Recommendations on new kicker motor.

[JigginFool]

I currently have a 6 hp Evinrude 2 stroke kicker motor (late 80's vintage) that I'm looking to upgrade to a 4 stroke.  The only thing I use it for is trolling and a backup if the 60 HP has an issue which has happened.  The reason I want to upgrade it for trolling is to be more quite and less fumes, I will need to bring along a small tank for gas since I currently swap lines between the 2 motors but that isn't an issue and the boat is a 16' Crestliner.
What do other suggest?  Yamaha, Mercury, Suzuki, Evinrude??  I'm looking to do this before my trip the first 2 weeks of August.

[GregL]

My vote goes to Yamaha, I've owned a 9.9 and currently have a  75 hp tiller.. both fantastic motors.. no issues with either "knock on wood"

[Jay Thomas]

While I know Yamahas are quiet, Hondas are the motors for trolling. I had a 8 HP four stroke Honda for 8 years before I bought a 15 HP four stroke Honda in 2007 because I stopped fishing smaller trout lakes and started fishing bigger shield lakes for walleye. Just my opinion.

Jay

[kipawa4]

 Does it make a difference to have a high thrust motor or a regular outboard for trolling?  I am thinking 9.9 hp high thrust Yamaha for my boat eventually.

[RHYBAK]

My vote goes to a Minn Kota80 i-pilot in the front.
use it to troll and use it as your Anchor.

I tried it the other day on Lake Simcoe jigging for whitefish in 94 feet of water.
jigged for half an hour and my line was as straight as a board .

Can't wait to try it next week on Kipawa

[crackers42]

Jigginfool,

I have found the mercury 9.9 or even a 15hp will troll down as low as you want.
Understanding you want a 4 stroke I am a firm believer that a 2 stroke will troll down lower and also be useful for higher speeds (And a lot lighter)

Mercury would be my first choice for trolling very, very slow along with a an Evinrude E-tec both of which I have and work equally as nice for all purposes.

The new 2 strokes wont have the fumes (if mixed properly) but are slightly louder.

[JigginFool]

Thanks for the suggestions.
Rhybak-I agree with your suggestion, but on my current boat I would need more batteries and I don't have the room for that, but in the planning on my retirement rig that will be a must.     I know a couple guys with the same setup and they wouldn't change it.
I think I'm going to shop around locally and compare Yamaha, Honda and Mercury to see the cost differences and options.  I won't put a lot of hours on it each year but it will make trolling more enjoyable not drowning out the peace and quite.

[Balsams]

Honda 4 stroke is a good tiller engine...zero fumes, easy start and idles real low.

[SgtCrabby]

When you're looking and comparing costs, check warranty differences too.
Ask who the original manufactor is; many small outboards are made by Tohatsu (my mercury is a Tohatsu).

I feel if you're comparing mercury/tohatsu, evinrude/tohatsu, etc. it's not the engine you are comparing, it's the rest of the sales package. 

[Mr3seasonscamp]

Yamaha 6hp will serve upu just perfect and as for waranty if you by Yamaha you dont need it thruts me my Taxi boat 2001 Yamaha F115 has over 50 000 milles on it and still running like a charm .Good luck with your shopping   And see you in August Regards Reggie

[JigginFool]

Well, I had to take today off to meet a mason to get a quote on having the chimney repaired on the summer 'money pit', after that bad news I took the rest of the day to call and shop around for my new kicker.  I ended up buying a new Yamaha 6 HP 4-stroke at Chautauqua Lake Marina, they were the lowest cost and the best customer service I ever experienced.  I even looked to buy it in Canada since I'm 15 minutes from the boarder and the exchange rate is good, but they said they couldn't do it if I didn't have a Canadian address.
Now to break it in and let the fun begin....43 days!

[Jay Thomas]

While I have had no experience with a 6 HP four stroke Yamaha, I owned a 5 HP four stroke Honda for the length of one fishing trip (4 days). My negative experience with that 5 HP four stroke Honda was that I could never safely let go of the tiller when underway because the motor shook so much that the bow would veer one way or the other. It is my understanding that the reason for this shaking was the fact that the motor was a one cylinder engine. When I returned it to the dealer, I was told that the mechanics called that outboard "the rattler". When I asked for a solution, the dealer suggested I trade the 5 HP for an 8 HP (a 2 cylinder outboard). After I watched an 8 HP four stroke Honda run in the water tank, I negotiated an acceptable deal to take the new 8 HP Honda four stroke home. It was a very satisfying outboard for the 8 years that I used it.

Anyway, suffice to say that after reading that you had purchased a 6 HP four stroke Yamaha, I checked the Yamaha web site to ascertain how many cylinders that outboard has - only 1. Perhaps with the latest technology in portable outboards, the issue I experienced with the 5 HP four stroke 1 cylinder Honda (or other makes) no longer exists.

Jay