2004 Gulfstream addition of a kicker

[UpGrady]

Looking at a used one with a single Yami F225, I slow troll for salmon on Lake O. I love this platform and would be replacing my 1986 Sailfish with this boat. Boat is a bit underpowered with that standard engine but is serviceable, but I am concerned about putting many <1000 rpm trolling hours on that Yami and I do not see a way to add a kicker with the bracket and swim platform setup on the back. Does anyone have any insight or anything that I am overlooking before I pass up a pretty good deal on this boat?

 

[bc282]

here's my list of pros and cons of kickers:
Pros:
- save hours on larger and more expensive main motor
- save on fuel, although at troll speeds the F225 really doesn't burn much
- kicker can be used for aux/emergency propulsion
- possibly troll slower than the F225 can normally attain

Cons:
- kickers are fairly expensive, especially for power trim/tilt/remote models
- can cause the boat to list to one side due to weight in one back corner
- "sewing machine whine" emitted by kicker hours on end while trolling
- another engine to require parts and maintenance
- worry about getting it stolen off boat (depending on your neighbourhood may be serious factor)
- added weight may negatively affect boat's riding performance
- steering usually more difficult while kicker powered

other than adding hours, burning a touch more fuel and perhaps quickening the pace for some regular maintenance, the drawback for utilizing the main engine for troll duty, IMO out weighs the benefits.
if you fish offshore and feel you need the safety of back up power, you should have a boat with twins and not a kicker.

Since the boat already has a 4s engine, it will be fine trolling at low rpm unlike it's 2s brethren, put a few more hrs on the boat and keep it simple. Try it for a season and if you really don't like using the main to troll, get a good kicker, but don't waste thousands of dollars only to find you don't like a kicker.

 

[UpGrady]

Completely agree with the pro/con list. My main stumbling point is, investing in it and the F225 not working out for trolling very well and not having the ability to fit a kicker on this boat due to the configuration.

 

[bc282]

you should do a thorough on the water boat test to see if this boat will meet your needs.
even if the boat can be had for a "bargain", if you ultimately are not happy about its performance, you'll regret that "bargain" and every time you use the boat the experience will be a sour reminder which really negates the reason we enjoy fishing/boating.

on top of "will the F225 troll at the speeds i need?", you should ask other Gulfstream owners and cross ref. the Yami performance reports to see if the single F225 will perform well on the Gulfstream. something tells me that a single F225 may be underpowered for the beamy (9'3") Gulfstream as current models which likely are still same mold are rated to 400 HP.

FYI, with my 282 (9.5' beam) and twin F225, i troll on one engine and most times bump the rpms to 8-900 to get my desired troll speed of 2.5-3.3 knots, at 600 rpm idle the troll speed is around 1.5 knots. if i wanted to go slower than that, trim the motor up some.

 

[SC Adventure 208]

I used to have a kicker on my 208 with a 2-stroke 225 yamaha. I list of pros and cons is right on. Traded out my power for a yamaha F200 and lost the kicker and have never been happier. Biggest trouble to getting it to troll slow enough (I troll for stripers at 2-3 mph) but fix this by either popping in and out of gear (a pain and probably not great for the gears) or putting in a sea anchor. Have not tried trimming up as I'd like to keep water running through the engine.

 

[g0tagrip]

I agree with the pros and cons. I had a 9.9 kicker on my 22 years ago, used it once in 8 years, had an overheat indication on the main engine. After getting the aux going I figured out I had a plastic bag around the main engine lower unit. I would not recommend a kicker, but then again, I would never have a single engine boat again. Test the boat they way you plan to use it, and have a survey BEFORE you buy it.