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After perusing a number of personal pages and photo albums on this site, I've noticed that you California guys all seem to run kicker motors if your boat is not equipped with twins. Here on the Cape (and elsewhere in New England), you rarely see a boat with one larger outboard and a kicker.
Just wondering: Does the state of CA require auxiliary power on boats of a certain length, or is it simply a "cultural" difference?

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If most of what you do on your boat is fishing and the style that requires catching fish is trolling, then it is better to use a small engine to move the boat. Thought being, the smaller engine uses less fuel and trolling along with an old 2-S would "load up" the engine and foul the plugs. By using a smaller engine, you would be using the small engine at WOT or close to move a big boat and so, the plugs won't foul. Most of the fishing I know of on the west coast involves trolling.

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I have a 9.9 kicker on my Outrage 21.

This motor is used primarily for trolling; I can't troll slow enough with the main engine. I also use it when motoring thru Boston's Inner Haarbor as it is one big no-wake zone.

It is also nice to have it as a backup in case of problems with the main engine. The first year that I owned the boat my fuel tank failed while out camping on one of the islands in outer Boston Harbor. It had rained over night & water got into the below deck tank. I was able to get in myself on the kicker motor (@ 7 miles, good thing that I keep a separate deck tank for this motor).

A few weeks ago my teleflex steering stripped out. Main engine was useless. I was able to get back to my mooring unassisted.

I will always have one on the rear of my boat.

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Many people use a kicker for trolling and as a backup motor to get hopefully get them out of harms way.

Have you seen this article?
http://www.whalercentral.com/articles...icle_id=48

I use my 8hp mainly for trolling and as a backup although I have never had to use it in an emergency... Luckily....
When trolling and fishing, I use about 2 1/2 gallons of fuel in an 8 hour fishing day using the kicker. The kicker motor is never turned off unless I stop for lunch. That's cheap fishing for the day as far as fuel in concerned.

Depending on where people boat, especially along a coast line or something similar, if the main motor goes out and the boat starts to drift towards the shore and waves, an emergency call to Sea Tow may not help if they can't get there quick enough. A backup motor will get you out of trouble in many cases like this. The kicker will also get you home if the weather isn't outrageous.

I don't think I would ever be without an auxiliary motor for the areas I cruise or fish in.

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DownTonset, I agree with the above reasons of trolling and safety. You can run a long time with little gas on a small engine while fishing and you don't make as much exhaust in a following wind either. I bought my boat in Hawaii, and going out the channels in the reefs, if your main engine quits, you are soon in the surf and on the coral. I did have an experience where my main engine overheated (blown head gasket) and the little kicker got us all home. One other thing can also be useful: if your kicker has an alternator, it can charge a low battery enough to start the big one if you use all the power in your single battery (if you don't have two) or if the single is getting close to replacement and won't hold a full charge. I also do a lot of cruising, and in harbors or no wake zones, the kicker is used...again saving fuel.

Al

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I get all of the reasons for having a kicker motor. and I understand that they have value in certain situations. I was just curious as to why almost every ocean-going boater in California seems to have one, while very few in Massachusetts do. I thought it might be a legal requirement out there, but apparently it's not.
So, I guess it is more of a cultural thing than anything else. I have never run a kicker because they add weight and clutter, I don't like the way they look on a boat, and I do very little trolling. Most guys I know around here seem to see it the same way.
Different strokes for different boatniks, I guess.

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Northern CA boater here. Not a cultural thing...its a combination of the things mentioned above mainly security and buyind a boat/motor set up that you can't troll with. Exactly why I went with the Opti 135 which trolls great and Vessel assist.

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You don't see those in Louisiana either, but then again I don't go offshore. Mostly inland bays and lakes. One of those motors would make way too much noise for the shorelines we troll. Electric is the only way here. Won't get you out of a jam though. Many a day I thought about posting that same question.

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Good observation, I hadn't really noticed that before. I'm another nor-cal Whaler owner, with the 90hp and a 9.9 kicker. Bought it that way, and don't think I could ever run without it. Always nice to have a backup plan. Some of the waterways I fish don't see much traffic, especially in the winter months so it's best to be as self-sufficient as possible.