Kicker Placement

[hooksetter]

I see most kicker motors hanging on the port side on the transom. Why is this? I am in the process of getting mine set up and was wondering what determines the best location for hanging the kicker. Thanks

[marine_man]

Almost all of it is owner's preference.

That said, most people run them on the port side because they will offset for the weight of the driver...

The other reason is that they're clear of the steering cable on the LH side. You can mount them on the RH side, but you'll have to make sure that the steering cable stays out of the way.

marine_man

[PerchJerker]

In the past my kickers have all been on the port side, but a year ago I had my kicker moved to the drivers side. I use tiller control kickers, not remote control kickers.

Balancing the weight is a concern, I had to rearrange my deep cycle batteries to get the boat to float level (or almost level) again.

I liked fishing with kicker on the port, but the boat I have now is wider and longer and I felt like I was too far from the console ..... and there seemed to always be someone between me and the console. Now that I moved my kicker to the driver's side I am closer to the console and all my electronics, my vhf radio and stereo, my livewell controls, etc. ----- and there's never anyone between me and the console. If there are 3 of us in the boat 2 guys fish on the port side and the guy driving the kicker gets the driver's side of the boat to himself. Overall it's been a much better fishing setup for me by having it on the driver's side of the boat.

Boat control seems the same with the kicker in either location.

One thing I don't like about it on the driver's side is the tiller handle is closer to my big outboard which can get in the way, but it's easy to work around --- on the bright side the tiller handle is now in the middle of the boat so it's not as long of a reach to make sharp turns.

Hope that helps .....