Motor Weight and Boat Load

[panhead]

I would like to switch over to 4cycle outboards. Have a 16 plus ft. alumacraft with a 25 hp mercury tiller., 7.5 hp older envinrude, electric trolling motor, battery and me 250lb. all in the back.Livewell is also center-back on the side. I use a 12 gallon tank way up front and put as much of the other equip. towards the frt.The boats rated for 50hp. 1200lb total load .If i were to switch to 4cycle motors,25 and 8hp,I would add about 60-70 lbs of weight, again all in back. Im thinking that I could run elect. and get the battery up frt. and with the 4cycle 8 hp. leave the elect. trolling motor off. Question is :are their any safty concerns with so much of the total load in the boat being in the back? Thanks for your replies.

[mamohr686]

If it were me, I would put on a 50hp 4-stroke on the rear and forget about the kicker. I would lean towards either the yamaha with a vts system that will allow you to troll down, or else a suzuki that has a different gear ratio that allows for slower trolling. Also look into the titan steering system because your going to have some steering torque that your not used to. You may have to drop down a prop size with that kind of weight in your boat. Hold off on the 4-stoke kicker, you can always add one later. The reason is, you probably won't need it. I have a 90hp suzuki on a 18 ft ranger and i can troll under 2mph. If I don't have any wind I use the electric, if I have some wind I can use my 90hp.

[panhead]

I want to stay with 25 hp. max as this boat is used on some of the lakes bordering the BWCA that have 25hp.max

[BobT]

I agree to nix the kicker. The four-stroke will idle down enough that I doubt you'll need it. Worse case scenario is you start with the 25 and then later decide you need the kicker. Doesn't cost any more to buy it a little later but could save you a bundle if you find that you don't need it anymore.

[jwmiller33]

get a newer 25 hp that will troll down nice... no need for the kicker with a 25hp and that size of a boat

[TruthWalleyes]

I've got an older 80's 25HP on my 16' alumacraft, it will troll down to 2.2 on calm days (last night), and when i need to go slower i use my trolling motor.

I don't understand why a kicker is needed. I think you should invest in a newer 50HP, and keep your 25HP for your BWCA time.

[Raider4ever]

Don't get the Mercury 25hp Bigfoot. They weigh 212 lbs with oil and all. You don't want this thing in the back of your aluminum boat. I guarantee it. Trust me. Been there, trying to undo it.

[marine_man]

The bigfoot is geared mostly as a pontoon motor... a higher thrust version. It's not geared for optimum performance on a boat.

marine_man

[marine_man]

From a weight balance standpoint I think you're getting toward the upper limit. I'd take a look at the weight rating plate and make sure you're not over that already.. the kicker motor counts as gear, and isn't part of the boat + motor weight.

In my opinion, with that much gear & weight you're going to have a little more difficult time getting on plane, or having much for speed when on plane.

marine_man

[gregg52]

buy an e-tec

[panhead]

Someone else had mentioned an etec.Ill look into them. When I refer to trolling I should have mentioned backtrolling. If I am trolling most of the time Im going backwards.The 25 I have now trolls at just under 2 mph forwards. Its way to fast for backtrolling. I have talked to others that have 25 hp. 4 cycle and every one told me their still to fast for a 16 foot boat backwards.I camp at campgrounds without electric, so charging a battery isnt an option.A few years back I bought new a 5hp 2cycle to replace the 7 1/2 hp.Wasted my money. Learned the expensive way two cylinders are needed. Thanks for your thoughts

[gregg52]

i'm not sure bout how slow it troll on that boat but i had a 60 on a 17ft glass that worked good with just a little chop

you might be albe to go down a few horses to cuz you will have lots of

POWER with th e-tec

[marine_man]

Bear in mind panhead that every second word out of Gregg52's keyboard is etec..

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with them... just making sure you're aware of Gregg's favoritism.

marine_man

[gregg52]

seems like a reasonalbe answer to what he is looking for

horsepower and light weight

and yes i do show favorism towards the e-tec

i dont have no problem telling any one that

they work good for me so why not pass on good usealbe information

on a good product !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Raider4ever]

The bigfoot is geared mostly as a pontoon motor... a higher thrust version. It's not geared for optimum performance on a boat.

marine_man

I found that out real quick. All the dealer's ad said was "25HP 4 stroke Mercury, new, non-current" and it was in my price range. I called up, bought it. Two guys from the dealer loaded it into my van (thought it was an OSHA thing). It took two people to lug to the dock. I need 120 lbs of sand in the bow of my 14 ft Lund fiberglass johnboat (rated at 25hp) to plane out. Will be selling it soon. 1998 bought new in 2000 and has less than 100 hours on it (small lake and I anchored up quite a bit). Hasn't been run last two summers (09, 10) (new boat in fall of 08). Oil, spark plugs and lower unit, cylinders fogged were all changed after last use. Not looking to be an ad here, just throwing out info in case there was something I may of missed.

[Mike Stark]

if you have the cash get a 25hp honda. very nice and light. no matter what 4 stroke 25hp motor you get you dont need a kicker or transom mount trolling motor. when backtrolling kick it in and out of gear to get the speed you want. i am also in the process of finding the right b-dub boat.

[Northlander]

You can also use a drift sock to slow down your trolls and drifts. They dont weigh anything.

[magnum mike]

E-tec. You get the 4 stroke economy with 2 stroke performance. I have a 75 E-tec on my 1800 Alaskan and with a drift sock can troll down below 1 MPH. Quiet, great fuel economy, lighter than any 4 stroke, starts in the cold and so on...