Gas kicker or Electric for trolling on starcraft

[Rayzor]

I have a 67 Jet 15 ft. that will be used for fishing. Mostly for trolling give or take at 1.5 mph. I have 2 choices for a kicker, 1 being a 1954 Johnny 3.5 hp short shaft that runs like a top, the other a minkota 35# electric. I am leaning towards the gas as the lake I fish is several miles long and windy. The water can get tough and I like the security of heading out with a spare. Not sure if the electric could take me back in a 15 head wind. Also what are some mounting/steering options for a old outboard?

 

[Bwana Don]

Re: Gas kicker or Electric for trolling on starcraft

I'd go with the electric and just try it. Maybe two batteries? One for trolling and an emergency one for getting home. IF the electric won't do it then the gas sounds like the ticket. You can't beat an electric for trolling though. I would make every effort to get the electric to work first. AGM batteries are best for marine use. Optima, Odyssey, Deka are the best name brands.

The 35# might be a little small if your two miles away from the launch. Try it and see. What are you trolling for, trout and salmon?

Don

 

[Pugetsound]

Re: Gas kicker or Electric for trolling on starcraft

You might keep you eyes open to the Seattle area list as there are usually a bunch Of johnson/evinrude 6hp motors that are a breez to keep up and parts aplenty ,for around $350--500 max. how wide it the transom cut for the motors? Electric I feel are fine for a contrilled area but if you have to get two miles or so in the wind and waves,best have at least a motor that will get you home a lot faster and safer. Pugetsound --- San Juan Islands in the Big Pacific

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Gas kicker or Electric for trolling on starcraft

I had a transom mount electric on my Jupiter and it was a pain in the butt. You spend more time steering than you do fishing. A bow mount pulling the boat is less sensitive to directional changes. I love my bow mount on my SS. However that would be tough to pull off on a closed bow unless you have one of those uber-expensive remote control deals. My vote would to to the Johnson and a 3.5 will actually do a surprisingly good job of pushing your boat which means it can serve as an emergency means of propulsion whereas as I think the electric would be lacking. For basic steering, an EZ Steer rod connected to an aluminum angle "tab" attached to the rear of both motors should work fine.

(not my boat)

 

[Rayzor]

Re: Gas kicker or Electric for trolling on starcraft

Yea the steering issue with the electric motor is kind of a pain. And the lake is closer to five miles long with only two launches on one end. So if you get stuck there you are till a tow IF/comes around. I like the looks of the above steering setup. Simple enough to fab up. Its going to get cramped on the transom though. The little johnson 3.5 leg is pretty short, I will have to see if it will even be deep enough to run. I dont really want to drill to add a drop bracket unless I have to.

 

[barato2]

Re: Gas kicker or Electric for trolling on starcraft

add me to the folks who think the lectric won't have enough suds into a wind. i used to use an electric, not sure of thrust level, as a kicker on my 12' portabote....into a 15+kt wind, it would barely keep me in one place on medium and on high, it went through battery too fast. i now use a Honda 2hp and it works great.

 

[Rayzor]

Re: Gas kicker or Electric for trolling on starcraft

well the little 3.5 will fit on the transom just fine, but I will have to take off one of the handles bolted on. I was looking at that easy steer rod setup cabelas has and it looks similar to the one above. Might take a bit of trial and error to get the brackets worked out. So it looks like I will go gas for now, And save up a few pennies for a Evinrude less then 60 years old and with reverse to boot.

 

[Pugetsound]

Re: Gas kicker or Electric for trolling on starcraft

Newer set up on motor connector goes from center of steering arm to the other steering arm , adjusted and the swivel rod allow you to raise either motor and lower without bothering the other. I have that set up on my 9.9 to my 200 johnson and it works great I would send you a photo P M if you would like I have not figured out the forum photo set up . Pugetsound

 

[sschefer]

Re: Gas kicker or Electric for trolling on starcraft

You'll have less weight with the 3.5 than you will with a electric trolling motor and dual batteries. Duals are what you'll need and you'll want to be in a group 27 battery and at least a 55# (65-70 would be better) and a 24v motor to keep you going where you want to be. That'll give you six solid hours of trolling and it will keep up in a strong head wind.

The advantage of the electric is that you can and should go with a bow mount because low speed trolling will be 100% better from a steering stand point. You'll find you can do a lot with the electric that you cant with the kicker. I saved up for a 9.9 Merc Pro Kicker and changed my mind at the last minute and went with a 24v MinnKota Terova with all the bells and whistles. I put one battery back aft oposite the helm and the other up forward center. It balances out pretty well. Still, I added nearly 200lbs of weight with the electric where I would have added less with kicker.

I've owned Terrovas and PowerDrives. Both are excellent but if you get the autopilot for either one, go with the new GPS version versus the Magentic Compas version. The compas version has a tendency to get whacky every once in a while and it will spin you in circles. Nobody seems to know why they do it but it will get your attention in a hurry. By the way, I consider the AutoPilot/iPilot a must have add-on.

The draw back to the electrics is having to charge the batteries. Your main motor won't cut it and you'll need to charge it daily or you risk dropping below 60% which can be hard on the batteries. When I put my boat in a slip for a week at a time I take along a little Honda 1000 generator. You hardly know it's running. I fill the tank and let it run. It runs out of gas overnight but the batteries are in decent shape the next morning. If not, I run it while I'm trolling.

 

[catfishr1]

Re: Gas kicker or Electric for trolling on starcraft

Hi Rayzor; Would be happy to share my experience. I have a 18'starcraft that I use both on. I bit the bullet & mounted a garalick aux. motor bracket. I use a 6h.p. JOHNSON kicker & a 45# thrust endura. The way you are going to use I would highly recomend a small gas kicker. Even in a moderate wind,have poor control with electric. EZ has a picture above that looks super to me. The gas motor gives good control & can push my boat fully loaded for fishing at 6 m.p.h. g.p.s. Happy & safe boating to you.

 

[heyyou325]

Re: Gas kicker or Electric for trolling on starcraft

I haven't tried fishing with it yet, but I did put a 54# thru some testes last summer on a 21 ft runabout. In whitecaps, about 10 to 15mph winds, I could go against the wind at about 3 miles an hour. Steering was difficult to say the least. I usually fish in a lake in NW Montana where there is almost always a stiff breeze. I used a 16 ft crestliner, not quite as deep of a V with a 6 horse Johnson. Also very difficult, til I tied the steering into the other engine. But when I go 1 1/2 mph for a couple hours, the motor loads up and runs poorly. I have to open it up for awhile to burn the gunk out. Also 1.6 is about as slow as it will go on still water. Like yourself, I want a safety motor (I have been stranded in the middle of a lake, about 15 miles from the launch, with 2 12 or 13 year old boys with me). As for mounting, I have a bracket that will raise up and down on the side of the boat, and you can buy steering attachments to hook onto the tiller handle. I made my own. Throttle and shifting could be a problem. A tiller extension with the trolling motor on the aft side, and you have to reach way over the side to turn in one direction. The bracket can be mounted on either side of the boat, but if it's over your fishfinder, it sure messes with readings. I used to have a cousin in Lebanon, near you. No idea where he is now, haven't talked to him in several years. Good luck

 

[Bwana Don]

Re: Gas kicker or Electric for trolling on starcraft

OK I would go with the smaller outboard as a back up. I would also try like heck to get an electric on the bow too. I am partial to an electric for slow quite trolling. I know it's probably not do-able. I'm a bass fisherman in 10 feet of water or less though. You're probably trolling in a canyon resovoir that's really deep so the gas won't spook the fish.

That bar connecting both motors is the way to go. Good luck, post pictures of you're catch.

 

[SeaStan]

Re: Gas kicker or Electric for trolling on starcraft

I have an 18 foot chieftan an had my motor conk out and only had my 46 lb thrust electric motor for power. A storm came up and it was all I could do at full power to hold the boat in place. The wind was blowing me toward a rock seawall and I could just barely keep off. This was on a small lake and lucky for me, the storm blew out before my battery went dead. It's the closest I've come to wrecking my boat. Point of the story is to get a bigger motor for a backup. The high sides of the boat caught the wind and made it very hard to steer.

 

[Rayzor]

Re: Gas kicker or Electric for trolling on starcraft

Yea, I am going with the gas troller. I have been stuck under powered in big wind and water before and its not fun or safe. The lake I fish in is deep (300) feet and several miles long and over mile wide. Wind normaly blows down its length and can really whip up some waves. I am taking a hard look at the 3 horse. It runs great and all that but I may start looking around for a 7hp- 9.9 in the near future. Depends how the 3 does. Now if spring would get here so I can go fish I would be happy!