The Engine Killers

 

 

TODAY’S OUTBOARDS have the potential to run with about the same reliability as a modern automobile, which is a huge blessing for anglers and hunters. Note, however, the use of the word “potential.” Naturally, to get this sort of reliability out of an engine you have to maintain it properly and follow all of the manufacturer’s recommended regular service. But beyond that, even when properly cared for there are some things some of us do which amount to shooting ourselves in the foot, outboard-wise. As you cruise, cast, and blast, be sure to avoid making these engine-killing mistakes.

1. Getting all Wound Up

There isn’t a boat-owning angler on the planet who hasn’t wrapped his or her prop with fishing line a time or two… or three, or four, or five. And as you probably have heard, this can have rather disastrous results. The line can cut into the prop seal, allowing water into the lower unit. If you wrap a prop and see an oil sheen on the surface don’t try to limp home. Call for a tow and consider yourself lucky for having spotted the damage before your outdrive was completely demolished. Because if you don’t spot that sheen, your lower unit will probably fail in a spectacularly catastrophic manner sooner rather than later.

If you notice a line wrap as it happens, shut down the engine, tilt it up, and unwind the line off of the prop and lower unit by hand. When possible, avoid cutting the line because if you can pull it and get the prop spinning, you can unwind the mess a lot faster than if you’re trying to pull out small bits and pieces. 

When in deep water where you can’t get out of the boat and work on the mess with ease, sometimes you can get the prop spinning with the helping hand of a crewmember. Have them use a mop handle or boathook to spin the prop while you pull on the end of the line. In any case, don’t tilt the engine back down and start running until all of the line has been removed.

2. Failing to Flush

Each and every time you run an outboard in saltwater it should get a thorough freshwater flush. Period. Your owner’s manual surely recommends it, yet plenty of people out there will tell you it’s not necessary to do so each and every time. Ignore them—this is patently bad advice. Interesting factoid: through the years I’ve spoken with several people who were advised by their dealer to flush the motor every four or five trips, rather than every time. The same dealer will be servicing the engine in case repairs are needed—draw your own conclusions as to their motivation.

Flush that motor with a religious fervor, on the other hand, and you’ll keep the cooling passages inside the engine clean and clear. Your water pump impeller will function better and last longer (when you don’t flush and saltwater dries inside the water pump, the impeller will be grinding against dried salty grit the next time you start the engine up). Internal corrosion will be kept at bay. Along with changing the oil and filters on a regular basis this is probably the number one thing you can do to prevent engine failure over the long term.

Tip: If you won’t have access to a freshwater hose after a trip, you can still take care of business with some advance planning. Haul along a few five-gallon buckets of freshwater, a short length of hose, and a sump pump, and use them to give that engine a flush at the end of the day.

3. Catching Air

Maybe you’re in a hurry to get to that hotspot before the competition does, or maybe you just find it fun to hop over waves and catch some air. Well, it might be fun, but it can also be thoroughly destructive to an outboard. If the prop starts sucking air the engine can rev wildly beyond its intended speed. And, while modern outboards do have over-rev limiters, it’s not the sheer speed that kills – it’s the sudden re-entry. If you’re cruising along at 4500 rpm, catch some air, and the engine spins up to 6500 before the limiter kicks in, when the prop comes back down the sudden jolt of resistance can bend important stuff like propshafts, or shatter important stuff like gear teeth. When you see a large wave and flying into the great blue yonder is a distinct possibility, ease off on the throttle and make sure that prop remains in the water where it belongs.

4. Starting Without Water

Dry-starting an out board is verboten, regardless of the reason or duration. Many people assume that briefly doing so is no big deal since the engine won’t have enough time to overheat. But the water pump impeller must (must!) be lubricated by water at all times, or it’s likely to crumble, rip, or shred. While replacing an impeller is a fairly easy, inexpensive job, if you damage the impeller but it still works long enough for you to cruise 20 miles away from the boat ramp before it fails, you’ll be in a rather undesirable predicament.

5. Shifting Through Neutral

Chances are you’ve done this a time or two by accident. Especially with today’s modern silky-smooth digital shift and throttle it’s all too easy to go from forward directly into reverse, or vise-versa. Most modern systems have a built-in failsafe which will create a slight hesitation or won’t allow the shift to take place if the rpms are too high. But even with these safeties shifting too fast can still deliver quite an abrupt jolt. As a one-time thing damage isn’t likely, but shifting this rapidly on a regular basis will subject the gears to a lot of unnecessary stress. So, always shift into neutral and pause for at least a second or two, before moving the throttle again.

If you look out for all of these engine-killing mistakes, will your outboard run perfectly forever? Of course not. But chances are that if you treat that engine right, you’ll enjoy car-like reliability that boat owners could only dream of a few decades ago.

Email Lenny Rudow at ContactUs@fishgame.com