I am an Idiot and deserve to drown

[swami maximus]

I used my El Toro 8' as a dinghy and put my 5 hp outboard on the transom to ferry myself from my sailboat to the marina. Admitingly, I had it opened up perhaps more than I should have, and well, hit a wave and the engine ripped 1/2 the transom off and sank. Fortunately, the rest of the transom was secure enough for me to stay afloat while I contacted my wife who got our sailboat to come and pick me up. I was in the middle of the bay. The engine was still connected to the fuel line which held it from going down to Davey Jones' Locker. I was able to slowly pull it back on board.

So here's my question: Is there any hope of resurrecting my brand new outboard? And if so how do I go about firing it back up and getting the water out? I know time is of the essence and "rust never sleeps." So please help this fool out!


<woeful sigh> I'm never going to live this down...

[Intentional Drifter]

From The Complete Book of Yacht Repair (Michael Verney):

If dunked while running:

1. Wash off with fresh water ASAP.
2. Drain all fuel.
3. Remove spark plugs.
4. If any sand/dirt ingested, don't crank it; get professionally serviced.
5. Hand-crank while holding upside-down and at other angles, to drain water. If cranking is difficult, stop cranking; get professionally serviced.
6. Flush crankcase and cylinder with alcohol to absorb water.
7. Wash disassembled parts in hot soapy water, air dry, then coat with oil.
8. Start motor.
9. Run motor under load for at least 30 minutes, to heat it up and clear out water.

Hey, there's lots worse things to happen, and your wife will love telling the story.

ID

[henryv]

I had a friend who lost his pickup truck through thin ice - it remained in the water till spring with his new chain saw on board - the truck was toast but the chain saw was dried out and worked just fine.

I would pull the spark plug , get the water out , use a blow drier to help the drying process, use a little wd40 where appropriate, with a little patience and fresh fuel she should come back to life.

Good luck
Henry

[GordMay]

Keep it wet ‘till your ready to disassemble it, then disassemble,wash in kerosene, rinse /w fresh water, and dry immediately. Reassemble, fuel up, & start …

[Pura Vida]

Originally Posted by swami maximus

<woeful sigh> I'm never going to live this down...

swami,
Don't look at this as a screw up but as credentials in you school of hard knocks education. It could be a lot worse...
pv

[senormechanico]

I resurrected a nearly new 2hp Evinrude which sank in a fresh water slough in front of our old house. The conditions were almost identical to what you describe. It was attached to a cedar 1x6 which was clamped to the side of a canoe, and it had been running at full throttle when it went overboard. The owner just rowed away.

We salvaged it a few days later and it still was clamped to half the board.
We rinsed it out, and found the cylinder head gasket was blown. After replacing that and replacing the gas it ran perfectly for many years. I finally sold it when we left for Mexico. I should have kept it.

Steve B.

[delmarrey]

I dropped a 9 hp two stoke in a marina, about 30' down. It took me an hour to get down to it. But I just washed it off with fresh water, inside and out. Pulled the plug on the carb and spark plug.

Put it back together, cranked it up until it was warm, and it still does fine two years later.

I did spray it down with WD-40 When I finally got it home a couple weeks later. also I changed the oil in the lower end, but it was clean.

[Alan Wheeler]

I don't see where you are an Idiot. Damn lucky, but not an idiot. A 5hp should not have been able to do that sort of damage. The back of the boat must have had a problem, like rot. It should take 5hp no worries.

[swami maximus]

May I just say... MAY THE GODS OF THE SEA EVER FIND YOU IN FAIR WINDS AND GOOD WEATHER!!! The engine is running again on my side yard as I type this thanks to your help (and a dose of good luck). Below link to picture of engine running and me grinning. http://http://lh3.google.com/image/t...max=160&crop=1

Your link is not working, but glad you are back running again. Now if you want a reason to beat yourself up over it, put the motor back on the dinghy That is what I would probably do. At least one more time to convince me it was not goin to work

[hellosailor]

Outboards are surprisingly durable, some special forces teams actually SINK their landing boats, engine and all, while ashore. And then use the same boats and engines to leave again, after getting the water out. (Mostly.<G>)

Not recommended use outside of combat operations, but proof they can take a beating and keep on ticking.

[Pura Vida]

OH my goodness! Is that water supposed to be streaming out of the back like that?!?!

Just kidding, strip out the extra 'HTTP:\\'

Now about the dink...

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Swami,
Did that in the surf with a British Seagull many years back in front of a high end Hotel on the West end of Molokai. It was running when the Sabot turned over. Within an hour I had it running again and motored back out to my boat. A bit embarrasing, eh?
JohnL

[rebel heart]

Yeah if that's the worst thing that happens to you in your maritime career, consider yourself lucky. The fact that your wife is adpet enough to get the big boat over to you is pretty remarkable; a lot of wives / girlfriends (sadly) aren't that capable when it comes down to it.

That must have been one hell of a fuel line.

Then there was the time I dropped the outboard between the dock and the dinghy and didn't let go Thank goodnes I used to white water raft, and know how to hang on with my legs. Rule number one about dumb mistakes, if no one got hurt, and it makes a good story, it is all worth while