Mercury Bigfoot 9.9 Kickers?

[Finatic]

Am now looking at a low hours 2013 Merc Bigfoot 9.9 Four Stroke Hi-thrust L.Shaft for $2000 with factory warranty coverage til July 2016. Has electric & pull start, manual ratcheting tilt, very clean. Anyone have any experience with these newer Mercs or heard any good/bad about them? Was looking at a 2012 Suzuki 9.9 brand new for about $2500 with power tilt but for $500 less, am thinking I could deal with the Merc's manual tilt.

[MackayGuy]

They're a bit cold blooded, but once started will run great all day. There's a couple of things to do to make em start easy. They're made for Mercury by Tohatsu....not sure if that's good or bad. I've got a 9.9 Pro Kicker and have not had any problems with it. Actually this is my 2nd Merc kicker....no problems with either one. The high thrust should let you troll down below 1 mph if you want, depending on the size of your boat. I like mine....you're probably going to hear from the Yamaha and Honda folks as well. They're all good motors these days. You should get what works for you. This one sounds like a fair deal.....the Bigfoot models run about $2800 new.

[SuperD]

Over the life of the motor, $500 is a cheap healthy back. Go all in for power tilt.

[clawman]

When I bought my Yamaha 9.9 HT I was reluctant to pay the 2900 and considered a motor without electric start and power tilt. Glad I came to my senses and paid the extra few hundred bucks... and I'll get some or all of that back if I decided to sell it and upgrade to a Honda.

[downriggeral]

Electric start and power tilt is the only way to go. If you could find one the Yamaha T8 is awesome, love mine. I have a friend I fish with who has the Honda 9.9 high thrust, a little cold blooded but a great motor too. Buy a new Tohatsu and save some bucks if you are going Merc.

[dragonfly]

the problem with the tohatsu is that don't offer a hi thrust. it is a 2.08-1 so it would be pretty much worthless for slow trolling. the big foot is 2.42-1 which is a lot better but the Yamaha will troll the slowest at 2.92-1 for comparison. I would go with the power tilt and the electric start. makes life a lot easier for us old guys. I had the pull start and wrestled with the manual tilt and although dependable it is harder to resell when you want to update. dfly

[mrmike]

You ask so my comments are !! I think you want the electric start and electric tilt. I can fight a fish with one hand and with the other hit the electric tilt with the other be lifting the kicker. I have a Yamaha 9.9 and all my buddys have Yamaha . Just look on the guide boats all you see is Yamaha's For the little bit of extra you will be soooo happy you did. Thats just from my personnel experience GOOD LUCK on your choice.

[MackayGuy]

the problem with the tohatsu is that don't offer a hi thrust. it is a 2.08-1 so it would be pretty much worthless for slow trolling. the big foot is 2.42-1 which is a lot better but the Yamaha will troll the slowest at 2.92-1 for comparison.

If they all have the same pitch prop that is true.

[dragonfly]

that is true, that is how I would compare apples to apples. the higher gear ratios will never troll as slow as the lower geared ones at the same rpm and same size prop.. and using round numbers the yamaha is about 1/3 slower than the tohatsu with everything else being equal. dfly

[lowe1648mt]

I have a 9.9 Merc big foot pro. It came with the silver 4 blade prop. All Merc electric start 9.9 motors come with a rope starter as well as the electric start. Mine also is power trim. Prop sizes are from 10x7 4 blade to 9.2x 9 three blade. I ended up with a 9.5x8 prop. I don't remember where I found it, but it is a Merc prop.
As the Big Foot lower unit is a 20 hp unit and not the standard unit,You have other options.Like some Yamaha props fit Mercs. I'm not sure since I retired, Yamaha didn't have a pull start on electric start motors.
The power head on Mercs is made by Tohatsu, but the rest including the ignition system, power trim, fuel system, transom mount and lower unit is Merc.
As for being cold blooded, true of all four strokes. To start your Merc- Cold start- Squeeze the tank primer bulb( making sure the tank vent is open. Pull choke, Make sure the lanyard switch is on. Push the primer bulb ( on the motor) 3 times. All Important- Use the fast idle button on the starboard side of the motor then push the start button.
Let the motor run with the choke on until the motor starts to run rough. push the choke off. If it stalls restart and idle longer.

[Finatic]

Since the consensus seems to be Yamaha, what do you think of this one?

2009 T8 Long Shaft, El.Start, Power Tilt, looks clean, supposed to run well, no clear estimate of hours but it wasn't used on a Guide boat. Comes with a spare prop & a spare carb for some reason. Anything in particular I should look/watch out for? Guess I could rent a Gauge from O'Reilly's & check the compression.

$1700 Firm

[dragonfly]

fantic, the one reason the Yamaha is so popular is the fact it is very dependable and it will troll the slowest without using plates or socks which is important fishing for kokanee where a slow presentation is paramount. if you are fishing big salmon or other species where you are 2+ mph then the others will work fine. the t-8 is no longer made just so you know, but the parts are still are available because of it's popularity. I would do a wet and dry comp test, check the oil in the gear box for water, listen to it run and make sure the water pump is peeing good and ask when it was changed last. pull and check the eng zinc in the block to check for corrosion and salt use, check the timing belt to make sure the belt is not fraying and looks good. looking at the pictures the skeg doesn't look like it was drug and the rest looks to be in good shape so the previous owner probably took decent care of it. dfly

[SuperD]

I'm betting that the motor probably has very low hours and that the extra carb was from it sitting and getting gummed up. I've spent a fortune on carb work for my T-8. Poor ethanol gas and kicker carbs don't go well together.

[Plumber]

If they all have the same pitch prop that is true.

What about honda kickers how do they compare to yamaha

[MackayGuy]

What about honda kickers how do they compare to yamaha

Honda kickers have a 2.33:1 gear ratio, so with the same pitch prop it would put it just a bit faster than merc with 2.42:1 and a lot faster than the yami with 2.92:1.

Hope that answers your question.

[Plumber]

Could you get a different pitch prop to slow you down

[MackayGuy]

Sure. Do the math. Theoretically....

Yamaha - At 600 rpm / 2.92 gear ratio = 205 prop shaft rpm X 7 pitch prop (standard Yamaha pitch on HT kickers) = 1438 in/min forward motion / 12 (in/ft) =120 ft/min X 60 mi/hr = 7192 ft/hr / 5280 (ft/mi) = 1.36 MPH

Honda - At 600 rpm / 2.33 gear ratio = 258 prop shaft rpm X 5.5 pitch prop (find a 5.5 pitch prop for a Honda) = 1416 in/min forward motion / 12 (in/ft) =118 ft/min X 60 mi/hr = 7081 ft/hr / 5280 (ft/mi) = 1.34 MPH

Everything else being equal such as the size of the boat, prop slip, etc. which will reduce the actual speed.

[Finatic]

Thanks everyone

From talking to the guy, my guess is the T8 probably has at least 500 hours on it and has been run in saltwater probably more than fresh whereas the Merc Bigfoot was primarily fresh with some brackish. Both motors are located in Portland, Or - if the Yamaha doesn't check out, I can check out the Merc and check CL again for another Yami. I'll be driving up Thursday in my Honda Civic & the guy with the T8 is giving me first dibs on it. Am going to a Memorial on Sunday up there for a relative who recently passed away so if I come home empty-handed, it wont be a wasted trip.

[dragonfly]

yes but if you put the same 5 pitch on the yamaha so you are comparing the same performance the yamaha is less than 1mph not taking into account prop slip so if your kokanee are wanting a 1-1.2 mph the Honda wont get there in a light boat because you won't have as much prop slip. a heaver boat, heading into the wind or current will have more slip thus it will be slower. but to answer plumbers question yes a steeper pitch will slow you down as mackguy shows above. dfly

[MackayGuy]

Geez dragfly....yeah, but if you put a 3 pitch prop on the honda.....oh never mind. Plumber asked earlier how the honda compared to the yamaha, so to answer his latest question I thought it would be a good example of how the lower pitch prop could slow the honda down comparable to a stock yamaha. I don't give a crap what kicker everyone is using. I was just trying to answer the man's question, not sell him something.

[dragonfly]

mackguy I am not trying to sell anything ether, like you just trying to let people know not all 9.9s are not the same when it comes to trolling and if they want slow, what the best options are, instead of wasting money buying something that won't do what want and living with it, or going out and re buying the right one, I made that mistake many years ago and didn't have the help or knowable to make the best choice that we have available today. and as far as I know for the Yamaha any way the 5 pitch is as steep as they go and on mine that is almost flat. dfly

[clawman]

My experience, having owned both, is the Honda is a lot smoother.

[cowlitzsteelie1977]

I know Suzuki spends a lot of time and money on R&D. I love the power tilt, power thrust, and remote option. Today's Suzuki is definitely not yester years Suzuki. Just my 2¢.

Attachment 7438

[Finatic]

So, had an agreement with the guy in Portland to hold the T8 for me until I got there Thursday afternoon/eve. Late Wednesday nite, I get a text from him saying he sold the motor for $100 more without even contacting me to ask if I was willing to pay more. Texted him back saying F-you so very much .

Got back on Searchtempest and found a 2006 Merc Pro Kicker with low hours in exc. cond. in Bend for $2100 OBO. Talked to the guy and it sounded good so I was set to head to Bend Thursday then on to Portland from there to my Relatives. Got up Thursday morning and checked Searchtempest one last time and up pops a 2012 Yamaha T9.9HT with El.Start, Pwr. Tilt, L. Shaft with only 20 hours on it in Portland .

Called & emailed the guy with the Yamaha but no answer so hit the road intending to be in Bend by the afternoon to check out the Pro Kicker. Had just hit I-5 headed north when I get a call from the guy in Portland saying the Yamaha was still available. Texted the guy in Bend and told him I was going to check out the Yami first & that I'd drive over to Bend & check his Merc out I didn't buy the Yamaha.

SCORE! Am the new owner of a nearly-new condition Yamaha T9.9 with 1 year of warranty remaining for $2450 so guess it was meant to be!

[mtncat1]

that sounds like you got a great motor I just sold my Yamaha 9.9 and replaced it with a Honda 8hp. both were very reliable and my yami always treated me good but my honda is quitter and trolls slower than the yami but you can't go wrong with either. p/s looks like prices are quite a bit higher where you are than in ut.