As things get older, they tend to be less attractive than the pretty young ones you see today. The old girl may have lost a bit of her shine; maybe she backfires a bit more than she used to, perhaps she has trouble getting started in the morning, or her lower unit is leaking, and she certainly isn’t the same as she was when you brought her home.
I’m talking about your outboard motor.
I can’t be the only one who is trying to nurse along an old outboard simply because I can’t afford a new one. My 1996 Mercury 40-horse two-stroke has many hard hours, all in saltwater. We’ve had our ups and downs, but we’ve overcome our problems and the marriage is still intact.
The biggest problem has been getting past the ethanol found in modern fuel. This stuff has not only messed up my outboard, but my lawnmower, power washer, and tractor.
When the problems with my outboard first started, it took a complete rebuild of both carburetors to get things running again. I then replaced all the black fuel lines with gray lines. I currently use Star-Tron and a Mercury additive every time I fill up my fuel tanks, so I replaced the lines on those.
All that saltwater destroyed the power trim and tilt unit, and that wasn’t cheap. I guess it didn’t get a thorough cleaning, since it is tucked up under the powerhead. You can bet it is now the cleanest trim and tilt unit on the water.
This past fall I kept waiting for the rockfish to show up inside Indian River Inlet. By the time I finally gave up on them, it was too late for a proper winterizing of my motor. I have no idea what I am going to find this spring, but I hope my constant preventive maintenance program will save me from a major disaster.
That program includes flushing the cooling system with freshwater after every use. I run the water for at least 10 minutes to be sure it gets into all the nooks and crannies. I wash the outside of the motor as I wash the boat, and then remove the cover and give everything a complete inspection. The entire motor gets a good spray of WD-40 before the cover goes back on.
Every spring I replace the spark plugs and change the lower unit oil. The steering cables get fresh grease, as do the fittings on the bottom of the powerhead.
I keep the battery in my garage for the winter, and use my battery charger to maintain a constant charge. Before installing the battery, I clean all the cables and connections until they shine. I use electric connector grease on the terminals to slow down the corrosion.
No matter how hard I try, I can’t keep the navigation lights working from one season to the next. This is always a full day of cussing and swearing as I try to get them operational again.
Like old people’s bones, the wires on a boat get brittle with age. I had a wire that had cracked inside the connector plug, and the engine would start one time and not the next. It only took three trips to the mechanic (plus all the hours I spent trying to find the problem) before it was discovered and repaired. By that time, I had replaced the starter and solenoid, and removed and cleaned every connection on the boat. The faulty wire was found under the console.
Then there is the bilge pump. This electronic device lives in the nastiest part of the boat and is subject to attacks from saltwater and on inboards, oil, fuel, and any other nasty substance found around fishing boats. It should not come as a surprise that pumps fail. What should be a surprise is how long they last.
The bilge pump on my 16-foot aluminum boat is not automatic, so I can easily test it on a regular basis. Auto pumps must be activated manually, and this should be done as often as possible. This is one device that has to work when needed.
Keeping an old boat and motor running is really no more trouble than keeping a new boat well maintained. If you take good care of your motor, the chances it will fail you are much reduced.
by Eric Burnley
Wednesday, March 22, 2017 - 10:48
As things get older, they tend to be less attractive than the pretty young ones you see today. The old girl may have lost a bit of her shine; maybe she backfires a bit more than she used to, perhaps she has trouble getting started in the morning, or her lower unit is leaking, and she certainly isn’t the same as she was when you brought her home.
I’m talking about your outboard motor.
I can’t be the only one who is trying to nurse along an old outboard simply because I can’t afford a new one. My 1996 Mercury 40-horse two-stroke has many hard hours, all in saltwater. We’ve had our ups and downs, but we’ve overcome our problems and the marriage is still intact.
The biggest problem has been getting past the ethanol found in modern fuel. This stuff has not only messed up my outboard, but my lawnmower, power washer, and tractor.
When the problems with my outboard first started, it took a complete rebuild of both carburetors to get things running again. I then replaced all the black fuel lines with gray lines. I currently use Star-Tron and a Mercury additive every time I fill up my fuel tanks, so I replaced the lines on those.
All that saltwater destroyed the power trim and tilt unit, and that wasn’t cheap. I guess it didn’t get a thorough cleaning, since it is tucked up under the powerhead. You can bet it is now the cleanest trim and tilt unit on the water.
This past fall I kept waiting for the rockfish to show up inside Indian River Inlet. By the time I finally gave up on them, it was too late for a proper winterizing of my motor. I have no idea what I am going to find this spring, but I hope my constant preventive maintenance program will save me from a major disaster.
That program includes flushing the cooling system with freshwater after every use. I run the water for at least 10 minutes to be sure it gets into all the nooks and crannies. I wash the outside of the motor as I wash the boat, and then remove the cover and give everything a complete inspection. The entire motor gets a good spray of WD-40 before the cover goes back on.
Every spring I replace the spark plugs and change the lower unit oil. The steering cables get fresh grease, as do the fittings on the bottom of the powerhead.
I keep the battery in my garage for the winter, and use my battery charger to maintain a constant charge. Before installing the battery, I clean all the cables and connections until they shine. I use electric connector grease on the terminals to slow down the corrosion.
No matter how hard I try, I can’t keep the navigation lights working from one season to the next. This is always a full day of cussing and swearing as I try to get them operational again.
Like old people’s bones, the wires on a boat get brittle with age. I had a wire that had cracked inside the connector plug, and the engine would start one time and not the next. It only took three trips to the mechanic (plus all the hours I spent trying to find the problem) before it was discovered and repaired. By that time, I had replaced the starter and solenoid, and removed and cleaned every connection on the boat. The faulty wire was found under the console.
Then there is the bilge pump. This electronic device lives in the nastiest part of the boat and is subject to attacks from saltwater and on inboards, oil, fuel, and any other nasty substance found around fishing boats. It should not come as a surprise that pumps fail. What should be a surprise is how long they last.
The bilge pump on my 16-foot aluminum boat is not automatic, so I can easily test it on a regular basis. Auto pumps must be activated manually, and this should be done as often as possible. This is one device that has to work when needed.
Keeping an old boat and motor running is really no more trouble than keeping a new boat well maintained. If you take good care of your motor, the chances it will fail you are much reduced.
by Eric Burnley