How to Mount a Kicker Motor on a Boat With a Swim Platform or Bracket

Measure the platform or stern where the kicker might go: height of the mounting surface above the bottom of the hull, how far the platform sticks out, and any angles. Note what's behind or under it, and whether you can reach the back side with a wrench. Make a full-size cardboard template of the bracket's footprint and the motor's outline (motor dimensions are in its specs) so you can try positions before you buy or drill.

Boating Magazine notes that the tiller handle is usually on the motor's port side, which is why most kickers go on the starboard side: the handle then points toward the middle of the boat. Mercury says either side works as long as you can comfortably reach the kicker to lower it, start it, steer it and stow it. A long setback can push the tiller handle out of reach behind the platform. Stand where you'd actually stand and check that you can reach the tiller, throttle, shift and kill switch without leaning over the stern. Mercury mentions that a tiller extension is a must on some boats. If you can't reach safely, plan on remote steering and controls (see the tie bar steering guide).

This is where platform installs most often go wrong. With a helper and the template (or the bracket held in place), check every combination:

• Main engine turned hard to port and hard to starboard, trimmed down and tilted fully up
• Kicker turned to both stops, lowered and raised on its bracket, and tilted up on its own tilt
• Main engine's trim rams, steering cylinder, hoses, cables and jackplate (if fitted) at full travel

Mercury says the kicker must sit far enough from the main engine that neither motor touches the other in a full turn. Watch for the kicker's cowling hitting the main engine's lower unit when both are tilted, which is a common surprise.

Mercury warns against putting the kicker directly over your fishfinder transducer; you may need to move the transducer. Also think about people: the kicker shouldn't block the boarding ladder or the path people use to climb back aboard from the water. Boating Magazine points out that a reboarding ladder matters for safety, so don't trade it away for a kicker spot.

The kicker's anti-ventilation plate (the flat plate above the prop) should sit about level with the bottom of the hull at the kicker's location when the bracket is down. Mercury's guidance for its ProKicker is no more than about an inch below the bottom, measured at the mounting spot, not at the center of the transom (typical; confirm in your motor and bracket instructions). On a setback bracket the motor sits further aft, where the water can be more turbulent, so follow the bracket maker's height formula and plan to fine-tune it on the water.

Find out what you're bolting into:

• Molded platform (part of the hull): often cored with balsa or foam. Ask the builder where it's solid. Drilling into wet or soft core is a red flag.
• Bolt-on platform: it's only as strong as its own brackets and the transom it hangs on. Check that its mounts are tight, dry and not cracked before adding a motor.
• Transom behind the platform: tap and look for soft spots, cracks or weeping (see the transom and stringer guide).

If there's any doubt, have a pro reinforce the area or build a proper mounting plate. This is not the place to guess.

Every bolt needs a backing plate on the far side to spread the load, not just washers. Garelick, as quoted by Boating Magazine, recommends a backing plate inside the transom for its kicker brackets. Use aluminum or marine-grade plastic at least the size of the bracket's footprint, drilled to match. If you can't reach the back side of a molded platform to fit a backing plate and nuts, that location is not suitable without opening up access (a pro job).

Mark the holes with the bracket as a template, check behind each mark again, then drill straight. In a cored platform or transom, protect the core: a common method is to drill oversize, fill with thickened epoxy, let it cure and drill the bolt hole through the epoxy (the through-bolting accessories guide shows how). Clean away all dust.

Coat the bracket flange, the backing plate and the holes with the sealant the bracket maker recommends. Push the stainless bolts through, fit the backing plate, washers and locknuts, and tighten evenly with a helper holding the bolt heads. Use the tightness or torque in the bracket instructions, and don't crank so hard that the gelcoat cracks. Many brackets don't include mounting hardware.

Follow the bracket maker's order for spring brackets: Panther notes some of its spring brackets can't be moved until the motor is on them because the springs are too strong. Lift the motor onto the pad, tighten the clamp screws, then through-bolt it using the motor's clamp holes. Boating Magazine warns that clamp screws can vibrate loose and you could lose the kicker. Add a stainless safety cable to a solid point, with enough slack for steering and tilting: kickers don't float.

Repeat the full clearance check from step 3 with the actual motor hung. Turn lock to lock with both engines down, then with each one tilted. Look for rubbing hoses, a kicker that hits the platform when tilted up, and a tiller that hits anything at full turn.

Run the kicker in the water (on a trailer only with external flush muffs or a test tank if your manual allows it). Check that the prop stays in clean water and doesn't suck air in a chop, that the bracket locks in each position, and that nothing flexes visibly when you shift into forward and reverse. After the first few outings, check the bracket bolts for tightness and look for cracks or weeping around every hole. A platform that flexes or creaks under the kicker's thrust needs reinforcement.