couple of outboard questions

C

Chanty

New member
We took Chanty out for her sea trial on Thursday and took delivery on Saturday. So far she is everything we expected and more. If you are interested in seeing her, see the pictures we took at Cutter Marine on Thursday. Until we get her equipped the way we want, most of our boating this summer will be confined to the south shore of Long Island. The plan is to gain as much experience as we can this year and then start branching out further from our homeport next year and beyond. We do have a couple of questions about the 90 Honda we have. We would like to flush out the motor after each use like Honda recommends. The downside of this is that she is berthed bow in and getting at the flush out plug is kind of awkward. Does that rubber cover plate have to be in place when operating the motor? Does Honda or anyone else make a cover that is more substantial? The rubber one it comes with looks and feels kind of flimsy. Did anyone ever try leaving about a 8-10 inch piece of hose attached to the flushing port to facilitate flushing the engine? We are looking forward to hearing how other Honda owners deal with this.
 
Chanty, my Honda 45's have 300 hours on them and have been in brackish/salt all the time. Never flush them with fresh water except when I haul it. The boat is in the water all the time and I tilt them out and let them drain when not in use. I'm sure it'd be better to flush them but it's a real pain. If we were on a lift (which we will be in a year or two) it'd be easier.

Charlie
 
For what its worth, I gave up flushing my motors back in 1975 after being advised by a well experienced mechanic that it was a complete waste of time. Since then I have owned over 20 boats, some of which I used for many years in the harshest salt water conditions.
Some were stored for long periods between usage as well.

I have never had one failure due to the lack of engine flushing and I have never had a mechanic indicate any damage or deterioration whatsover in the cooling systems of my motors.

I would suggest however, that it is a good practice to allow your motors to drain well for a few minutes in the fully lowered position before tilting them up at the end of the day.

Larry
Florida Keys
22 Rosborough
Latitude Adjustment
 
It'd be much easier if we could back in, however, the configuration of the the slip, lack of water depth and narrowness of the canal prevents us from doing that unless we had ideal conditions. Most of the time, it would be a real hassel. I see some folks do not concern themselves with flushing the motor after each use. Maybe we'll wind up doing that and just run some salt removal product through it when we store her for the winter.
Thanks for the advice.
 
I believe the Honda has a small flushing fitting on the side of the powerhead. If this is the case you could attach a hose that you could then go to a remote fitting in an easier to reach location. Be advised though that you will need to stop the flow of water coming out of it when not flushing. A lot of people here in the PacNW use this for a hotwater system for filling a sink (often made from their kicker mount) to wash their hands. The water coming out of it will be about 120 degrees or more.
 
Chanty: I have many friends who do not regularly flush their outboards. I have seen mixed results and some expensive problems. Les Lampman suggested that flushing while the motor was warm was a good idea, but was less confident if the flushing was done later. I have two Honda 90's on my TomCat and I am a religious flusher. My Honda's are 1997's with over 900 hours and run like new. I push them hard (and I still wish it had a higher gear) and I would just not have that same confidence without flushing after every use. I also use Salt-a-Way every time and have seen what it does to encrusted salt on fittings and surfaces, and I'm sure it will help inside the water passages on the motor too. The TomCat has a step between the motors that makes it easy to reach the flushing port, so you might need to find a way to reach the back of your motor while at dock. I had a Suzuki 225 for years that had no flushing port, but I installed a Guardian flushing system that allowed me to hook the hose up to a fitting inside the boat and the flushing hoses were permanently hooked up to the motor with a backflow stopper. The Honda flushing port uses a check valve that is opened by the brass flush nozzle and I would not recommend leaving that in full time unless you could figure out a robust way to prevent outflow while in operation. You might try the Guardian system as a permanent hook-up, I know they sell one for Hondas. Good luck, Steve AKA TWO-DAWGS.
 
Hello,

I'm a "flusher" too, but mainly out of fear of my lower unit corroding. I have twin forties and I've overheard folks pausing their walks to see if I'll fall in while attaching the ears. Is there an easier way on BF-40's? I've not fallen in yet, and my technique is good, but if this is not nessessary---well, I'd prefer to keep head above my rear. My engine guy also told me to make sure the engine was warm when flushin', something about the thermostat being open.

Shawn
 
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