resistance and the Froude number. Plus windage. Going down wind, it can be in your favor.
 
thataway":1kbhsowt said:
4 to 5 knots gets you there. If you are a sailor--then you are used to that speed, even crossing oceans in some boats.
Click to expand...

Maybe that's it. After a number of long voyages (with some sailing and some motoring) I totalled up the miles and divided by the hours... we averaged about 4 knots, anchor up to anchor down. Guess that warps my perspective :wink:

I also don't know how fast a person can go on one twin with the prop set up for the pair, but I suppose it must be much faster.

Okay, I didn't start the hijack, but I have totally contributed to it. I'm sorry, OP!

Sunbeam
 
6hp Suzuki works great as a kicker on our 22 cruiser. Great for boat control while fishing. Seems to have enough power to move the boat to safety in event the main goes down.
 
For those using the 6hp, are you using a short shaft or long? I'm trying to solve the long time dilemma of dingy motors and kicker motors. Knowing that I will have to compromise, it would be nice to have one motor for both. The kicker for me is just for an emergency, get to a safe place for repairs. Leaning towards the tahotsu 3.5.
 
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