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kicker motor

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ringo111

Contributing Member
can you tell me if a 4 hp merc 1989, would be any good for a kicker motor on a 17 ft doral boat.would it get you out of trouble if big motor failed thanks
 
What's the boat model you have?

I run a 2.5 horse kicker (twin cylinder - ya, tiny cylinders) on my 14 foot aluminum (total loaded weight 850 lbs - main power is 15 horse). It works fine for trolling and has brought me back to the dock on a very calm day but when it's windy there is just not enough horses to even keep her running in a straight line. (a 2.5 horse is about the equivalent of a 70lb thrust electric trolling motor)

My second example of first hand experience comes from an 18 foot Sylvan fish/ski, also alumimum. Total loaded weight about 1900 lbs - main power is a 90 horse with a 6 horse kicker (twin cylinder 2 stroke). We find the same thing here - fine for trolling and "could" bring her back to the dock under perfect weather conditions, but if was windy/choppy (the exact conditions when your main motor is likely to fail - Murphy's law) we would be better off with a pair of oars.

I am somewhat familiar with Doral boats and believe that their older 17 foot models (no longer produced) would be somewhat heavier (as much as 25%) compared with aluminum boats of similiar length. Having said that, if you are looking for a kicker that can be relied upon to get you back safely in the event of a main engine failure, I think you should be looking more at something in the 9.9/15 horse range. A single cylinder 4 horse would, in my opinion, be severely underpowered for that particular task.
 
I don't think that's quite enough horses for a kicker on your particular boat - you would be sorely disappointed.
 
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