What did you do to or with your boat today?

[sonny1]

hi all, my boat hasnt left the garage in about 7 or 8 weeks so i thought i would get it out and tidy up . while it was out i thought i would run the motor up . so i started it up and the tell tale was intermittent and weak so i promptly turned it off, checked the muffs were positioned ok started it up again , nothing at all so very quickly turned it off , another poke about , try again ,no tell tail, turned it off after about 20 seconds . any ideas

[harrison]

It’ll probably just need the impeller priming. Often muffs or a tub just doesn’t prime the impeller as the water level can be too low. Impellers are not self priming, but once primed will pull water up and pump.

Easiest way to get it started is use the flushing port. You can either continue running on this or in a tub. We normally start with this then run in a tub....no real benefit either way tbh.

[sonny1]

thanks ian , so from what youve said can i take it that if i was to tow my boat for two hours plus to the sea and launch that all would be ok as it would have plenty of water or might i still have to prime the impeller?

[harrison]

In the water it will be fine, and pump instantly as the water level at rest is well above the impeller.

Assuming you got a flushing adapter with the motor. Just connect a hose to it and fire it up at home.

[sonny1]

Hi @sonny1
You are correct - when you sea launch you will have plenty of water, assuming the outboard is lowered into a running position.
Take a look at the leg of your outboard and you will see a point at which the lower unit (gearbox) splits from the leg. Generally, for the impeller to prime you need to have the water pretty much to this point.
I have problems sometimes running my Suzuki on muffs because they just can’t push enough water through the inlet to reach up to the impeller. In fact, when I first bought it I returned it to the dealer immediately as I couldn’t get water to come out of the tell tail at all. It turns out that I needed to raise the water level in the bucket by 2” - that was all it took. Once primed the impeller will pump water from a much lower level.

[sonny1]

thanks guys ,,,,panic over

[Froglet]

I used to flush my engine on a trolley with muffs to encourage decent flow and a trub bucket to dampen the 2 stroke racket, but even then the tell tail was a bit weak.

Over the summer I built a nice strong stand for the engine and changed to using an old kitchen dustbin for flushing so I could get the water level higher up the leg. The water flow is much stronger now and I don't have to attach the muffs. I also added a water butt tap to the dustbin so I could drain it without having to tip it over or find a syphon. Tap idea stolen from Roger I think...

Smoke on the water, hopefully not fire in the sky...

[Sibfisher]

Speaking to a membery Mitch who had a folding seat fitted on is Honwave t38 not long sold on this site, I asked him what is opinion of it was as after a while being on my KB350 I start to get a bit of back ach and find it uncomfortable and I got a positive review from him saying how better it was so decided to fit one myself.
Will see how I get on with it, so far it feels more comfortable with a back rest and like how I can swivel around.

[Oldman]

Looks nice, you will have to let us know after a couple of outings if its a cure for the back ache. Whats the white strap down from the front? is that to lock it closed? How heavy is it?

[Sibfisher]

The strap is for when it is folded close, not sure of the weight i would say around 3kg including swivel attached.