Kicker on 28te effectiveness

[lilbit]

Hello All,
Just bought a 2003 28te flush deck. I want to slow troll (2mph) and main engine idle is 3mph + minimum. Thinking of mounting a 9.9 kicker on the swim step but concerned with effectiveness of steering with main rudder if I'm not steering with the kicker itself and going that slow. It's safe to assume it will be sluggish at best but may be completely ineffective causing me to have to put an extension bar on the kicker and manually steering the kicker while trolling. That would be kind of a pain in the ass! Any thoughts on this issue? I don't want to mess with installing a trolling valve.
Chip

[GSSeattle]

I went with a trolling valve and am very happy. I think it was about $3,200 installed. I can easily get below 1.5 knots trolling for chinook. Sorry, can't add anything to the discussion on kickers, but I think I saw discussion on this site years ago about installing a 15 hp or 20 hp on the swimstep. Maybe try searching the forums?

[MadMoney]

I too went with the trolling valve option. Control can be an issue at low speeds when the current and wind is in play but that will always be the case. Main reasons I went the trolling valve route over a kicker is I didn't want to maintain a 2nd engine, deal with the gas tank and complicate moorage by extending my LOA. I agree with Greg, there have some threads in the past that discussed this topic which should be useful.

Anthony Warren
1999 28 Albin MadMoney

[DAB250]

This has been discussed elsewhere but I know three of us that have mounted 25hp kickers on the centre line with excellent results. I've got a 2005 flush deck. We are all avid PNW fishermen and I'm finicky when it comes to steering. I plumbed mine into the hydraulic steering with two ball valves to switch between the rudder and the kicker. My buddies use the Tailfin remote systems vs the helm controlled steering. I haven't had any issues with responsiveness in steering or thrust in either direction and have fished in everything from the Gulf Islands/San Juans to big water on the west coast of Vancouver Island without issue. I also had a 50L aluminum tank built that takes up +/-30% of the large rear hatch. I'm pretty happy with the setup and the 45 degree lock to lock on the kicker gives more turning ability than the 30 degree of the rudder/trolling valve option (also don't get the diesel fumes on a hot summer day). Hope that helps.