posted 08-17-2004 04:56 PM ET (US)        

I use my boat to troll for salmon on Lake Michigan. The engine will be used to keep hours off of the main outboard and for backup if the big motor ever quits.

I need an outboard that will allow me to maintain a speed of 1.5 to 3.5 mph.

Any suggestions on motor size? How difficult will it be to mount it?

Thanks.

posted 08-17-2004 07:41 PM ET (US)            

The setup is nice, there is a piece of wood mounted flush to the transom, bolted on.

The motor mounts on a spring loaded arm that locks up and down via a pin. Very easy to use.

I am sure there are nice setups for outboards, you can probably get by with 4hp.

posted 08-18-2004 11:36 AM ET (US)            

Thanks for the replys. I thought I had to go with an auxillary bracket - I never thought I could mount it right on the transom (...thanks Kingfish). I didn't think I had room.

Mounting it it much easier that way. Mounting a bracket is a job that I would leave to someone else. I hate drilling into my boat.

posted 08-18-2004 03:50 PM ET (US)            

I found several advantages to using the bracket. I didn't have to cut the rubrail and I didn't have to relocate the stern light.

posted 08-19-2004 01:02 PM ET (US)            

If you have the wrap around Rub Rail, then Dick's solid mount is the way I would go as those other type brackets are a pain in the neck as Andy mentions.

A photo is worth a thousand words.
My prior 1978 Montauk with an 8hp Long Shaft Evinrude.

posted 08-20-2004 10:07 PM ET (US)            

At the risk of boring twice as many folks, here's a reply I just posted to 'thekidd''s similar current topic:

I agree that a fixed bracket is the way to go if you can't mount your kicker on the transom. I've mashed fingers and screwed up my back enough over the years in sailboats raising and lowering kickers on moveable brackets to truly hate the damn things, plus they rattle and have many nasty little parts to rust, corrode and jam. I hung an old 6 hp Johnson Seahorse off my last sailboat on the transom of my Katama and it worked okay, but I never hooked it up to the main motor with a "steering arm" like the one John recommends. When I bought my Outrage 18 one of the first things I did was remove the sliding bracket, fill the holes, throw away the bracket (not really...I use it for the only thing it's good for--hanging my inflatable's little outboard on the wall of my garage), and re-mount the 8 hp Yamaha kicker that came with my OR 18 directly on the transom.
Recently, on the advice of CW members andygere and Joe Kriz, I bought a Panther 'Auxillary Motor Steering Kit' in stainless, model 55-2600, for fifty bucks from Cabelas (they also have a galvanized model for about half that price designed for fresh water only). It's a pretty elegant, simple design which hooks up the kicker to the main motor and thus allows the kicker to be steered by the wheel. The thing works when both motors are down, both are up (like while trailering), or when either the kicker or the main motor is down and the other is up. I'm very pleased with the setup so far, but check with others about other brands and designs of steering arms, connecting rods, or whatever ya call 'em. One feature I like about the Panther model is that it pops on and off (and can be adjusted if necessary) in a flash from inside the boat, unlike designs which attach to the aft portion of the motors and are pretty inaccessible from inside the boat, especially at sea.

posted 08-20-2004 11:20 PM ET (US)            

If your stern light is mounted on the stbd side, mounting the kicker motor directly to the transom will cause a problem when the kicker is tilted up. Using a static set back mount eliminates this problem.