Kicker Bracket

[Fish Repellent]

Hey Folks, just bought a 1992 Tournament 19 upgrading from a Arima Sea Hunter 15.

The boat comes with a 1999 Yamaha 9.9 4-stroke kicker sitting on an old OMC bracket that is completely shot with elongated holes and no hydraulics.

The motor does not have power tilt so a fixed bracket is currently out of the question. I am currently wringing my hands over the Garelick 71090, the Panther 55-0410B (which I am convinced is made by the same manufacturer as the Garelick - they look identical), and a Panther 35 which has its own power tilt system.

I want to trailer with the motor on as it is cabled for controls etc.

I would love to get some suggestions and advice on a good reliable bracket that I won't have to worry about dumping my motor on the freeway. I, of course, would strap down motor attached to any articulated bracket while trailering.

As an aside does anyone know if the holes on the mounting plates match up between the brands (OMC-Garelick-Panther). I would love to avoid drilling any more holes in the boat.

Thanks in advance for any help, Dave.

 

[bc282]

IMO depends on a few factors such as what type of boating/fishing you do and how much $$$ are you willing to part with.
Sorry, no first hand knowledge of Panther but only what i've quickly glanced in passing.
I do have experience with Fulton HD and Garelick HD brackets. FYI, stay far away from the Fulton as it lasted less than one season under my care (i'm not hard on my gear!). The Garelicks faired better, but did see some wear and tear so you can not expect these to last forever. I had the shorter travel HD Garelick, but could have used the longer travel one to sit lower which would have been nice on lumpy days and not have the prop come out of the water and vent/spray (an issue i had on one of the boats, other one was rare occasion).

if you find you do not use the kicker too often then the HD Garelick bracket should hold up fine for several seasons.
if you trailer on ruff roads and/or boat offshore or ruff waters, the heavy kicker motor will be bouncing on the bracket and accelerate wear and tear. I did not figure out a good way while underway on the water to significantly reduce the "kicker bounce" to reduce wear and tear. I did not want to "frankenstein" an "anit-bounce" solution that would be a PITA to remove/install several times daily and look like shit on the boat. Ended up selling both boats with Garelick brackets so cannot atest to very long term report, but doubt that the bracket or any moving bracket for that matter would hold up to offshore use for more than 5-7 years without some major repair (those 4s kickers are pretty heavy items!).

the most expensive solution is the best long term solution IMO. Unfortunately it involves a fixed bracket and swapping the existing kicker for a unit that has power tilt/trim. The Yami T8 would suite very well for your application. With fixed bracket, you will worry far less about wear and tear, losing a motor and not have to constantly examine and maintain a moving bracket. Additionally, the use of power tilt will make deploy and raising the kicker much faster and easier--one less PITA task to take away from your fishing/boating experience.

I've had a T8 w/ elec start and power trim/tilt and a T9.9 with manual everything. Much much preferred the convenience elec start and power trim, would NOT get another kicker that wasn't. As mentioned above, sold my boats that had kickers, now have larger boat (282) with twin F225's and NO kicker. I like not having the kicker and having to listen to it for hours on end while on the troll. So, another option is to have no kicker and just use the main motor for troll. If the boat doesn't have a 4s engine, $$$ could be spent on this upgrade. Will make the boat lighter and reduce the boat's bias tilt to one corner due to the kicker in that corner. I had to install trim tabs on one of the boats due to the too noticeable bias tilt after kicker was installed. New 4s are economical, quiet, clean and reliable, a F150 would be a good option on your boat or the new F200 if you like speed.

 

[SC Adventure 208]

I have a Panther 35 that spent about 3 months on my 208 before the main power died two months ago. Got to use it twice. I decided to repower with a yamaha 200 4 stroke so took off the kicker (yamaha 9.9 4 stroke). I have all the parts and could sell it to you if you are still looking. I had to have a custom aluminum bracket built to get the motor out from the transom a bit so it would fully rise without hitting the transom. Finally I have 2 EZ Steer bars to attach the kicker to the main power so you can steer from the helm. I do not have the EZ steer attachments for the motors. The 3 wires from the controls to the relay had to be cut so you'd have to splice the wires back together.

The bracket alone is about $660 list. If you're interested let me know and give me a price (plus shipping). Or if you're near SC you can pick it up.

 

[Fish Repellent]

Thanks for the advice (and the offer), I went with the Garelick. I wanted to go cheap ($300) as I will switch to a new 4 stroke kicker with electric tilt and fixed mount over the next couple of years.The holes didn't match perfect, but a little drill work on the bracket provided that I didn't need to put new holes in the boat.

I will re-power the main motor with a 4-stroke in a couple of years also, for those of you that troll with your 4-stroke mains, do you find that they will go slow enough (.8-1mph) to fish for Sockeye?

Thanks, Dave.

 

[SC Adventure 208]

I troll for stripers with mine and it goes a little fast at 3mph. Like to keep it at about 2mph and will sometimes tie on a sea anchor.

If anyone else wants the Panther Kicker bracket it can be had for $200. otherwise it will become my next target next time I go out to the range.

 

[Willy-C]

Congrats on the new/used boat Fish Repellent.....You have good taste in boats.. :mrgreen:

Just a thought if you are gonna troll much.....I added a trollmaster remote for my kicker and it works sweeeet ( http://www.cabelas.com/product/TrollMas ... l+Products ).....it makes short work out of keeping the throttle right where you want it with precision