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Kudu

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What are some good ideas to keep you on the water when your boat fails?

 

I keep small jumper cables to jump off other batteries or boats. I keep a spare prop and shear pin for my trolling motor. I have bypassed the solenoid on my wife's boat which has an inboard with a craftsman wrench. I keep matches, striker, whistle, space blanket in a dry sack for emergencies.

 

I am not good with motors and have been a lifelong boater. I know small things can keep you on the water and save the day. This is important when your off days are not often.

 

I appreciate all tips!

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80% or more of all boat engine problems can be traced to bad fuel. Leaving E-10 fuel in the gas tank for weeks or months between trips is the worst thing for it. For today's fuel injected engines, fuel can cause problems in as little as 3 weeks. Carburetor fed engines can go for 4 or weeks.

Using a good stabilizer (I recommend "Stabil" brand) can extend the usable life of gasoline to 2 to 3 months. It'll still go bad, just takes a little longer.

Even if you drain the fuel after every use, you should still run stabilizer, since not ALL of the fuel in the system is ever drained out.

 

Change plugs more frequently. Contrary to popular belief, spark plugs DON'T last forever. On cool running outboards, they tend to foul more, and fouling makes the ignition system work harder to jump the gap. Ignition system failures are often a result of the overheating that accompanies the wearing/fouling of plugs.

 

99% of "on-the-water" boat failures are due to poor maintenance and storage procedures. Too many people just use their boats, without any thought of upkeep when it's not in use.

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Thanks Mike. I'll put stabil in my gas. To get your input I run an 18ft crest liner metal center console with a 110 merc that is jetted so I only have in effect about 80hp. Any other recommendations? I'll change spark plugs, lol!

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"Any other recommendations?"

 

Not really, Kudu. I stress maintenance because that's the experience of more than 15 years of teaching technicians (dealer and government) how to work on Honda Outboards.

Most of what I teach is quite generic, and most of what I hear from all those techs is just what I've stated above.

 

One of the big myths among outboard owners is that outboards are "throw away" engines. "Use them until they're 'worn out' then replace them." It wasn't even true when 2-stroke engine were the prevalent engines on the water. It's especially not true now that 4-strokes are becoming more common place.

 

Outboards can live a very long, very reliable life ... as long as they are maintained during the down-time. Leaving any internal combustion engine sitting can cause more damage than running one continuously.

 

The whole key is maintenance. One of the favorite sayings in the industry, "If customers knew how easy it is to maintain their boats and engines, we techs would be out of a job."

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Thx man! I do preventive maintenance but not enough. I used to run a high end bass boat but have simplified with all metal bare bones metal boat that will go anywhere. I do appreciate your videos showing that sculling is still alive.

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In the fall I try to run my gas fairly low, the later in the fall the better. I then put in fresh gas and stabilizer/conditioner, either Stabil for e-10( there are two versions) or that Blue enzyme stuff. Either has worked well for me. Anyway, then in the spring I try to run early and run the gas down and get fresh in it again. Works for me. The worst enemy is water, the alcohol will suck water right up and drop out of the gas in a big ball of yuck and even if the engine doesn't immediately suck up the water then it gets very low octane gasoline initially.. Fresh gas has more go of course but my boat in ten years has run pretty well from season to season doing it like this. Course the old boat was easy with portable tanks and smaller engine and much less gas involved..

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All good points Mike. Another side note on preventative maintenance a lot of people forget about is water pump, or impeller. On our small creek boat, I generally change it completely about every other year, weather it's needed or not, for peace of mind. Just keep an eye on water pressure or pee stream. I change mine much more often than most, but they don't blasts through the sand and silt in the summer like I do.

 

And folks, please don't crank your motors dry. I see it all the time, worst thing ever for a rubber impeller on a stainless plate.

 

Lastly, for on the water safety, let someone know where and when you are going.

 

Sounds like you have things under wraps Kudu. Happy boating!

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Oh yeah. And the obvious.. A paddle.

 

 

Maybe I misinterpreted the topic. This may keep some on the water longer.

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If we're two stroking it, especially if you're mixing your own, the first thing to do when engine acts up is change plugs. I've had many people ask me about their motor over the years and when I said change the plugs they'd want to argue it doesn't act like plugs. They'd break down and change them and low and behold the motor runs again.

 

By the way, for real tech heads what the real difference and how to use properly the different between a motor and an engine?

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I consider myself a "real" tech head. And in every way, there is NO difference between the two.

When arguing the point with my students, I will ask them to describe the differences for me ... and then poke holes in every one.

The most common definition is that a motor is electrically powered and an engine is fuel powered (combustion heat).

 

The Oxford English Dictionary:

Motor ... a machine that supplies motive power for a vehicle or other device with moving parts.

So:

1) By this definition, an internal combustion engine is a motor ... so is a sail on boat (if you consider the sail controls 'moving parts'.

2) On an electric vehicle, is the battery, which supplies power to the electrical motors, a motor?

 

Engine ... a machine with moving parts that converts power into motion.

So:

1) Since an electric motor has moving parts and converts electricity into motion, it is, by this definition, an engine.

2) Again, on an electric vehicle ... wouldn't the battery be the motor (supplying power) and the electric motor actually an engine (converting power into motion)?

 

The two terms ARE interchangeable in today's vernacular.

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Mike neither motor nor engine would be used with a battery. Both definitions clearly say "with moving parts" and a battery lacks those unless you consider flowing charges as moving parts I reckon.

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I like this. A motor needs to be supplied with power to drive other moving parts. An engine supplies it's own power. An engine can supply the power for an electric motor though so I disagree that the terms are interchangeable. In today's vernacular we do interchange them. Doesn't make it right.

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For those of you using stabilizer for E10 gas, have you tried using non-ethanol gas? I use it and haven't any problems with bad gas even after then it sits. It cost a bit more but worth it since ethanol can wreak havoc. I also flush the motor after every use (absolutely necessary in the salt but I would do it too if I ever went in freshwater as well) and pull the fuel line so the gas runs out of the motor. This way there is never sitting gas in it.

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Mike neither motor nor engine would be used with a battery. Both definitions clearly say "with moving parts" and a battery lacks those unless you consider flowing charges as moving parts I reckon.

The definition of a motor ... I guess it would depend on how you read it.

"Supplies power to a device with moving parts" I read it that the device has moving parts, not that the motor does.

 

I like this. A motor needs to be supplied with power to drive other moving parts. An engine supplies it's own power. An engine can supply the power for an electric motor though so I disagree that the terms are interchangeable. In today's vernacular we do interchange them. Doesn't make it right.

By this description, anything that uses steam power is a motor, since an outside source of heat (power) is used to boil water to make the steam.

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