Satus report on the outdboard that took a dive

[Frank B.]

Some weeks back my Sailpro motor decided to take a dive while running at the dock.  The mount broke, fortunately a safety chain kept the dive rather shallow so not the seven feet under it could have been. I retrieved it, hooked it up on my stand at home and it would not start.

I now have a replacement mount plate (Thank you Charles Brennan) and all the hardware needed to rebuild the mount.

I bought a new gas tank, old one had a crack and was permanently bulged.  Bought the tank side fitting for the fuel line, old one, brand new leaked terribly, new one does not. I dumped the old gas (my truck doesn't seem to mind aged fuel) filled the new tank with fresh non-ethanal gasoline appropriately treated with Sea Foam, drained the float bowl, and the fuel supply lines, put a new plug in, cleaned out all the dirt dauber nests and cranked away.  Low and behold it started and ran just as poorly as it did before it took a dive.

So next step may seem a little extreme to some but it makes sense.  I will buy a new OEM carb and fuel pump and install them on the motor.  I will also buy the parts to rebuild the old carb and pump.  Expensive, yes but here's the logic.  My boat lives in the water 35 miles away.  On way too many occasions in recent years I've driven up there with the intentions of sailing and the motor kept that from happening.  Yes, if everything is perfect I could go without a motor, but because of a very difficult slip to enter and leave from that doesn't work for me. So if the motor is balky it usually cancels a sail and I have to take the offending part off, go home, clean and rebuild, then bring it back, install and test. However, if I have two sets of the potentially offending parts, then I can pull the bad, replace it with the good in about thirty minutes and we're good to go.  And the clean/rebuild is at my leisure. And let's face facts, it always is the carb or the pump.

Anyone with a Tohatsu/Nissan 6hp 4stroke sailpro know how to adjust the pilot screw on the carb?  My new manual doesn't address it, I think because the newer models have a cap over it so it is not adjustable, probably an EPA directive.  My model does not have the cap and I'm not sure how to do it.

[pgandw]

On way too many occasions in recent years I've driven up there with the intentions of sailing and the motor kept that from happening.  Yes, if everything is perfect I could go without a motor, but because of a very difficult slip to enter and leave from that doesn't work for me. So if the motor is balky it usually cancels a sail and I have to take the offending part off, go home, clean and rebuild, then bring it back, install and test. However, if I have two sets of the potentially offending parts, then I can pull the bad, replace it with the good in about thirty minutes and we're good to go.  And the clean/rebuild is at my leisure. And let's face facts, it always is the carb or the pump.

Anyone with a Tohatsu/Nissan 6hp 4stroke sailpro know how to adjust the pilot screw on the carb?  My new manual doesn't address it, I think because the newer models have a cap over it so it is not adjustable, probably an EPA directive.  My model does not have the cap and I'm not sure how to do it.

Exactly why I sold my Honda 5hp and bought an Epropulsion Spirit 1 Plus. Turned out motoring is so much more pleasurable with the electric that I now motor far more than I did WHEN I could get the Honda started.

Be that as it may, on adjusting stuff without a manual for guidance, I try very small tweaks and listen for any improvement (higher RPM, smoother running, clearer exhaust). Go the the other way the same tiny amount and check for improvement. If nothing changes, increase the amount of adjustment in small increments until it does. Then select and mark/record the setting I like best. Trial and error at its finest.

Fred W
Stuart (ODay) Mariner 19  Sweet P

PS WD-40 was invented for exactly the scenario for recovery from dumping a motor into salt water.

[Frank B.]

I considered it (electric).  A Compac 23IV has a displacement of 3200 lbs. and the calc for HP required for hull speed in neutral conditions was about 5.8 HP IIRC.  So that would take me up to the Spirt 2 which packages out at about $4500 but more appropriately the Navy 3 which would package out at about $6K.  Everything I'm doing from the tank to the intake manifold is about $450, and I think it will provide appropriate reliability.  That motor, that doesn't have much more than 100 hours, worked like a charm for the first six years, but during that time it was run at least every other week year round.  Then life's issues caused it to sit idle more often than not and that's when the trouble began. We shall see.

Yes for sure small tweaking on the adjustment pilot screw is warranted.  But the online info is mixed. Some say start at two and a half turns out, others dispute that. An old manual would probably address that but my manual is too new, doesn't cover it probably post EPA directive. And this screw is sloppy, almost like the spring is weak or broken.  I'll know when I take it off and apart.

[Timm R Oday25]

I have been watching and learning about both electric and gas powered outboard
An 8 horse 2 stroke Johnson powered out Oday for the last 10 years.
2 years back I opened usually wide and bought 2 Yamaha outboard.
The first one is 2 and a half 4 stroke with. A built in tank gives me and hour of quiet
reliable power . A few years ago the fuel pump broke on the outboard .
This resulted in me towing the Oday with my dinghy while I rowed.Took me more than 2 hours to go about 2 blocks .
The next day ,my shoulders told me I am years or decades from my 20s .
I bought an 8 hose electric start 4 stroke with electric trim .
I pulled both out of storage last weekend .
The 2&1/2 horse started before I had pulled the rope more than halfway out .
The 8 horse started just as quickly.
 I am convinced fresh non ethanol gas and quality engines make the difference

[Riley Smith]

I am not convinced that two-strokes are less reliable. A good one is as good as they come and a bad one just as good as a 4-stroke that won't crank. Dirty, yes.

 So the new four stroke (2.3 Honda) is nice. It runs much more quietly and smoother than the old 2-stroke Nissan and no mixing. It has plenty of power for the catboat and I've enjoyed it. Hull speed is there at about 1/4 throttle, which is not too loud. And of course great fuel economy. Light enough to carry around (under 40#)  with all the OTHER things a  boat needs. What's not to like?

A boat motor does MUCH better with frequent use. Let it sit and the cobwebs grow. Just my opinion and I don't have the numbers for CB, but that has been my experience, although that was with a lot more horsepower too. The old Johnson that I had on the crab skiff was the most reliable engine I've ever owned and it got used a LOT. At least once a week for years. I was an idiot and sold it when the catboat got built and I gave the decrepit crab skiff to the kids down the block. Oh well, there wasn't room for it any more and that sapsucker was HEAVY.

[Ziradog]

I am not convinced that two-strokes are less reliable. A good one is as good as they come and a bad one just as good as a 4-stroke that won't crank. Dirty, yes.

I bought a 6 hp Yamaha 2-stroke in the mid/late 1980's.  It was the most reliable engine I have ever had.  That doesn't mean that 4 strokes (or electrics) are bad, just that 2 vs 4 stroke isn't really a reliability thing.