Kicker questions

Kicker brackets allow you to mount the motor where it needs to be on many boats. Like our older starcraft, the design on the transom isn't straight across, it is 'notched' for the motor area and there isn't really room for the main motor and a decent sized kicker beside it because of the way the transom slopes. A bracket allows us to mount it.
Also, the adjustable ones allow you to lift your kicker up out of the water when you are going to run your main motor which greatly reduces drag for speed and also wear and tear on the kicker itself. Plus reduces the pressure on the transom since there isn't a 2nd lower unit in the water.

and if you have a transom that is shallow or deep you can mount the bracket height at the point where it is most effective for the length of the lower unit on the kicker motor. For example, we got a tremendous deal on a 10hp kicker motor but it has a short shaft, we placed the adjustable kicker bracket slightly lower on our transom and it works great! If we would have to clamp that kicker directly over the transom it wouldn't be long enough to work for us.

Hope this helps.

Get advice from someone with experience who can look at your boat before you decide the best combo for you. Every boat is different and it is certainly something that can be a 'do it yourself' project but plan ahead so you are best able to do it right. I imagine if you do an internet search on your boat model and 'kicker mounting' you will get a few hits that show some info on best placement and other peoples learning experience.

Also, make sure your transom is rated to handle, and is in good enough condition to handle, the extra weight/torque that a large kicker can cause.

I have mounted a couple of kickers on the transom beside the main motor, on your 16 you'll probably only need a short shaft (but measure anyway). Bolt it on, don't just use the clamp. The big thing is to make sure the wood in the transom is sound.

I think it will work, but you will need a long shaft. Optimally, you want the cavitation plate even with the bottom of the hull (Look at your main, it looks like its correctly mounted with the cavitation plate even with the bottom of the v-hull) A long shaft will put the cavitation plate 20" from where it is mounted. So from the looks of it, you will be a bit short, but due to you not being able to get on plane with a kicker, the relevance of it being perfectly mounted is not critical. If you plan to be on Erie where there is a lot of chop and the transom of the boat could rocks up and down a lot, you will want more of your motor in the water to avoid it coming out of the water and over-reving...Just my 2 cents from mounting one on mine.