BigHEis taking the plunge! My 1st V rebuild.

[BigHE]

Originally Posted by Blue_Runner

Here's my thoughts - just invest in the towing service (Tow Boat or Sea Tow) and don't buy the kicker. Invest in plenty of anchor line and 15 - 20' of anchor chain. Also invest in a good VHF and even better ANTENNA, because no matter how good the VHF without a good antenna it is no good. Also a hand-held VHF for backup safety. For less than the cost of a kicker you can get the nice anchor line/chain, VHF/handheld VHF, and probably have enough to buy and EPIRB (Emergency locator beacon). If something happens, you lose power, anchor up so your nose is into the seas (keeps from swamping the boat). Hail Seatow/Boat US on VHF and wait for them to get you. By anchoring, you can give them a more presice location = easier to find you. All of the above and if possible head out with another boat (buddy boat).

I've always had Sea Tow. In addition I have a 9.9 kicker that I used to take on saltwater trips. Now I just use it in the lake (when it is running LOL). When you have a kicker for emergency purposes only, you tend to not run them very often. All of the spray from the saltwater will eventually eat away at your kicker, which you rarely run. Then you will realize it is just hanging on the transom adding weight and getting in the way of fishing. Oh and you have to flush it after every trip whether you run it or not.

At least that is what happened to my thinking about kickers for emergency purposes.

Also, agreed that 9 miles is nothing. Most I've done was 120 miles total on the water in one day. Burned ~ 50-ish gallons. Fishing Hatteras over Memorial day weekend and we will be fishing 25 - 35 miles off every day for 4 days. Expecting to burn around 35 gallons each day, 3 guys.

Good luck w/ the boat!

That makes a lot of sense. Gonna do some shopping and comparing. Thanks.