5 HP Honda as a kicker on a 16'?

[siwash]

Hey guys,

 

I am in the market for a kicker motor for my 16'+ aluminum. I think the boat weighs roughly 1300lb. Is a 5 hp Honda adequate power for trolling on Lake Ontario and other big water? What do you think? Should I go for a 6 or 8 hp instead?

Edited July 3, 2010 by swordfish

[DRIFTER_016]

It will work fine for trolling but if you need to use it to get back from the blue zone expect it to take a while.

[Terry]

my 5hp honda is fine for my 16.5 deep vee boat

 

it is a tiller and I can not give it more gas without running to the back of the boat if I had remote throttle..it would be perfect

[SlowPoke]

If I already had one, I'd use it. If I was shopping for one, I'd have an eye out for an 8 or 9.9.

I've had 6 and 8 on my boat, both tiller (no remote throttle control). With no throttle control, I won't complain about lack of throttle response etc. but I will say that the 6 would become easily bogged down when trolling in heavy rollers. That's the true benefit of the high-thrust/big foot/prokicker models. They're designed for torque. You could troll up Niagara falls at 2.8mph.

Having said all that, a 5hp might be fine for you depending on the weight of your boat and the water you fish.

[Handlebarz]

Well my boat came with a 5hp honda it was a great motor but i had to get rid of it as I was wanting to much for it. Don used it for years trolling for bows and salmon on the big lakes it was good for that but for musky it was not enough to control the boat when we would get a good blow I had to start the main motor to get it back under control. My boat is a Star Craft 17.5' I will be getting a 9.9 down the road.

[siwash]

If I already had one, I'd use it. If I was shopping for one, I'd have an eye out for an 8 or 9.9.

I've had 6 and 8 on my boat, both tiller (no remote throttle control). With no throttle control, I won't complain about lack of throttle response etc. but I will say that the 6 would become easily bogged down when trolling in heavy rollers. That's the true benefit of the high-thrust/big foot/prokicker models. They're designed for torque. You could troll up Niagara falls at 2.8mph.

Having said all that, a 5hp might be fine for you depending on the weight of your boat and the water you fish.

 

 

If it came down to that (heavy seas) I would not likely stay out long... My boat isn't that big. If it did get windy and rough I suppose I could use the main motor.

 

Sounds like it should work, then..

 

The seller is telling me that the 4 stokes have more torque than the 2 cyl. Is this correct? I always thought that 4 strokes were not quite as "punchy"

 

 

Thanks for the responses, fellas!

[DRIFTER_016]

4 strokes have better bottom end torque (the power to get you going at low speed) than 2 strokes. The power band in a 4 stroke is also wider than the power band of a 2 stroke. This is the sweet spot where the motor runs the best. 2 strokes don't hit the bottom end of the sweet spot until the rpms are quite a bit higher. With 4 strokes the usable power comes in a a lower rpm than the 2 strokes which makes them better fro trolling or pulling a heavy load.