Outboard maintenance for salt water

[bullethead08]

Hi there...I'm new to group.
I'm in the process of putting together a new old boat.
My question has to do with the fact that my boat will be in a slip and I wont necessarily have fresh water access. Do I need to flush the motor with fresh water after every time I take it out?
Any suggestions for putting a used outboard you're not familiar with into service? I've seen it run, but beyond that I don't know anything about it.

Thanks
Bullethead

 

[mmuutts]

Re: Outboard maintenance for salt water

Live and learn....I stick my kicker in a big bucket of fresh water about once a month...use a little vinager...I would guess you are talking about a small horse motor.

 

[creole1977]

Re: Outboard maintenance for salt water

I would also track down the manual if possible. It would be a good idea to pull the spark plugs and have a look and change them if they are old. Not a bad idea to inspect them carefully and check for any warning signs.

Also investigate the fuel filter which is usually very easy to take care of yourself.

What kind of engine?

 

[smallboatlover]

Re: Outboard maintenance for salt water

you should't worry about rinsing the motor if you get a chance good do it, but if you don't, don't worry about it if you use it a lot it won't matter just don't have it sit for a month or two with out being ran.

 

[bullethead08]

Re: Outboard maintenance for salt water

Its a 68 Mercury 6 HP.
Thanks so much for your response.

 

[emoney]

Re: Outboard maintenance for salt water

I know this thread is over a month old, but I'm going to respond in the event someone else comes along and is searching for this information. That last piece of advice is not the best, in my humble opinion (you know what they say about "opinions"). Any outboard motor, exposed to nothing but saltwater is going to deteriorate faster, and you will run into issues if you don't flush it. A small ob, like the 6hp Merc, is light enough to remove from a well if it's not accessible from a lift up bracket, so there's really no reason to avoid flushing it. There's plenty of small OB flush muffs on the market and you're talking about something that only takes 3-4minutes if you're stretched for time.

Yes, you see plenty of sailboats that don't get flushed after every trip, but the majority of those are larger with diesel powerplants that don't use the saltwater for cooling, meaning they don't have the saltwater circulating throughout the motor when in use, like your Merc will. Keeping a sailboat in a slip, in my opinion, is the "only" way to go because of convienence, but that usually gets washed out with the extra time spent on maintenance. Good luck, but flush that motor when you're done!