When to flush motor after trip to salt water???

[Rubber Robin]

What is the recommended length of time to flush your main engine & kicker after fishing in salt water. I have a sled with a Ford 351 inboard and a Suzuki 10 horse kicker.

What harm is done if you wait for a day or two?

[WaterDog]

It doesnt take long for salt water to do it's thing to iron. I flush the motors as soon as possible, usually within a few hours.

Of course there are some that don't flush at all and don't seem to have a problem. Salt water is bad and motors are expensive.

There is one guy on this board that doesnt flush and if he did wait a few days, he wouldnt have any gas to run the motor anyway. images/icons/rolleyes.gif

[6-20-2001:Message edited by: I need a locking gas cap!] images/icons/tongue.gif

[Bait O' Eggs]

True waterdawg, I have never flushed my motor. The motor has over 500 hours on the meter and well over 1/2 of it is in the salt. I have started to see a problem with the paint bubbling below the water line recently. Most all motors I have seen have this same problem. Maybe it wouldnt be as bad if I flushed it, I dont know. Still goes and this is what counts for me.

[Thumper]

I am one of those fanatics that pull out at Tilamook, then race to the first fresh water I can find to flush out the motor. Then I go off to Mexico and see the Pangas with their old beater Mercs up on the sand or moored in the ocean for years. The motors seem to hold up just fine. Who knows.

[DK]

flushing can't hurt, the newer outboards run alot cooler than the older outboards which means the salt does not get cooked on, and the anti corrisons they have now a day's protects the metal better.

[Phish_on]

A.S.A.P. ! !

I hose down rods, reels, crab pots, boat, trailer (plenty of rust there already!), and back into the Willamette and fire it up for a couple minutes for the "special chemical treatment" ... or do the Garbage Can Thing, maybe some day I'll get the hose attachment thing? nawwww

[Ed]

I too put my boat in fresh water after a trip in salt. In fact, if possible I will unload my boat in fresh water and run it around a bit. Not only does this clean those nooks and crannies but it also rinses the trailer. As stated above, washing/wiping your equipment is essential too. Areas that you really want to focus on are connections that are of different types of metal like steel and aluminum. These areas will quickly corrode if left alone.

[Phish_on]

hey, hey, my, my ...

[Tanner]

Rock and Roll will never die. Next......


Neal Young - The Father of Grunge

[Killertraylor]

I've got a Yamaha 250 Saltwater series and I flush it every time I bring it back to the dock. It's really easy with this motor because it has a little hose attachment right on it. You just hook up the garden hose and turn it on for a few minutes and it's flushed. I also spray down the entire boat with fresh water. I like the idea of backing into some fresh water if it's convenient - washes the trailer off too.

[Pilar]

Right away. The dive gear goes in a garbage can full of water and the boat gets hosed and washed. Usually I run the motor for 10 minutes on the hose. At Newport you can do this on the way up the boat ramp. They have a dumpster too.

Or as has also been suggested launch it at a fresh water spot and get the trailer too.

Salt loves iron and rust never sleeps.

[ 06-21-2001: Message edited by: Pilar ]

[KarenLee]

useful info images/icons/grin.gif images/icons/wink.gif