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Author Topic:   4HP kicker enough?

bloller posted 07-14-2005 10:05 AM ET (US)
Looking for anyone with experience using a 4hp kicker motor on a 16'7" hull. Will mostly be using it in calm water. Will it be enough.
whalersailer posted 07-14-2005 10:20 AM ET (US)
I have a 4hp Evinrude Yachtwin (longshaft) on my Montauk. The engine does a pretty good job of pushing the boat, plus it is light (37#), and with the longshaft doesn't need an additional bracket.
You will be fine with the 4hp kicker.
-WS
RJM posted 07-14-2005 11:19 AM ET (US)
Just as whalersailor says; the 4 hp. should be fine. I use one on a 1996 17 Outrage II which is a heavy boat. I use it as a trolling motor(it only pushes the boat about 3 miles an hour) and as a safety backup if the main engine acts up. It is pretty lite and attaches nicely to the swimstep. I have had it over twenty years so the price is right and I do not want to go out and spend more on a better fit. It would not however be very useful if you had to use it to go home against the wind or current. But even in a bad situation; it would allow you to keep the bow into the wind (or off the rocks) until you had a chance to figure something out or to get help.
whalersailer posted 07-14-2005 12:41 PM ET (US)
The 4hp pushes my Montauk to hull speed (approximately 5 - 5.5 MPH). The kicker engine also does a good job of moving the boat into a 1-=15 knot headwind and 1-3 foot waves.
Keep in mind that the 17 Outrage II weighs almost twice as much as the classic Montauk, and the Outrage has a different hull shape (deeper V) that is not as easilly driven as the Montauk.
-WS
whalersailer posted 07-14-2005 12:42 PM ET (US)
meant to type "10-15 knot headwind"
Baseline posted 07-14-2005 02:48 PM ET (US)
I have a 2 hp motor on my Montauk monted on a bracket, it moves the boat a 3.5 to 4 mph on calm water. Works well with constant 1 to 2 foot waves and moderate wind; I can maintain about 2.0 to 2.5 mph. It does not go very good heading into currents, the hull has too much resistance.
At WOT the 2 hp moves the boat as well as my V-4 does at idle, but without the torque. It take a few second to get the load moving, but the speed is about the same.
It’s not fast, but its faster than rowing home. Like other's my motor was free. If I was buying a motor I would go for 4 to 10 hp. But 2 hp works pretty good too, so I not going to buy a new one unless I have to.
Teak Oil posted 07-15-2005 09:20 AM ET (US)
I have a 4hp Evinrude on my Montauk and it does pretty good. I wanted it because it is very light as others have said, and it can run either on the tank built into the motor (if you have oil injection on your main engine) or if you have premix in your tanks it can run off the hose.
I can get 4.5mph on my GPS in 1-2' waves, it should be powerful enough to keep my bow in the waves if I was ever caught in a storm and lost my main engine.
One problem is though this motor will run at high rpm but it wants to stall at anything less than half throttle. Any ideas from you 4hp owners?
whalersailer posted 07-15-2005 11:33 AM ET (US)
Teak,
At the risk of hyjacking this thread, it sounds like the low speed jets are restricted or clogged. I would suggest that you have the carb cleaned/rebuilt, replace the plugs, and de-carbonize the engine. My Evinrude 4hp will run all day at low RPM's without so much as a hickup.
Good Luck!
-WS
gcl posted 07-15-2005 12:19 PM ET (US)
I have a 4 hp Johnson, 2 cyl,long shaft, that moves my 16' 7" Nauset right along. It idles down nice. I do have one problem with it although: at full throttle it is very difficult to turn/steer the engine. Back off the throttle and it steers great. My mechanic thinks the problem is that the prop is not quite low enough to grab a clean bite. Who knows ? I have learned to work around it and it is not a big problem.

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Author	Topic: 4HP kicker enough?
bloller	posted 07-14-2005 10:05 AM ET (US) Looking for anyone with experience using a 4hp kicker motor on a 16'7" hull. Will mostly be using it in calm water. Will it be enough.
whalersailer	posted 07-14-2005 10:20 AM ET (US) I have a 4hp Evinrude Yachtwin (longshaft) on my Montauk. The engine does a pretty good job of pushing the boat, plus it is light (37#), and with the longshaft doesn't need an additional bracket. You will be fine with the 4hp kicker. -WS
RJM	posted 07-14-2005 11:19 AM ET (US) Just as whalersailor says; the 4 hp. should be fine. I use one on a 1996 17 Outrage II which is a heavy boat. I use it as a trolling motor(it only pushes the boat about 3 miles an hour) and as a safety backup if the main engine acts up. It is pretty lite and attaches nicely to the swimstep. I have had it over twenty years so the price is right and I do not want to go out and spend more on a better fit. It would not however be very useful if you had to use it to go home against the wind or current. But even in a bad situation; it would allow you to keep the bow into the wind (or off the rocks) until you had a chance to figure something out or to get help.
whalersailer	posted 07-14-2005 12:41 PM ET (US) The 4hp pushes my Montauk to hull speed (approximately 5 - 5.5 MPH). The kicker engine also does a good job of moving the boat into a 1-=15 knot headwind and 1-3 foot waves. Keep in mind that the 17 Outrage II weighs almost twice as much as the classic Montauk, and the Outrage has a different hull shape (deeper V) that is not as easilly driven as the Montauk. -WS
whalersailer	posted 07-14-2005 12:42 PM ET (US) meant to type "10-15 knot headwind"
Baseline	posted 07-14-2005 02:48 PM ET (US) I have a 2 hp motor on my Montauk monted on a bracket, it moves the boat a 3.5 to 4 mph on calm water. Works well with constant 1 to 2 foot waves and moderate wind; I can maintain about 2.0 to 2.5 mph. It does not go very good heading into currents, the hull has too much resistance. At WOT the 2 hp moves the boat as well as my V-4 does at idle, but without the torque. It take a few second to get the load moving, but the speed is about the same. It’s not fast, but its faster than rowing home. Like other's my motor was free. If I was buying a motor I would go for 4 to 10 hp. But 2 hp works pretty good too, so I not going to buy a new one unless I have to.
Teak Oil	posted 07-15-2005 09:20 AM ET (US) I have a 4hp Evinrude on my Montauk and it does pretty good. I wanted it because it is very light as others have said, and it can run either on the tank built into the motor (if you have oil injection on your main engine) or if you have premix in your tanks it can run off the hose. I can get 4.5mph on my GPS in 1-2' waves, it should be powerful enough to keep my bow in the waves if I was ever caught in a storm and lost my main engine. One problem is though this motor will run at high rpm but it wants to stall at anything less than half throttle. Any ideas from you 4hp owners?
whalersailer	posted 07-15-2005 11:33 AM ET (US) Teak, At the risk of hyjacking this thread, it sounds like the low speed jets are restricted or clogged. I would suggest that you have the carb cleaned/rebuilt, replace the plugs, and de-carbonize the engine. My Evinrude 4hp will run all day at low RPM's without so much as a hickup. Good Luck! -WS
gcl	posted 07-15-2005 12:19 PM ET (US) I have a 4 hp Johnson, 2 cyl,long shaft, that moves my 16' 7" Nauset right along. It idles down nice. I do have one problem with it although: at full throttle it is very difficult to turn/steer the engine. Back off the throttle and it steers great. My mechanic thinks the problem is that the prop is not quite low enough to grab a clean bite. Who knows ? I have learned to work around it and it is not a big problem.