Wansworth
Well-known member
In a possible yacht purchase the outboard is in a well within the boat and without lifting the engine out the prop will be constantly in the water
How to clean prop
- Thread starter Wansworth
- Start date
KevinV
Well-known member
Very astutely noted sir
Concerto
Well-known member
Just like on an inborad engine, the propellor will be in the water all the time. Some boats with outboards in a well can be retracted into the hull and a blanking plate fitted, but you need to store the outboard somewhere secure to stop it "walking".
Wansworth
Well-known member
Yes,on this particular vessel it’s under a cover
Neeves
Well-known member
Other yachts have the ability to lift the OB such that the prop is out of the water. Having a whacking great lump of machinery and a prop sticking down into the water does absolutely nothing for sailing performance and it would be unusual for their not to be an easy way to 'lift it'.
My memory suggests remembering an OB bracket that allowed the OB to be lifted vertically as well as the OB having the normal tilting mechanism. Seawind cats, when powered by OB (one of the early models the 1000), had a block and tackle permanently installed to lift each of the OBs when sailing.
But your thread is about cleaning - why does the prop need to be cleaned .... polythene bags, seaweed (knife on a stick) or barnacles (Prop Speed) need different solutions.
Jonathan
My memory suggests remembering an OB bracket that allowed the OB to be lifted vertically as well as the OB having the normal tilting mechanism. Seawind cats, when powered by OB (one of the early models the 1000), had a block and tackle permanently installed to lift each of the OBs when sailing.
But your thread is about cleaning - why does the prop need to be cleaned .... polythene bags, seaweed (knife on a stick) or barnacles (Prop Speed) need different solutions.
Jonathan
Stemar
Well-known member
If it's just a plastic bag or a rope, could you reach down in the well to get at it? If not, in the rias, the water should be warm enough for a quick swim.
For more general cleaning, barnacle removal, etc, just do what people with inboard engines do and find somewhere to dry out between tides.
For more general cleaning, barnacle removal, etc, just do what people with inboard engines do and find somewhere to dry out between tides.
Wansworth
Well-known member
Verboten in Galicia
Fantasie 19
Well-known member
Previous boat had an outboard in a well, and I always lifted it out when not sailing.. didn't want growth/weed blocking any intakes...
LittleSister
Well-known member
The swimming, the drying out, or the cleaning?
Long ago I had a boat with an outboard in a well. The outboard was oversized compared to the boat's design (changes in expectations of the power of an 'auxiliary' motor), the weight and shape of which made it difficult to lift in and out, especially single handed, as I often was. I therefore left it down most of the time, even when the boat was not in use. It did result barnacles and other growth, and also some corrosion, but not to the extent it was a major problem.
Had I had more money at the time I would have bought a smaller outboard than that which I inherited from the previous owner, but mainly it (along with a host of other factors) convinced me of the merits of an inboard engine!