Is it ok to leave my outboard in the water? advice appreciated

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mickyp168

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Hi
I recently treated the boat to a new engine. Its a Tohatsu Sailpro 6hp. Great engine so far, but being designed for a sailboat it has an extra long shaft. Because of this I cant get it to tilt back far enough on the bracket to clear the prop out of the water as I could with my old engine which was shorter. I am wondering if this is an issue? Nearly all O/B's are left out of the drink. The engine is used very regularly, its in Mediterranean waters and I brush any slime of it with my long brush. Am I going to have any problems as time passes by?
Thanks
Mick
 
The engine will have sacrificial anodes attached; make sure these are replaced annualy.

An outboard engineer advised me to bolt on extra anodes on the cavitation plate, which I have done even though my engine is stowed out of the water when not in use.

You will need to flush the engine thoroughly running it in fresh water at the end of the season, and always keep an eye on the ' telltale ' coolant water outlet flow; every few years it will be worth taking the head off and clearing the coolant galleries of salt buildup.

If the engine is left exposed on the back end I'd be as worried about theft as corrosion, hope you have a ruddy great lock on it !
 
Seajet is right that at the end of every season (or period of none use) you need to flush the engine through with fresh water. If you can lift the O/B off to do that, presumably you can store the engine out of the water?

If you can't lift the engine off to flush it through, then blocked water ways are going to be your biggest problem.

Richard
 
Hi
Thanks for the advice. I'm using the boat weekly all year round as I have escaped the weather in the UK at last! I can get the engine on and off but its a heavy old thing . Looking at the manual, Tohatsu do an attachment to connect the cooling system up to a hose and flush it so I need to do that regularly I think. thanks for the input about the anode I had forgotten about anodes so I shall look into that too.
Cheers Mick
 
hi
Yes I have something similar and it doesn't tilt the engine back far enough from the highest setting . The arm on this engine is an extra long shaft as its designed for a sail boat where the prop needs to be as deep as possible so I cant get the prop to clear. But following advice on this forum and the fact its used very regularly I am happy its ok

cheers Mick
 
Seajet said:
You will need to flush the engine thoroughly running it in fresh water at the end of the season, and always keep an eye on the ' telltale ' coolant water outlet flow; every few years it will be worth taking the head off and clearing the coolant galleries of salt buildup.
Click to expand...

Fully agree although depending on the water even an annual flushing may prove inadequate. After my telltale became pathetic last Dec I did as SJ recommends; disconnected the powerhead and opened up the engine. The thermostat was basically fossilised in salt and the water galleries seriously clogged!. One more season and the motor would prob have been toast.

Re prop: if not possible to lift out of the water, then yes an extra anode and something to stop fouling is sound advice. Loads of ribs are left like this and they suffer no harm.
 
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I had a similar problem with a 9 hp outboard which lived in a well and, therefore, could not be tilted clear of the water.
When I didn't wrestle it into the cockpit I put the leg in a black bin-bag to stop fouling.
I also had "headphones" with a hose attachment to flush through with fresh water after each use.
 
Of course leaving an outboard leg in the water will shorten its life expectancy a little. Regular scrubbing is a must and make sure that the anode(s) are also permanently submersed or they will do nothing to protect it! Yes, RIBs are often seen with their props permanently submerged, but it can cause them problems and most owners would love to have electric tilt that lifts it clear of the water or a dry mooring. I think fitting an additional anode is a good idea - and keep the paint in good repair, too.

Rob.
 
Well I am a little surprised by the doom mongers on here about leaving an outboard in the water.
Our trailer sailer had a tohatsu 6HP twin that remained in the well most of the time that the boat was afloat. We never had any problems with leg or prop corrosion. We always disconnected it from the battery when not in use and the leg was antifouled with Trilux a non copper based af. I now have along with an awful lot of other people the equivalent of an outboard leg called a sail drive. No corrosion with careful use of trilux and regular changing and correct anodes for brackish water.
 
TSB240 said:
Well I am a little surprised by the doom mongers on here about leaving an outboard in the water.
Our trailer sailer had a tohatsu 6HP twin that remained in the well most of the time that the boat was afloat. We never had any problems with leg or prop corrosion. We always disconnected it from the battery when not in use and the leg was antifouled with Trilux a non copper based af. I now have along with an awful lot of other people the equivalent of an outboard leg called a sail drive. No corrosion with careful use of trilux and regular changing and correct anodes for brackish water.
Click to expand...

Indeed, the marina here is full of small mobo's with outboards in the drink, not to mention the larger ones with outdrives dangling off the transom. I dare say a good few of the sailboats have sail drives underneath too.
 
mickyp168 said:
Hi
Thanks for the advice. I'm using the boat weekly all year round as I have escaped the weather in the UK at last! I can get the engine on and off but its a heavy old thing . Looking at the manual, Tohatsu do an attachment to connect the cooling system up to a hose and flush it so I need to do that regularly I think. thanks for the input about the anode I had forgotten about anodes so I shall look into that too.
Cheers Mick
Click to expand...
We have a tender with a 15hp OB. As the water supply is far away from our pontoon slot, I have adapted a 5L garden pressure sprayer, which I fill with fresh water and connect to the flush-through fitting on the engine. Once you pump up the sprayer and release the water, it seems to flush the cooling system out pretty well. I make sure I do this more frequently in hot weather, as I figure that the evaporation rate will be higher.
 
mickyp168 said:
Hi
Thanks for the advice. I'm using the boat weekly all year round as I have escaped the weather in the UK at last! I can get the engine on and off but its a heavy old thing . Looking at the manual, Tohatsu do an attachment to connect the cooling system up to a hose and flush it so I need to do that regularly I think. thanks for the input about the anode I had forgotten about anodes so I shall look into that too.
Cheers Mick
Click to expand...


I have the very same engine, but mine is the long shaft, not extra long.... I also have the hose attachment thingy, that screws into the bottom of the engine near the cav plate but have never tried it...

With regard to leaving it in the water, security aside, I still wouldn't do it - mine will lift almost horizontal on the highest setting but I still choose to lift it off and store it each time I sail... you're right though... it's a good workout.... :D
 
mickyp168 said:
Hi
I recently treated the boat to a new engine. Its a Tohatsu Sailpro 6hp. Great engine so far, but being designed for a sailboat it has an extra long shaft. Because of this I cant get it to tilt back far enough on the bracket to clear the prop out of the water as I could with my old engine which was shorter. I am wondering if this is an issue? Nearly all O/B's are left out of the drink. The engine is used very regularly, its in Mediterranean waters and I brush any slime of it with my long brush. Am I going to have any problems as time passes by?
Thanks
Mick
Click to expand...

I would say that if the engine is used quite regularly no problem if you check the anodes. But what do you call quite regularly!? I know that in France, in some marinas, like Saint Cast for instance it is not allowed to leave an outboard tilted out the water.(Safty reasons) They use special water proof bags in which shaft and propeller are set that enables the engine to be left in the water without any water or fouling dammage. I would think that a 6 HP enngine is'nt heavy enough not to be able do do the same thing if not used any length of time... (Excuse my english!)
 
I also cannot lift transom fixed o/b far enough to clear water as bracket then hits transom. I simply twist engine so prop is facing to the side and not astern then swing o/b up. Might not work on every boat though.
 
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