Leave motor in fresh water or take it out when finished?

Chipso

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Mar 8, 2004
Messages
31
Hi:<br /><br />I'm new to boating and I have to ask what may seem to experienced boaters a dumb question. I have asked different boaters and no one seem to be sure of the answer.<br /><br />I have recently purchased a boat and it is docked at a fresh water lake full time. My question, do I raise the outboard engine when I'm finished boating to get it out of the water, or do I let it remain in the water for some unknown reason and wind up with that green scum all over the bottom of the motor? It's a new Yamaha, four stroke, 25 HP outboard. The back of the motor faces a southern exposure. Is there any reason to leave it in the water? Most of the small boats, here at the dock, leave the motors down in the water when not in use.<br /><br />Any constructive thoughts would be welcomed.<br /><br />Thanks
 

Solittle

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Apr 28, 2002
Messages
7,518
Re: Leave motor in fresh water or take it out when finished?

Chip - All I can tell you is what I would do and that is to leave it up. Why pickup a bunch of crud whan you don't have to? In salt water you can pickup barnacles on the inside of the lower unit if left down yet some folks do it - beyond me.
 

Chipso

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Mar 8, 2004
Messages
31
Re: Leave motor in fresh water or take it out when finished?

Thanks for your imput SoLittle. Seems logical to me also, but just wanted to make sure there isn't something technical I may be missing here.
 

radsrh

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Oct 30, 2002
Messages
250
Re: Leave motor in fresh water or take it out when finished?

I can tell you that I am in fresh water and I always lift the motor when I am finished for the day. The big benefit of this is that you do not end up with a bunch of green or brown slime on the lower unit.
 

Chipso

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Mar 8, 2004
Messages
31
Re: Leave motor in fresh water or take it out when finished?

Thanks for you comments radsrh. My feelings exactly about the green and brown crud all over the bottom unit. Just makes sense to me, but just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong.
 

crazy charlie

Vice Admiral
Joined
May 22, 2003
Messages
5,352
Re: Leave motor in fresh water or take it out when finished?

Chipso,this question has come up many times before but this is the first time it was worded as you did.Most ask why they shouldnt leave the motor down in the water.You ask why shouldnt I leave it up???Which means you are off to a good start.Most look for the easiest way which would be to leave the motor down in the water.Then they look for others to give them reasons why it is ok to leave it down ,then they wonder why the impeller fails and the paint peels and how to get crud off the underwater part of the motor and how to stop the paint from peeling on the propeller etc.It is a little more difficult to raise the motor and why anyone would look for a reason to not pull it up is beyond me.Charlie
 

ED21

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 26, 2003
Messages
828
Re: Leave motor in fresh water or take it out when finished?

You should leave the motor in the water if the air temp. is below freezing like when duck hunting or such. Not that you'll have much of that in Fl.
 

JasonJ

Rear Admiral
Joined
Aug 20, 2001
Messages
4,163
Re: Leave motor in fresh water or take it out when finished?

I leave mine down in the water, but that is mainly because I don't have power t&t, its a 125 horse motor that is fairly back-breaking to manually tilt, and everyone else leaves theirs down. Here is my rational for leaving it down besides laziness: The impeller is made of rubber, and when the outboard is not in the water the casing gets pretty hot, I don't want to take the chance that the heat could cause issues with the impeller. When I tilt it, gas leaks out of the carbs, not good for an ecological reason, any growth that appears is gone as soon as you get to planing speed, and I use my boat a few times a week. For whatever reason I rarely see motors tilted up here, don't know why the others don't do it, but I know why I don't.
 

Chipso

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Mar 8, 2004
Messages
31
Re: Leave motor in fresh water or take it out when finished?

Just wanted to thank you all for your imput. I just happened to notice that someone else had asked the same basic question earlier in the evening and the general feeling seems to be, get it up out of the water when not in use. As long as it is convenient, the air temperature is above freezing, you want to avoid the crude on the lower unit, the carburetors don't leak, you don't have a bunch of careless boaters around the docking area and you want to maintain the finish on the lower unit. I would think the oil question on 4 stroke engines should be OK, as per the example of the oil in your vehicle all drains back into the oilpan when the engine is not running and it doesn't seem to hurt the engine. I will check with the Yamaha dealer, when I return for my 20 hour checkup next week, to see if there might be any lubrication problems associated with a 4 stroke engine tilted out of water for an extended period of time. Thanks again for all your imput, I really appreciate it.
 

Ken G

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Feb 28, 2003
Messages
158
Re: Leave motor in fresh water or take it out when finished?

One disadvantage I see in leaving the motor tilted up is it makes it real easy to steal your prop. Just a thought.
 

Chipso

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Mar 8, 2004
Messages
31
Re: Leave motor in fresh water or take it out when finished?

Good point Ken G, fortunately, that hasn't been a problem down here that I've heard of. Although,I never say never anymore,I would like to believe it doesn't happen down here on this lake, as I would be very disappointed.<br /><br />Chipso
 
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