Kicker?

[Snowmastiff]

Went on a recent outing and did not plan my return well. Was thinking more about tide than afternoon wind kick up. Got stuck in some nasty wind and waves headed West in Passage Canal, more than what I felt my limited experience should have been in. Learned a lot on the fly. My engine died in the middle of the mess and I quickly realized it was a fuel line that had disconnected from the tank. Easy fix. But, got me thinking what to do, and the danger I so quickly could have been in. A friend of mine suggested I carry a kicker for just such a thing. Paddles in this action would have been useless.

Does anyone do this? Are you carrying little trolling motors on SIBs my size just to keep from turning abeam in case of emergency? Seems overkill - just need to be smarter about what I get in, but, what say you?

[Mikefule]

By "kicker" you mean a small auxiliary engine? It's basically a good idea if there's room on your transom. You don't want to be moving engines about while you're out there.

[Max...]

Never heard of a kicker and don't know what it is but every SIB that goes to sea should have a working anchor and consider a sea anchor (drogue) too.

[Poly]

Originally Posted by Max...

Never heard of a kicker and don't know what it is but every SIB that goes to sea should have a working anchor and consider a sea anchor (drogue) too.

A kicker is just another name for an auxiliary often referred to as an aux on here. Plenty of threads on here about their merits, including on SIBs.

There is no right or wrong answer; it depends where and when you use the boat (a wet Wednesday in Winter off the west coast of Ireland is a very different prospect from a Saturday in Summer in the Solent). In some cases as Max refers to having a means to hold your position or at least nose into the waves and a reliable method of calling for help is more realistic than trying to shuffle engines around on a squishy boat it waves. If your transom is big enough to permanently fit an aux, and the extra weight so far aft doesn’t penalise you then it can make sense.

[jeffstevens763@g]

transom width is the problem on most sibs but a good idea to carry one if possible

[Snowmastiff]

Thanks so much.
Auxiliary. OK. Got it. Kicker in these parts.

Good points all and thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I do have an anchor, but only 100 ft of line. Certain it would have done little good where I got myself.

A sea anchor. That is smart advice. I don’t think I would have any room on the transom for a Aux, especially with the launch wheels pulled up.

I have the InReach Garmin sat. so I think that is smart for a real emergency. I wasn’t really worried. But, if I’d taken my eyes off for one moment it would have gotten dicey. Exhausting 2 hours at just 2-3 knots against wind and waves. Or if the Suzuki would have died, that would have been real bad. Sea anchor to keep me nose first. That’s what I need.

Thanks again - you guys are great.

JB

[Mikefule]

Originally Posted by Poly

(a wet Wednesday in Winter off the west coast of Ireland is a very different prospect from a Saturday in Summer in the Solent).

What would you suggest for a freezing Friday in the fall in Falmouth?

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by Mikefule

What would you suggest for a freezing Friday in the fall in Falmouth?

The pub