Outboard looking after

Rum Run said:
My boat has a 5hp 2 stroke that works in a well but lives in a locker. The engine was not flushed at the end of the last season and overheated on first use this season. When I opened it up the pump galleries were pretty full of salt / oxide / stuff and had to be poked through to clear. New impeller, wear parts and gaskets and now all fine.
I think flushing occasionally is good !
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The engine is a 6hp four stroke so can be lifted….by someone
 
Wansworth said:
Well going to see the Supermistral Monday I must admit in a bit of quandary my last boat had a diesel inboard and it was a real job getting at stuff like the fuel tank and filters and general grubbiins which I know will be a challenge
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But don't assume all boats are like your old boat!

Some old engines did put the bits you needed to get at right at the furthest end of the engine :rolleyes: (designer a sadist? designed for completely different purposes?), but most marine engines these days are OK on that front or even very good, though it does also depend on the engine layout within the particular boat - i.e. whether you access is from the front, top, side, etc, and how tight it is in the available space, and how all that relates to the 'service points' on the engine.

I moved an oil filter in a previous boat from a very difficult to reach or even see position in the bowels of the boat (what in earth was the person installing it thinking?), to a position slap bang in front of the engine and facing me when I lifted the engine cover. If convenience is important, swap CAV type to screw-on or drop-in filer type.

You shouldn't have to have much to do with the fuel tank, but it's true most are design for ease of boat construction rather than maintenance, and don't have sumps, so can be a pain of you ever want or need to clean out the tank (which is likely to be a rarity) and don't want to just pay a tank cleaning company to come and flush it out with their machine for you. Again, if that's a concern, check out whether the particular boat worries you in that regard, rather than assume that every boat with a diesel has every possible inconvenient/undesirable arrangement, when it may have none of them.
 
LittleSister said:
But don't assume all boats are like your old boat!

Some old engines did put the bits you needed to get at right at the furthest end of the engine :rolleyes: (designer a sadist? designed for completely different purposes?), but most marine engines these days are OK on that front or even very good, though it does also depend on the engine layout within the particular boat - i.e. whether you access is from the front, top, side, etc, and how tight it is in the available space, and how all that relates to the 'service points' on the engine.

I moved an oil filter in a previous boat from a very difficult to reach or even see position in the bowels of the boat (what in earth was the person installing it thinking?), to a position slap bang in front of the engine and facing me when I lifted the engine cover. If convenience is important, swap CAV type to screw-on or drop-in filer type.

You shouldn't have to have much to do with the fuel tank, but it's true most are design for ease of boat construction rather than maintenance, and don't have sumps, so can be a pain of you ever want or need to clean out the tank (which is likely to be a rarity) and don't want to just pay a tank cleaning company to come and flush it out with their machine for you. Again, if that's a concern, check out whether the particular boat worries you in that regard, rather than assume that every boat with a diesel has every possible inconvenient/undesirable arrangement, when it may have none of them.
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Yes but of the six boats I have looked at had some major obstacle,one even had a fuel tank mould Ed in and totally ungetatable.And I have to confess my lack of engine tinkering skills,probably lack of experience and confidence.
 
Wansworth said:
Yes but of the six boats I have looked at had some major obstacle,one even had a fuel tank mould Ed in and totally ungetatable.And I have to confess my lack of engine tinkering skills,probably lack of experience and confidence.
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You're inventing problems! I suspect you've spent far too long reading tales of woe on the forum, instead of just getting out there, going sailing and dealing with any issues that might arise with any of the nice boats you've shown us that you might choose..

But watch out! You might sink! The mast might fall down! You might be caught out in the ultimate storm! Another design might better survive being pitch-poled. And worse!. But you don't fret about any of that, do you? You just take reasonable measures and deal with it.

Re diesel engines - As the old saying goes, experience is what you get just after you needed it, so you'll soon have some! Therefore it's only logical that's not a reason not to get one. 😁
Servicing one really is easy. Just knowing where the relevant 'bits' are on your engine, and which are the particular spares you'll need. Just doing that once or twice, and getting a basic understanding of how it works and what might stop it working, should give you confidence. Ideally get someone - a chum, or even pay an engineer - who's familiar with boat diesels to watch and guide you as you do it the first time, or to remind you how it's done if it's a long time since you have.

You can always pay someone else to service it, which shouldn't be that expensive, but the downside is you wouldn't then get that experience and confidence.

A moulded in tank isn't necessarily a problem. Hundreds of thousands (millions?) of boats have moulded in tanks - as has my current boat - they're not all laid up because of it! Are all those pics of Jouet 24s in the water and going places Photoshopped? Are they really all laid up because they have moulded in tanks/[insert some other worry detail here]?

Probably a high percentage of boaters have no idea what type of fuel tank they have or even where it is. They're just out sailing. A tank you can unbolt and lift out easily - as I had in a previous boat -is a good thing, but not essential. It is vanishingly unlikely any tank will have no access at all. You should rarely, if ever, have to do anything with your fuel tank, and if you do you can cut a (larger) inspection hatch in it if need be. Or cut out the whole tank and bolt in a separate tank, if you'd rather do boatbuiding than go sailing.
 
LittleSister said:
You're inventing problems! I suspect you've spent far too long reading tales of woe on the forum, instead of just getting out there, going sailing and dealing with any issues that might arise with any of the nice boats you've shown us that you might choose..

But watch out! You might sink! The mast might fall down! You might be caught out in the ultimate storm! Another design might better survive being pitch-poled. And worse!. But you don't fret about any of that, do you? You just take reasonable measures and deal with it.

Re diesel engines - As the old saying goes, experience is what you get just after you needed it, so you'll soon have some! Therefore it's only logical that's not a reason not to get one. 😁
Servicing one really is easy. Just knowing where the relevant 'bits' are on your engine, and which are the particular spares you'll need. Just doing that once or twice, and getting a basic understanding of how it works and what might stop it working, should give you confidence. Ideally get someone - a chum, or even pay an engineer - who's familiar with boat diesels to watch and guide you as you do it the first time, or to remind you how it's done if it's a long time since you have.

You can always pay someone else to service it, which shouldn't be that expensive, but the downside is you wouldn't then get that experience and confidence.

A moulded in tank isn't necessarily a problem. Hundreds of thousands (millions?) of boats have moulded in tanks - as has my current boat - they're not all laid up because of it! Are all those pics of Jouet 24s in the water and going places Photoshopped? Are they really all laid up because they have moulded in tanks/[insert some other worry detail here]?

Probably a high percentage of boaters have no idea what type of fuel tank they have or even where it is. They're just out sailing. A tank you can unbolt and lift out easily - as I had in a previous boat -is a good thing, but not essential. It is vanishingly unlikely any tank will have no access at all. You should rarely, if ever, have to do anything with your fuel tank, and if you do you can cut a (larger) inspection hatch in it if need be. Or cut out the whole tank and bolt in a separate tank, if you'd rather do boatbuiding than go sailing.
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You have just reminded me a sort of friend who lives in Cangas,a Swiss bloke who circumnavigated he is anal about engines mr perfect😊….I could rope him in as crew as he is now boatless
 
The one good thing about small outboards is that there is a million guys who can fix ‘em. There are the last part of the boat to worry about
 
Some people are engineers or can grasp the whole ice thing like my late father,Unfortunatly I am on another wavelength ….Iam great at handing the mechanic the right spanner🙄😏
 
Wansworth said:
Some people are engineers or can grasp the whole ice thing like my late father,Unfortunatly I am on another wavelength ….Iam great at handing the mechanic the right spanner🙄😏
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What I’m saying is that it’s easy to find a mechanic who can repair small outboards....just wait until your Torqeedo breaks down...then you’ll realize that their mechanics are like hen’s teeth
 
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