Sport pilot to kicker

[Reel Overtime]

I have a 26' boat ,350. I/O with a cable steer and sport pilot installed.
I am adding a honda kicker and would like an idea of the best steering for this and if the sport pilot can be connected to steer the kicker??
Any thoughts here.. the sport pilot works great with the main engine running but Ill have no power assist running the kicker only..and main engine off.. any other options??
Thanks Rick

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Welcome to the Raymarine Forum Reel Overtime,

Raymarine has not produced an autopilot to support the end which you are seeking. While there are some aftermarket products designed to marry a kicker to stern drive, the I/O's engine would need to be powered ON when using the autopilot, the additional steering force required for the kicker may shorten the life of the autopilot, and performance of the autopilot may not be satisfactory. You may want to consider contacting the manufacturer of Octopus helm and remote autopilot drives to determine whether their drive unit may be use with a kicker which has been married to the stern drive. If so, then an EV-200 Power Pilot may be used to power/control the Octopus autopilot drive. You may also want to contact the author of the Forum thread found here to determine how well his kicker system worked with his autopilot.