Hi:

I have an 18.5 Reedcraft shallow draft all welded
aluminum fish and ski with a Merc 80 Jet
I use for mostly guiding rocky rivers here in Maine.

Fishing pools and lake slow trolling with
the jet ouboard at low throttle results in the
intake shoe grates getting plogged with weed
necesitating a raking before launch. This can
be significantly inconvenient in certain fast
water areas to say the least.

Therefore I need a kicker, which I have, for
slow trolling. At full up travel my kicker needs to be
completely out of the water given the shallow and
rocky water I run in and the presence of a very
draggy heavy duty rock guard on the lower unit.

Unfortunately the transom on the Reedcraft
is too wide to simply mount my 6 H.P. Tohatsu
with the caged prop and go so I need a kicker
mounting solution.

I see the "Auxiary Outboard Motor Brackets" in the
Cabelas, West Marine and Boats US catalogues and
am debating the utility of the typical mid duty (to 124
Lb) model which has spring assisted lift and four positions
from 2.5 to 14 inches of travel. This model also has what
appears to have double bars seperated by 4-5 inches and
cross braced.

VS:

The lighter lift bracket for 82 to 115 Lb which has four
parallel bars with no seperation but which more closely fits
my motor and HP requirements (and also wallet).

The concern being the potentual for side to side flex with the
second lower end lift due to the lack of spacing between the
parallel bars, especially when the motor bangs along rock ledges
as it is apt to do when in use on the river (sometimes my small
trout fishing wood square stern boat points and moves
upriver while the outboard is at 60 degrees running upriver
scraping along a ledge.

VS

A simple 1" aluminum plate extending above the current
transom lip and securely four bolted thru the transom.
With this setup I would lift the motor using its normal mechanism
and it would be parallel to the water in jet running position, but
obviously need additional security in the form of a strap or tie up
to ensure it didn't drop into the water at speed just as I was crossing
a shallow bar at 30 Mph (not a pleasant thought). This would
put some extra stress on the motor mounting pins due to the additional
weight on the prop end from the rock guard but I could have this
type extension plate fabbed by my "on call" aluminum welder/machinist
in a day or so at minimal cost.

I would appreciate any comments or experiences, additional
advantages or disadvantages of any of the three options above.

I plan to run the kicker with a jointed telescoping extension handle
such as the Troll n'Buddy or Helmsmate rigged with a home made
cable hand shifter. Any thoughts on those as well?

Which side is the prefered side for mounting the kicker in terms of
motor prop torque effects on steering vs convenience?

Lots of questions..so go light on the spam please.

Thanks in advance.

--
{{ MudFish (Co30){('
www.kennebecriverguide.com
"Careful with that axe, Eugene"