Leaving an outboard in the water

wombat88

wombat88

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By which I mean leaving an outboard in salt water ready to go.

Our boat has an outboard well that does not allow space for the outboard to be tilted. I also do not think there is space for one of those slide type outboard brackets.

The outboard, which is far from new has an anode, I also intend to touch up the paint and antifoul the bottom of the leg.

So the question is...just how long will it last immersed in the sea? It is quite heavy and my back has taken a dislike to it.
 
Make sure you use an antifoul specifically for aluminium such as Trilux. potential problem is fouling of the prop - just like an inboard as AF does not stick easily. Outboards are not intended to be left immersed permanently so remove it if you plan to not use it for any length of time. Just one of those compromises you have to live with owning that kind of boat/engine.
 
wombat88 said:
By which I mean leaving an outboard in salt water ready to go.

Our boat has an outboard well that does not allow space for the outboard to be tilted. I also do not think there is space for one of those slide type outboard brackets.

The outboard, which is far from new has an anode, I also intend to touch up the paint and antifoul the bottom of the leg.

So the question is...just how long will it last immersed in the sea? It is quite heavy and my back has taken a dislike to it.
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Be thorough with the annual maintenance, esp of items related to the lower unit. Oil change and replacing seals if there is any indication of water ingress.



It might be worth increasing the anode protection
 
Pete7 said:
As you say the normal engine lifting frames are too big, but what about something like this. Probably not worth importing but could be made in Ali or SS by someone competent.

http://thmarine.com/th-marine-products/outboard-jack-plates/manual-jack-plates
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Hi Pete, I have just received a brand new hydraulic outboard jack. It is a CMC Power Lift, made in Duncan, Oklahoma, USA, with a 5 inch stroke x 5 1/2 inch setback. It's quite heavy (20kg), because it is designed to take an outboard of up to 300hp. Because of it's weight I am now dubious about using it on my little Marina 16 G.T. which already has a hefty 100kg Suzuki DF50 four stroke on the back. Cost me a fortune...Pacer Marine wanted £1500 for it! I was thinking of copying it's design elements but making a much lighter version that would suffice for my 50hp...Don't have the time to at the moment though as in my freetime I am constantly busy doing a refit on my boat that has taken over 2 1/2 years so far.
 
Wombat88,

The engine and especially your boat's sailing performance will suffer badly with the engine left in, and there's probably a fairing plug to reduce drag when the engine is stowed ?

A very good way of saving your back is to have a decent 2-stroke, these are much, much lighter than 4 strokes which by comparison seem bolted to the earth's core !

2 strokes are also much less fussy about how they are layed down and stowed compared to 4 strokes which usually have to be on a certain side to avoid lubrication oil filling the combustion chamber, results can be expensive if someone tries to start them when there's an hydraulic lock.

What boat and engine please ?
 
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A question I've often wondered myself.
My thinking is that if you can't tilt the engine completely out of the water...you are best leaving it totally submerged as far as possible. Under the water means it has less exposure to oxygen, which obviously has the biggest influence on corrosion. As for the engine internals...can you not get one of the modern engine flushing kits which attach and allow a fresh water hose feed to be pumped through after each use ?
 
If you leave an engine in a well it will incur horrendous drag; on my A22 the penalty in good sailing conditions is around 1.5 knots - and the turbulence is surprisingly noisy too.

I always compare leaving an engine in the well to flying around in a Spitfire with the undercarriage down.

With the engine stowed and fairing plug fitted, all is quiet, fast and drag free; as with all things, one has to make an effort.
 
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Jaguar 21, 6hp Tohatsu 4 stroke

I've recently taken on this boat so a few elements need pondering:

I have a baffle for when the outboard is removed but have heard talk of baffles that go round the outboard leg. They sound a bit fiddly to me.

The Tohatsu won't fit in a cockpit locker the right way up. Well maybe it does but I haven't worked out the spatial puzzle. It is quite a tight fit in its well.

The Tohatsu has the ability to charge the battery. This is a plus.

The Tohatsu does not have an effective steering lock. This is a minus.

Time will tell if I need 6hp. At the moment I certainly don't use it at full throttle and it seems to push us along nicely against wind and tide. Might try with 4hp which would be lighter, smaller and fit in said locker.

I completely agree with Seajet regarding 2 strokes. Would be good to do a weight comparison (Tohatsu quoted at 25kg for 'lightest version'). I've always had two strokes in the past and am used to their foibles.

As to corrosion, chips in the paint and bare alloy need covering. On reflection I probably don't need to antifoul (well not for the winter) after all I can always pull it up and give it a scrub.

As you may judge my thoughts are veering from whether I should leave it in the water to whether I have got the right engine...

Michael
 
Michael,

the 6hp Tohatsu is a very well regarded engine, if you've got the right version it should have a ' cruiser saildrive ' prop, and a relatively powerful charging coil.

However all that is useless, I for one could never lift the thing !

On my boat I can nip the Mariner 5 2-stroke in and out with impunity; this is important if say sailing in shipping lanes and the wind drops - got the t shirt, but a chum got the gold star - a novice, I tried to drill it into him to keep a lookout - when he found himself looking UP at a ship's bows he admitted afterwards shipping the engine went remarkably quickly ! :)

The Jag 21 is quite a light boat too; I think you'd be doing your back and your boat a big favour by ditching the Tohatsu - should be plenty of buyers so hold out for a good price - and getting a Mariner 5hp 2-stroke, a well maintained one should be almost immortal.

nb I already have quite a serious back injury after an accident and try not to gobble prescribed Co-Drydramol, so I'm not saying this lightly; 2-stroke is the answer, you'll find your boat is remarkably quicker too.

Andy.
 
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I have a Mariner 6 4 stroke ( yes - ridiculous on a light weight 18 footer) which I think is similar to the Tohatsu mentioned earlier. I am not big and hunky but have no bother lifting it off when required - it's only about 25Kg I think. If I was leaving an outboard immersed I would be concerned about the various bits of cooling system getting clogged by marine growth, or creatures living in the inlet.
 
PeteCooper said:
I have a Mariner 6 4 stroke ( yes - ridiculous on a light weight 18 footer) which I think is similar to the Tohatsu mentioned earlier. I am not big and hunky but have no bother lifting it off when required - it's only about 25Kg I think. If I was leaving an outboard immersed I would be concerned about the various bits of cooling system getting clogged by marine growth, or creatures living in the inlet.
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A fellow club member has a motorboat with a reserve outboard fitted on a tilting bracket in case of main engine failure.

When tilted, the last five inches of the skeg and a bit of the prop are still immersed. No doubt this is because of the requirement to have sufficient depth of prop for efficient use, and the fact that the transom limits the amount of tilt.

The marine growth this season is awesome................................
 
PeteCooper said:
I have a Mariner 6 4 stroke ( yes - ridiculous on a light weight 18 footer) which I think is similar to the Tohatsu mentioned earlier. I am not big and hunky but have no bother lifting it off when required - it's only about 25Kg I think. If I was leaving an outboard immersed I would be concerned about the various bits of cooling system getting clogged by marine growth, or creatures living in the inlet.
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I've just had a look at your blog pics, you do realise you're crippling her with such a heavy engine on the end ? She'd sail out of any trouble, but each to their own.
 
Seajet said:
I've just had a look at your blog pics, you do realise you're crippling her with such a heavy engine on the end ? She'd sail out of any trouble, but each to their own.
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Odd ... I thought I had replied to this.

I nearly didn't buy her because of the engine ... but in real terms the difference between in weight between the engine I have and a less powerful engine I would guess is maybe 10Kg. I sail singlehanded, so am already 2 bodies light as she is designed for a crew of three, the engine makes very little difference. In terms of losing sailing performance I am not so sure as I won the first three races of the season. I have an external fuel tank which I like as it potentially gives me a greater range but as you say each to their own.
 
You are quite right about marine growth.I used to work on the Thames and the main problem with outbords left immersed was Mussel seeds getting through the intake filters as seeds,they would ,over time grow to nearly full sized and restict the water flow..Not sure is thiis is a problem in salt water .
 
The Tohatsu says something like 'sail drive' on the side.

On a Drascombe Longboat I had a Mariner 5 2 stroke. It was such an ugly and distressed thing you could leave it in a car park the night before a boat jumble and it would still be there in the morning.

However, summer or winter it always worked even though the idle left you guessing whether it was going to fire again or die. I wonder what they weigh...
 
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