Flushing an outboard with fresh water???

[ATC]

A sailor at the local dock would lower his OB into a kitchen size plastic trash can (tied to the OB) place a garden hose in the can, turn the water on, start the OB, drink a beer - then call it quits when the beer was gone.

[rourkeh]

Never flushed an outboard engine in my life and I have owned dozens of them. Never had one fail due to corosion.

[Mark Johnson]

The experience of pretty much every cruiser that I've known personally, as well as my on, is:

If you use it often, like every day or two, it is TOTALLY unnecessary. If you only use it every two weeks, sure, it would be a good idea.

Also... Carry a small twisted SS wire with you. The corrosion inside eventually comes out in chunks and sometimes blocks the piss stream. (in older motors) The older the motor (like10 years), the more often it happens. Just keep an eagle eye on the water flow, and if it stops or turns to a spray pattern, stick the wire an inch in the nozzle, and wiggle it around, while it is running. I have done this a hundred times, and it hasn't failed yet.

Yes, that means that the inside of the motor is corroding out... V E R Y slowly. Usually OB motors don't "wear" out, they "corrode" out. Still, 20 years is quite possible!

In spite of this being the case, the outside is corroding out too, and rinsing the inside daily, is just not practical while cruising, (unless you are a weekend cruiser). Then it is worthwhile, because you will be back at the dock, with a hose & lots of water.

Mark

[SkiprJohn]

I flush mine each time I use it because it may be months before I use it again. I also run the carb dry after each use. If I were using it daily I would not worry about it.
I had an old Seagull awhile back that got put away salty. It was really a pain getting the salt out of it but finally got it flushed enough to have it working right again. Their impellers are not rubber but metal.
kind regards,

[Thanna5]

I may be more anal than some others, but I store my outboard on a stand in the garage, and run it for several minutes is a fresh water filled bucket every time I pull it off the boat. When cruising and running it every day I leave it alone. No maintenance other than oil and drive line lube in over 8 years. Pays for itself