Adding a kicker to an R27 and debating control options-want to hear firsthand experience

[Red Herring]

Hi Experts,

I just got a 2020 R27OB and am adding a 9.9 yamaha kicker for trolling and a backup. My question is around what people who have done this like and dislike about their choice for controlling it?

The three options I see are
1. Link it to the main and use the helm steering
2. Get a motor with a manual tiller handle
3. Get a remote steering and throttle controllers.

Currently, I’m leaning towards the remote steering and throttle control, but I’d like to hear pros and cons from people with firsthand experience with any of the setups.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Submariner]

Hi Experts,

I just got a 2020 R27OB and am adding a 9.9 yamaha kicker for trolling and a backup. My question is around what people who have done this like and dislike about their choice for controlling it?

The three options I see are
1. Link it to the main and use the helm steering
2. Get a motor with a manual tiller handle
3. Get a remote steering and throttle controllers.

Currently, I’m leaning towards the remote steering and throttle control, but I’d like to hear pros and cons from people with firsthand experience with any of the setups.

Thanks in advance.

My T9.9 kicker is connected to the main with a tie-bar. Throttle controls are remote, in the cockpit. To steer, I use the autopilot which has a remote I can use from the cockpit.

Let's talk about the Yamaha 9.9 kicker on the Ranger Tug R27-OB

 

[Red Herring]

I had not though much about the fuel measuring and battery charging. This was helpful. Thanks, Martin. (Subscribed)

We are on K dock and will hopefully meet someday soon.

 

[Hamster]

I switched from a Panther Remote to a Garmin Reactor Kicker Autopilot. If you fish, the autopilot is fantastic. Automatically adjusts your course that may be affected by wind or current. Also has throttle control.

 

[Mike and Sarah]

Plus one for the Garmin reactor 40 autopilot for the kicker. I added it to my 9.9 Yamaha on my fishing boat and found it to be amazing. the controller integrates to the NEMA system so easy to wire in. It operates the same as your autopilot for the yamaha 300.
You will need to change out the tilt tube on the 9.9 with a stainless tube before installing the steering actuator.
The reactor 40 would eliminate the tie bar between the 300 and 9.9.
That all said we had a kicker on our R27 with the tie bar and it worked ok using the tie bar.

 

[Pandion]

We spend more hours fishing on our R27OB than any other use, so our experience is from that perspective.

We have a factory-installed kicker with a tie-bar. We frequently use the factory Reactor 40/autopilot setup at the helm to maintain a heading hold or run pattern steering. Like Submariner, we use the autopilot remote to control steering from the cockpit, when necessary. However, 99% of the steering control is done from the helm. We fish Puget Sound in some very congested areas and we find that we can't see well enough from the cockpit to effectively navigate through the crowd of boats. Also, using the autopilot remote does not have the speed and steering accuracy needed to avoid "that guy" who's not paying attention to where his boat's headed. It looks like you're in Everett so you may be familiar with that. If we're not fishing under those conditions, the Reactor 40 remote works great to control steering from the cockpit. As an aside, we also have a Garmin chartplotter in our cockpit and we can control the autopilot from there, as well.

For kicker speed control, it became apparent early on that the factory kicker binnacle in the cockpit was not going to work for us. We had difficulty hitting that "right speed" without over- or under-shooting it. So, I installed an iTroll remote throttle control. Ours is wired and installed at the helm but iTroll now makes wireless units, as well. We can now control our kicker speed in very small increments via a dial from the helm. It also has the ability to vary speeds in a pattern if that works for your fishing style. It's worked great for us for the last three years and I'd install another if this one died.

Regarding tie-bars...I believe that our boat steers and tracks better with the tie-bar and having both motors moving in sync than it would using just the kicker independently, as the main works a rudder. If I were starting from scratch, I'd install the same system we're using now.

 

[Red Herring]

Thank you all for the information you shared. It drove my decision to go with a reactor 40 and ghc20 with a tie bar.