Auxiliary “Kicker” Motor Installation

I don’t normally take my boat out of the garage on Tuesday mornings before work. In fact, I haven’t had it out at all since March, largely due to the frustratingly cold weather. However, I needed to take it to my new local maintenance shop for some upgrades. I found out that Performance Marine, which is just down the hill from me, is a Mercury authorized sales and service center. Now I don’t always need to take it to the megadealer in Seattle.

Today I got my Whaler back. For some time I’ve been working to outfit it to be a versatile PNW fishing machine, and I’m almost there. I just had a Suzuki 6HP “kicker” (auxiliary motor) installed. It serves two purposes. One is to troll for fish without putting so many hours on the main engine, or burning as much gas. It also serves as emergency backup power. It gives me peace of mind knowing that if I’m ever out in big water and I lose my engine or hit my prop on a rock, I’ll still have a way to get somewhere safe.

They plumbed the kicker’s fuel lines to the main tank, although it also has its own little onboard 1-liter tank as well. They installed a fuel-water separator, which it really should have had to begin with. The engine mount that I had installed a couple of months ago is really nifty. It allows you to easily raise and lower the motor to any depth you need, and it has a powerful spring that assists in lifting. With this type of lift you’re not supposed to trailer with the motor on, but it only weighs a little over 50 pounds. I was able to easily disconnect the fuel line via the quick connect they put on, and carry it to the back of my Forester without too much trouble.

I also asked them to install a special electrical connector on the front of the console, so that I can plug in a bow-mounted crab pot puller. That will allow me to crab down at 200 feet. Knowing I would need more length, they actually made a special extension cord for me free of charge. So far I’m happy with Performance Marine. They are a little cheaper than the dealer in Seattle, did good work, and came in well under the estimate. And, I love shopping local!

Now all I need is some sunny weather on the weekends…

[Prologue January 2025] Two years later, the kicker has never really has lived up to its promise, for several reasons. Even though it’s the lightest 6 HP outboard on the market, it’s still fairly heavy for such a small boat. I started using old window weights on the port side of the console to help stabilize it. It’s got plenty of power to get the boat up to its hull speed of about 5 mph when you’re not fishing, but if you’re dragging two 15-pound downrigger balls 100 feet underwater, you have to go full throttle just to reach 3.5 mph. At that point it’s annoyingly loud. So, it doesn’t really work for trolling for chinook or coho. Furthermore, the cool articulating bracket makes it nearly impossible to connect any kind of mechanical steering mechanism to it from the main engine, meaning that you can’t steer it from the helm. You have to sit in the back and use a tiller extender, and from there you can’t read the fish finder. To make things worse, the bracket weighs 20 pounds by itself, putting the whole installation over the recommended transom weight. It is nevertheless still useful and necessary for kokanee or sockeye fishing, when you have to troll at around 1 mph. Even then, drift socks are necessary to keep it moving slowly enough. It’s also useful for pink salmon, although many people would prefer to jig for those than troll.