Transom swim grid kicker bracket

[HIGHRPM]

Hi everyone. Might be ok for some and a what the hell are you thinking moment for others. I have a 98 1700SR, that I will be primarily using for fishing with the wife on bigger lakes and was thinking about a possible kicker bracket for a small trolling motor, safety motor, that would have to mount to the swim grid. Has anyone done one ? OK to do or HELL NO ? I have always had flat transom so I am a bit unsure. Some of the lakes I will be on are long with some times very little traffic, so safety is a concern, a get me home slow motor would be nice to have if possible, without creating problems for the boat. Whats every ones thoughts ?

[mmwjr]

The swim platform is not designed to hold the weight of a kicker nor transfer the energy to the boats transom. You will need to either figure out a way to reinforce it or remove a section to mount the outboard on a bracket mounted to the transom.

[bman440440]

Originally Posted by mmwjr

The swim platform is not designed to hold the weight of a kicker nor transfer the energy to the boats transom. You will need to either figure out a way to reinforce it or remove a section to mount the outboard on a bracket mounted to the transom.

I have one problem with your statement (and no this is not a dig on you)... "The swim platform is not designed to hold the weight of a kicker" the average 9.9/15 HP 4 stroke engine is about 85-90 pounds... and think about what 2-3 people standing on it is... 250+ pounds easy... and in my case I have a 32 gallon bait tank set up on mine and a kicker bracket like this ---> https://www.ebay.com/itm/kicker-moto...38.m2548.l4275

I have a 1/2" starboard backing plate on the inside of the swim platform that is threw bolted to the bracket... I have a mercury 20 HP 4 stroke on mine 115 LBS and no problems... so speaking from experience there will be no problems doing that... just do it in the same fashion that I did and you are good to go... I did it because I do a butt load of trolling when fishing for tuna (yes I do fish for tuna from mine) and I wanted to keep the hours down on my main engine... and its a nice backup if there ever is a problem

[mmwjr]

You are looking at it as static load I.e. dead weight i was refering to the load the outboard, weight and torque would apply to the platform. Additionally it needs to handle transferring the force to the boat to push it through the water.

I cannot tell if it is a bolt on or integrated into the hull design.

[bman440440]

Originally Posted by mmwjr

You are looking at it as static load I.e. dead weight i was refering to the load the outboard, weight and torque would apply to the platform. Additionally it needs to handle transferring the force to the boat to push it through the water.

I cannot tell if it is a bolt on or integrated into the hull design.

I do understand what you are saying... but this is not an main engine... the idea is not trying to get the boat on plane... but simply use for trolling and as an backup engine incase of main failure... the swim step will handle this without issue... now if you where trying to use a 40+ HP outboard I could see there being issues from stress on the platform using it to trying to get on plane and such... but from the standpoint for mounting a basic kicker 15 HP or less (I know I have a 20 on mine but it is what I had already and all I use it for is trolling at 6-7 knots) there will not be any issues.

[mmwjr]

I agree with all you have said but I would still be concerned if it is bolt on platform of stress from trailering bouncing and or if the outboard were to hit a submerged object even at trolling speed it could pull the lag bolts out.

If it works for you I won’t argue.

[HIGHRPM]

For dead weight, the kicker would be my Evinrude 6 hp 2 stoke, as that's the biggest my back will let me lift, so not heavy at all. And for those that don't know the swim grid is molded to the hull, not bolted on. Thanks for the opinions !

[shrew]

I agree with Mike, that it wasn't designed for it. However, I do think it could handle it. I have a buddy with a 25 hp on an inflatable zodiak. It is a common question on some of the forums. My thoughts are; Mounting is tricky, operation is awkward.

If you're primary goal is fishing, why not buy a fishing boat? Mounting a kicker on a small Parker or Grady White, etc would be simple. So would fishing. Plus, no carpet.

[Pbob]

Has anyone mounted a kicker motor on a 2300sr Maxum