Kicker on Bankes Freedom

G

Gary G

Member
Has anyone put a kicker or trolling motor on their Bankes boat? I can’t say I’ve ever seen one and Mike doesn’t recall installing one out of the factory. The transom is certainly pretty narrow back there and the stern step/handle seem to be in the way, hence I’m wondering if someone has come with a way of fitting a small outboard on there. I’m thinking of going with the stainless steel eyes instead of the step and hope there’s enough room, but I do hate the idea of not having that step to help get back in.


Most fishing boats on the Great Lakes always have something else hanging on the back, mainly for trolling but also for peace of mind when you’re ten miles out and need to get back. Having these highly capable big water ducks boats with no back-up to get home seems strange.


Thanks,


 
plenty of single outboard boats going offshore a good distance and many single screw pleasure and commercial fishing boats out east with no Aux. power.

keep your engine running in tip top shape and do the maintenance and you shouldn't have many problems.
 
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I have a bankes freedom and currently do not have a kicker.
but I would think it would be easy to take a 6hp or so and stick it in the front cabin of the boat . if you need it just take it out and clamp it to the lip on the back of the boat
raise the main and use the motor to get you home.
 
The overwhelming majority of engine issues are gasoline quality related. Running a main and a kicker off the same fuel supply gains you nothing in peace of mind or safety via use of a back-up motor or twin powerheads for that matter. My first personal Great Lakes trolling boat was a Boston Whaler Outrage 21' rigged with a Yamaha 225hp main and a Yamaha 9.9 kicker. I used the auxillary motor twice to get "in", luckily in relatively calm weather each time. The first time was a seven mile ride; second only around five- VERY long ride, since the boat was only able to travel at hull speed. I was on a friend's boat equipped with older 2-stroke twins when one died on the way in from Stannard Rock (42 mile run each way). We were pushing against an offshore wind that was building-not a fun trip, which eventually required USCG intervention when we were still about seven miles out of Marquette.

When I worked on the St. Mary's River on a USFWS Environmental Monitoring project we blew a start motor up on one of a pair of 75hp 2-strokes on a BW Outrage 22 in 1982. A one hour trip on twins became a three hour "cruise" in the dark to get back to the dock from trawl sampling. We found that the helm doesn't answer very well in heavy current, narrow rocky sections, adding some "white knuckle moments" to the trip. We had just had that starter "serviced" because of problems with the bendix unit.

I have run a single 250hp Verado on my Conquest, both to troll(the troll control function allows me to set the rpm level and leave the throttel alone) and travel, no issues in seven years of Great Lakes fishing on this powerhead and hull in Lakes Superior and Michigan.

Modern four strokes are pretty bulletproof and solid marine power, whether you are in the salt or in fresh water...treat your gas with marine stabil; life will be good.
 
Gents,

Thanks for the input, perhaps I'm overly cautious for no reason. I've never had an issue with the Yamaha on my Lund while hunting, but with this new boat I see myself heading further out on the big water, and perhaps in somewhat heavier seas.

As was mentioned, good maintainance, good fuel, perhaps a water-fuel separator, combined with modern 4 stroke technology and life should be good.

Can't wait for the new boat!
 
Thanks for that info! I like the peace of mind that the redundancy of a second motor gives you. I'll see what size/brand can fit on there once the boat gets built/delivered.
 
Screenshot_2014-05-13-22-24-17.png


Screenshotted the clip looks to be maybe a 5 horse. It's a sweet setup
 
A picture says it all! I was thinking the step/handle would interfere with the kicker motor bracket, but this looks like it should work with no real issues. The kicker does look to be turned around 180 degrees here, but I assume the motor has full 360 rotation.

Thanks again.
 
I think it's a great addition honestly. I also don't want to be stranded with a beat motor in the ocean and I sure as hell ain't paddling a crusader back to shore
 
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