Malta Fishing Forum

Marine => Engines/Drives and Electronics => Topic started by: malvizzu on August 16, 2013, 10:04:43 CET

Title: Outboard on Mooring
Post by: malvizzu on August 16, 2013, 10:04:43 CET
What's your opinion when boat is on mooring - should outboard be lowered or tilted out of water? I always tilted outboard to avoid fouling but an engineer friend of mine advised to keep engine down. Reasons given are for impellor not to get dry and crack and to avoid salt crystals after evaporation? I usually use boat on weekends only, outboard is fully covered (including propellor), and flushed with 2.5L salt away mixture.
Title: Re: Outboard on Mooring
Post by: rodfar on August 16, 2013, 10:27:07 CET
Jekk tista tghollieh ahjar. Jien fejn kont immazrat qabel dejjem mgholli kont nhallih u qatt ma tani problem. fejn qieghed issa ma jippermettilix li nhallieh l mutur mgholli, taf kif jimtela bil haxix, specjalment min fejn jigbed l ilma..... trid toqghod il hin kollu tnaddaf
Title: Re: Outboard on Mooring
Post by: savioursajdbis on August 17, 2013, 07:17:11 CET
jien nahseb il da l'enginer li semejt ma tanc andu xoghol lol telaw il mutur habib .
Title: Re: Outboard on Mooring
Post by: The_Gaffer on August 17, 2013, 07:24:59 CET
Leaving the outboard tilted or in a vertical postion will not prevent salt crystal formation.  Same argument applies to the impellor.  In your case, rinsing the outboard regularly with saltaway is also reducing the risk of salt crystal formation. 
Title: Re: Outboard on Mooring
Post by: benri on August 17, 2013, 12:13:08 CET
If you leave the motor tilted up there is a great chance of barnacles growing on the tilt/trim mechanism which in turn can easily be ruined when you go to tilt the motor back down (especially if you do not use for a run of say 2 weeks). Suzuki advice leaving the motor tilted down. Another issue is that it is safer as there is less chance of another boat running into your motor and damaging your shaft and also, keeping the engine down is safer in "propeller theft." It is very true that the motor gets dirtier in the water but I'd rather have a dirty motor working well than a clean motor with a bent shaft, stolen prop or malfunctioning trim/tilt!
Title: Re: Outboard on Mooring
Post by: skip on August 19, 2013, 10:19:51 CET
Not sure about Suzuki but Evinrude have a large sacrificial anode under the tilt mechanism to provide galvanic protection to the trim/tilt mechanism. Leaving my engine down will expose another set of small block anodes, so not really providing any kind of additional protection.

Protecting your engine from clumsy boaters is a valid concern, same goes for prop theft though at least you know it's been stolen! plus it's harder to pinch and not be noticed with the engine up, as opposed to a diver coming along and quietly removing your prop.

Most manufacturers recommend changing the impellor every 2 seasons and as most US boaters dry stack there engines, I think you'll find they are designed to remain dry without cracking , it's more the salt problem which is an issue unless you stay flushing the engine with something like Salt-X, Salt Away or vinegar.
Title: Re: Outboard on Mooring
Post by: tankard on August 19, 2013, 13:33:47 CET
Guys.

How do you use saltaway if boat is left in the water?. I always imagined that saltaway is mixed with water in a container when boat is on land. Where can I buy saltaway or any other similar product locally? Is white vinegar a cheap alternative and how much do you mix?
Thanks Guys
Title: Re: Outboard on Mooring
Post by: malvizzu on August 19, 2013, 14:21:05 CET
Thanks for the feedback guys!!!

@Tankard - I use salt removal concentrate SX50 from Caruana Marine, Zejtun. I use a simple attachment which Destination Sea (a forum member) advised me to use. My Evinrude ETEC has a thread (kamin) in the flushing port above the gearcase. I use a 1m garden pipe. At one end I attach a garden hose attachment, a primer bulb (buzzieqa) in the middle and the other end the pipe in a 2.5L water container. I just prime the bulb and circulate the salt away mixture round the system. It's not as efficient as when flushing on land but it helps nonetheless.
Title: Re: Outboard on Mooring
Post by: tankard on August 19, 2013, 14:47:42 CET
Ok Malvizzu, I can picture the setup. Do you have the motor running while flushing it? and will you have enough time for the thermostat to open?
Title: Re: Outboard on Mooring
Post by: benri on August 19, 2013, 16:04:10 CET
@Malvizzu - You got me thinking and reconsidering again after opening this topic! I remember it was a very tough decision to take some years ago and until now I thought I was doing the right thing! I was prompted to leave the engine tilted down following a local tv program where a Suzuki mechanic was present - he insisted that it is much better leaving the motor in the water due to the damage that can occur on the trim tab hydraulic mechanism due to barnacle growth. The flushing idea you are using also looks very interesting! I'm now back to the million dollar question as i was never 100% convinced :(
There is hardly and substantial info about this matter on the net and no manufacturer gives an outright advice black on white as far as I know!
Title: Re: Outboard on Mooring
Post by: malvizzu on August 20, 2013, 05:51:21 CET
Quote from: tankard on August 19, 2013, 14:47:42 CET
Ok Malvizzu, I can picture the setup. Do you have the motor running while flushing it? and will you have enough time for the thermostat to open?

According to the ETECs manual, I can either leave the engine running or still. Also I can use engine in tilt mode or vertical. When I flush engine on mooring, I tilt motor and obviously switched off. Than I lower engine again to drain powerhead before I raise again.
Title: Re: Outboard on Mooring
Post by: malvizzu on August 20, 2013, 05:56:58 CET
@Benri - yes it is a difficult decision to take because it has both pros and cons. I opted to keep it tilted due to the fact that I can flush the engine when on mooring, and as Skip said, it has an anode under the tilt mechanism to provide galvanic protection to the trim/tilt mechanism. If it's the right decision or not, it's always a big question mark?
Title: Re: Outboard on Mooring
Post by: skip on August 20, 2013, 06:38:44 CET
@Malvizzu - I read online that we can buy an adaptor attachment that threads on to the fush/confidence stream port and can stay in place all the time allowing easy attachment of a hose pipe for flushing.

On my 225, I have to remove the confidence stream attachment, and then screw in the flush attachment, so the kit avoids this hassle.

Concerning damage to the hydraulic mechanism, what I did read is that one should not leave the system pressurised taking all the weight of the engine, but instead to use one of the locking mechanisms depending on your outboard. Mine has two, one used for trailering and the other to lock the engine up allowing me to do a short down press on the tilt relieving the pressure from the hydraulic rams.
Title: Re: Outboard on Mooring
Post by: malvizzu on August 20, 2013, 08:07:15 CET
@Skip - I use a cheap detachable garden hose attachment which threads nicely in the stream/flushing port bought from an ironmonger. I prefer to remove it when using the boat as it reduces the diameter width and might interfere with the streaming out of water.

I only have one trailering bracket which I am reluctant to use as once I forgot to disengage and tilted down on it, twisting the bracket. I had to buy another trailering bracket kit from Ripard which was not cheap!!!! I have to work something out to assist the trimmed engine so as not to have pressure on the mechanism.