Outboard(s) Up or Down ?

B

bridma

New member
For those of us who keep our Dory's in the water, marina or mooring buoy, most of the time (spring/summer/fall), should the outboard(s) be left in the down position or raised?
I asked a Yamaha mechanic, and he said "down". Something to do with oil and lubricants. Yet when I look around my own marina, most outboards are in the raised position!
I tried to find the answer on our 'C-Brats Google Search', but had no luck. Hope I'm not re-hashing an old topic here.

Martin.
 
There's a good question for some of the pro's and I'm sure you will get some definitive answers. For my understanding it's like this:

For anti freezing issues, the OB should be down in the water.
For normal oiling/lube issues, it should be down.
For anti growth issues, it should be up.
For anti galvanic corrosion issues, it should be up.

If it is up, it should be all the way up and out of the water, not almost and/or splashing.

For my use, which is generally weekends, and in salt water, I prefer to leave it down (no on board battery charger, inverter or shore power involved), and then rinse with fresh water when hauled. Preferring not to raise it and have the salt dry in place then dunk and add more salt. I may be wrong but that is how my mechanics broke it down for me.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

IMGP1255.highlight.jpg
 
In SW fla we keep our boat in salt water. very high salinity in the water . WE keep our engine up all the time with a S/S prop and alum lower unit not a good idea galvanic action two or more different metals in salt water . Even when we beach the boat or anchor for lunch I always put the engine up . My Zinc's last a lot longer that way .

If we were using the boat in northern climates(fresh water ) I would keep the engine down so no freeze conditions so I think it matters where you do your boating and whether you have electricity at your dock
 
bridma":3ttz8zmb said:
For those of us who keep our Dory's in the water, marina or mooring buoy, most of the time (spring/summer/fall), should the outboard(s) be left in the down position or raised?
I asked a Yamaha mechanic, and he said "down". Something to do with oil and lubricants. Yet when I look around my own marina, most outboards are in the raised position!
I tried to find the answer on our 'C-Brats Google Search', but had no luck. Hope I'm not re-hashing an old topic here.

Martin.
Click to expand...

In the water...up (unless you're in freezing weather). On the trailer (stored)...down.

It has nothing to do with oil and lubricants, someone espousing that doesn't understand the lubrication systems (even on a car). When you tilt your (4-stroke in particular) engine up it puts the powerhead much closer to the orientation that it's in when mounted in a car (hmmm...maybe we should roll our cars over when we park them :) ).

The issue arising from having the engine tilted up is that it's more likely to fill the lower unit housing (where the exhaust comes out) with fresh water (i.e. - rain) which can freeze and potentially crack the lower unit. In saltwater you should leave the engine down if the air temps are likely to cause freezing. If it's so cold that the saltwater the engine is tilted down into is likely to freeze the boat should be in a storage building!

Les
 
I boat in fresh water but even if i didn't i would leave my motor down in the water for one simple reason.With the motor up and sticking out it sure makes a good target for some other boat to hit.Tug
 
Tug":361ilf3g said:
I boat in fresh water but even if i didn't i would leave my motor down in the water for one simple reason.With the motor up and sticking out it sure makes a good target for some other boat to hit.Tug
Click to expand...

Well in saltwater you can take your choice: leave it down in the water that will eat it or leave it up and and take the chance that someone might hit it. And really, how far away is the lower unit from that transom? Anyone close enough to hit the lower until only missed the transom by grace alone. :)

Les
 
If I remember right, I once suggested that in salt water the outboard leg could be left down if one could surround it in a big bucket or bag, then flush the salt water out with fresh, leaving it down in fresh water.

I'm not sure if one could effectively do this however on a practical basis, and I'm sure there are situations where it couldn't be done.

You could also go for the Hydrohoist solution, but then you've got a $12-$15k Hydrohoist corroding instead of your lower leg. :crook

Sometimes its hard to win, Thisaway, Thataway, or Anyway! :cry

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Tug":3uo9x8sk said:
I boat in fresh water but even if i didn't i would leave my motor down in the water for one simple reason.With the motor up and sticking out it sure makes a good target for some other boat to hit.Tug
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Tug, it all would depend upon the slip you are in and how you secure your vessel in the slip. Since I usually back in to a slip my engines are well protected and the vessel's bow and anchor is facing "seaward".
Obviously if you are bow in to the same slip or side tied on a dock where others can tie fore and aft of you, your vessel's engines are vulnerable.
 
Your absolutely correct, the engines would be well protected if you backed into the slip.I had not taken that option into account because it is something i never do and i never boat in salt water.I guess us inlanders are not familiar with salt water corrosion and tides...Although, when i called Suzuki Marine Customer Service ( California ) last week inquiring about a Water Pump Repair Kit and replacement anodes ......and told him i boated in the Great Lakes he recommended that i use Zinc anodes on my outboard. When i told him i needed Magnesium anodes because the Great Lakes were fresh water lakes he was surprised to hear that....he said he thought the Great Lakes were salt water. Tug
 
Les Lampman":3te8jt3t said:
Tug":3te8jt3t said:
I boat in fresh water but even if i didn't i would leave my motor down in the water for one simple reason.With the motor up and sticking out it sure makes a good target for some other boat to hit.Tug
Click to expand...

Well in saltwater you can take your choice: leave it down in the water that will eat it or leave it up and and take the chance that someone might hit it. And really, how far away is the lower unit from that transom? Anyone close enough to hit the lower until only missed the transom by grace alone. :)

Les
Click to expand...

I have recently changed from using composite (Pro-Pulse) props, (NO corrosion or pitting) to aluminum. The shafts were well greased, but... in salt water.....
#1. Do I still need to be worried (and I think I know) about the corrosion between the prop and the shaft now?
#2. Should I be raising the OB's after each days run, even if they aren't flushed and I am still on the water? (No freezing temps)
#3. How often should the prop shafts be re-greased?
#4 Should I add more zincs?

I'm new the the aluminum prop stuff. Thanks in advance for suggestions here.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
Up or down may depend on your motors. Since acquiring the Viking Lady the twin honda 90s were always left UP when in it's salt water slip. This last summer I found a considerable amount of 'extra oil' on the starboard engine and it smelled a lot like gas. In talking with my Honda service guy he pointed out that all to often the carborated engines will experience the floats getting stuck open when the motors are stored Up. A fresh oil change and new filter (I had less than an hour on the last change!), a few 'raps' on the carborator as directed by my tech and no more problems. I now keep the motors down - but I would sure like to keep them up, but worry about the carb leak.
Am I the only one with this problem? Wonder if it was a one-time problem?
 
We kept our (now sold) CE 16 cruiser in a slip at a marina in Old Lyme, CT. When there was no danger of a hard frost, the engine was always kept out of the water as much as we could, but a small portion of the engine's lower unit remained in the water. That was enough for barnacles to grow on the lower unit. If we had left the engine down throughout the season, barnacles would have grown in the water intake ports. This is quite a problem in New England, because unlike the Pacific Northwest, our waters are warm in the summer -- around 70 degrees.

In April and October, there is still a chance for a hard frost at the New England shore, so we kept the engine down in the water to prevent damage to the lower unit as the manufacturer's (Suzuki) user manual so directs.

Rich
 
There is another advantage of backing a boat into a slip--and that is access to the lower units to put muffs on the engine and run it (with the engine back down--being sure that the muffs are still in place.

I am aware of a number of people who have used the heavy "bags" for the outboards in salt water, fill with fresh water, run the engine with fresh water hose running, and leave the fresh water in place. You have to have the bottom of the motor so that the top of the . bag will be out of the water

Also a number of boats--including some over 50 feet long--have used a large plastic sheet, attached to the sides of the slip, weights in the very bottom to sink the plastic, and a "draw string" in the back, to pull it up and seal off the fresh water. Some then fill this with fresh water (takes a lot of hose running to flush it completely--and some put a chlorine tablet or granules in the slip liner to keep any marine growth off the bottom of the boat. Some folks flipped these every few months, so no growth on the bottom of the liner, some just replaced it in a few years. Of course you have to have a marina which allows this. But I am not sure that every marina allows the hoists which attach to the slip sides.

I guess that would be a "Whichaway".
 
Perhaps the main reason we started backing into slips was because it seemed that at night time there always seemed to be a bright "yard" light on the docks that would shine into our partially opened bow hatch. The additional plus factors (besides engine protection), is the added privacy of having the bow hatch away from the main dock when you are in the v-berth sleeping (or whatever... :roll: ) with the hatch open partially, the ability to sit in folding chairs in the cockpit and enjoy the social aspect of watching and participating in the happenings of passerbys on the main dock. Additionally, I have found that we utilize the 25' power cord off the stern instead of having to string a 50' power cord across the length of the boat to the bow to access shore power. All little plus factors, that for us "fit" us better. (Plus old Firemen are accustomed to backing their response vehicles in for quick departure if needed.... :lol: ).

Maybe we should start a poll....("pointy end in or pointy end out"... :mrgreen: )
 
Our slip in Whittier Ak is only a 24 foot slip for up to 28 foot boats. With this in mind we do not have the luxury of leaving our motors up or backing in. So in our circumstance we have only one choice bow in motors down:)
 
PW":1frhqsnd said:
Up or down may depend on your motors. Since acquiring the Viking Lady the twin honda 90s were always left UP when in it's salt water slip. This last summer I found a considerable amount of 'extra oil' on the starboard engine and it smelled a lot like gas. In talking with my Honda service guy he pointed out that all to often the carborated engines will experience the floats getting stuck open when the motors are stored Up. A fresh oil change and new filter (I had less than an hour on the last change!), a few 'raps' on the carborator as directed by my tech and no more problems. I now keep the motors down - but I would sure like to keep them up, but worry about the carb leak.
Am I the only one with this problem? Wonder if it was a one-time problem?
Click to expand...

With any carburetor outboard, I make sure to run the carburetor dry after each use. This will prevent any fuel leaking out of it when tilting it up and prevent or at least greatly reduce the chance of a float getting stuck. Make sure to have a fuel stabilizer in the fuel also.
 
Pointy end out--- keeps the cockpit dry when rain blows under the boat house roof. Keeps practice up on docking and backing down especially with cross wind.
 
Pointy end out would expose traffic to you anchor.

This should keep other boats at their proper distance, since any contact would be worse for them than for you.

The only problem would be, say, if you had a 24 foot slip and a boat that measured, say 27-28 or more feet (nearly all boats measure longer that than their designated length when you include motors and bow sprit/anchors) where you were sticking out so far that it could be argued that you presented a hazard to other boats and any contact would be your fault.

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
The anchor roller and anchor are great battering rams, i can attest to that 1st hand. I have hit more than a few of those 4x4 wooden posts sticking up on the slips and launching ramps.Better nick the posts than my boat. The way the anchor sticks out you could sure do some damage if you were to hit another boat broadside. Tug
 
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