4 stroke - what to do different than with 2 stroke?

[sabray]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

This is fine for those who can do it, but anyone who has arthritis in their shoulders isn't going to want to be rowing against a current to get to shore, say, in key West. Using these aids sometimes keeps us sailing longer, and there's no shame in it.

I sprained my shoulder recently and was laid up for a month because I used no mechanical aid pulling up a really well-set anchor. There's no gain in that. I was lucky. I didn't injure the rotator cuff, and it has healed completely, but I will NEVER pull the anchor up without mechanical advantage again.

I live on my boat. A bad back injury could force me on to land. Something will do it eventually, I'm sure, but i hope it's not because I tried to channel my "inner macho" and ende up hurting myself when I could have done it more safely.

I would always have a pair of oars, but "outboard motor" isn't a dirty word, and ... plenty of people use them without screwing up the carb. You just have to take care of them.

For that the dink has a skulking notch cut in the transom. If it works for you cool. I found the outboard a pain in the ass and so looked for alternate means to get around.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by sabray

For that the dink has a skulking notch cut in the transom. If it works for you cool. I found the outboard a pain in the ass and so looked for alternate means to get around.

I agree. They are completely a pain in the ass, and for most of the sailing I use, I just take oars. I had a really good 6 hp 4/stroke that had been the motor propulsion, for my first, smaller sailboat -- which actually had a cut down transom to accommodate the outboard. It did a terrific job of pushing the boat when I needed a motor. But it could stay on the boat, didn't have to be lifted and lowered, etc.

When I bought this boat I kept it for a dinghy, but it's just unwieldy for me. I could have bought a motor davit for it but I decided it was just too big.

But -- just for instance -- Key West is one place where I would want to buy a motor. Or I might just bite the bullet and pay for dockage. For me, starting sailing at a late age (62), sailing to Key West would be a terrific adventure, and worth the price of dockage. I'd spend more than that going to Disneyworld and I wouldn't be sailing.

The sprained shoulder really got my attention. It's time for me to be paying attention to the limits of my body as well as the possibilities of sailing.

[sabray]

That's why I haven't sold the outboards. I know they sometimes have there place. Like an elevator escalator etc... You can get around with out them.

[s/v Jedi]

I would buy an ample supply of carburetor cleaner

[cfarrar]

Fresh fuel, Stabil, and frequent use, and you'll probably be fine. Just in case, if you have compressed air onboard it's ideal for blowing out the jets, after you soak them in carb cleaner.

[The Garbone]

I just run marine gasoline (no ethanol) in my OB motors. Costs more but not as many worries about varnishing up fuel bowls, rotting fuel lines, water collection in gas and a 10% increase in fuel eff to boot...

[fryewe]

Originally Posted by sabray

would cause yellow cake and gunk

Oh crap...now we're all gonna have our emails monitored. Need a better term for that stuff that accumulates in the carb....

[colemj]

Acupuncture needles are perfect for cleaning out small jets and orifices. Stainless spring steel that bends but doesn't kink.

Mark

[model 10]

Originally Posted by colemj

Acupuncture needles are perfect for cleaning out small jets and orifices. Stainless spring steel that bends but doesn't kink.

Mark

Negative on sticking something in the jet. You could easly change the jet size doing that plus the inlet and outlet have a shape that you could screw up. These are very small holes as you know and nothing but air should be used to open them up.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by sabray

That's why I haven't sold the outboards. I know they sometimes have there place. Like an elevator escalator etc... You can get around with out them.

Until you sprain your ankle.

[sabray]

Wellllllll. Mek works a real treat but can screw up some seals if not removed. Copper stranded wire in the jet holes should be fine. Is what I used before I got tired of cleaning and replacing carbs.

[nhschneider]

I bought a Honda 15-hp new in 2000 and it ran flawlessly with intermittent heavy use up until last year. After that, I had the carburetor apart half a dozen times before I gave up and bought a new carburetor for US$100. It now runs great again. I think the mistake I was making was running the carburetor dry instead of draining the fuel out of it if it wasn't going to be used for a long period of time.

Last year I happened across a 5-hp Honda outboard (that was also a 2000 model year) that was being sold by good friend of mine at a marine swap meet. It had an AU$300 price tag on it so I asked him, "How much will you sell it to me for?" , thinking i'd like to have it as a spare. He said, "For you, $100." I said, "I won't pay less than $150." And we did the deal. It, too, had carburetor issues and a complete disassembly and careful rebuild didn't help it. So it got a new carburetor as well and now it runs like new also.

Fair winds and calm seas.

[Factor]

Never use ethanol fuels in it. Never

[estarzinger]

Regarding all the carb cleaning and such . . . so anyone know a good 3rd party 'shop manual' for these engines? Mercury does not seem to have one that I can find. I can always just 'wing it', but I prefer to have a shop manual with exploded diagrams and part numbers.

We (cruisers) are unfortunately stuck with ethanol in the US. If you have a car and want to look for it, you can get avgas, or if you have local knowledge you may be able to find a station with ethanol free. But I was buying some fresh gas today and there was really no choice available for me other than 10% ethanol. In Canada its ethanol free, and I fill up all my jerry jugs, but that supply only lasts me so long once I come back into the USA.

I am a member of the 'rowing party' also. On our first RTW trip we only had a nice lovely rowing dinghy with oars and no outboard. I still row whenever I can, but sometimes the outboard is really useful (like getting a 200m line ashore pretty quick into strongish winds)

[Charlie]

Clymer has the best manuals for after market but I didin't see anything for a mercury outboard.