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Author Topic:   Motor Up or Down in Saltwater?

Lil Ole Boat posted 07-31-2012 07:38 AM ET (US)
Any thoughts on whether to leave the motor up or down while leaving the boat on the dock in saltwater?
macfam posted 07-31-2012 08:20 AM ET (US)
In salt water, for any extended time, leave the motor up. If you leave the motor down, it will begin to foul with marine growth.
tom976 posted 07-31-2012 12:58 PM ET (US)
Motor up and locked. Make sure to give it a flush if so equipped or just hose it down. Macfam is right, no reason to give the slim and barnacles something else to attach to.
andrey320 posted 07-31-2012 01:13 PM ET (US)
Keep as much of that boat out of salt water and keep as much salt water as you can out of the boat....
kwik_wurk posted 07-31-2012 01:29 PM ET (US)
As others mention, motors up at all possible times, even on fresh water.
The one exception is at public docks (or similar) where transient moorage (or hourly moorage) space is a premium. Lifting the motor can add length to your boat, and hog space because a sharp skeg or prop is not neighborly. -- This is more of a courtesy policy than anything else. I have only been asked once to put my motors down so I occupied less dock space.
lizard posted 07-31-2012 01:41 PM ET (US)
My boat is slipped in salt water, in an Armored Hull liner. Normally my skeg just clears the waterline. Because of some rain a few months back and a tad more water in the liner than usual, about an inch or so of the skeg ended up in the liner water. It was in there about 8-10 days before I went down to the boat. Assumedly some of the water receded. I had growth on the skeg, that fortunately, scrubbed off with out too much effort.
martyn1075 posted 07-31-2012 02:23 PM ET (US)
I would agree with tom976, many will say its ok to leave them up without lock and are probably right depending on the motor and size but my experience has been even with short amount of time they tend to sag and put pressure on the lower cylinder seals eventually causing a tear and small leak. Its not worth it best to activate the lock or I simply keep them down all the time. Our boat is dry stored so its easy but in the water yes you would risk corrosion sometimes electrolysis perhaps and certainly buildup or worse barnacles in the lower intake pickups.
Martyn
JMARTIN posted 07-31-2012 07:19 PM ET (US)
So, if I put the F70 all the way up and throw the lock, the motor is supported above the lock. I use to lower it down to the lock but it puts a portion of the motor into the water. Should I lower it to the lock or leave it all the way up?
If I raise the 1992 200 Evinrude, the carbs or something drains and I get an oil slick. It can be quite impressive with a 2 stroke oil and gasoline mix. I am very aware of petroleum spillage in my business so I leave it down, but it is not in the water for extended periods of time. A couple of days in a row at most.
I seem to refrain form "sailing" around on the anchor line if I leave it down also.
John
lizard posted 08-02-2012 11:17 PM ET (US)
jmartin/Lil Ole Boat- My larger hp motors are all OMC/BRP. The tilt lock on those is less than a half inch lower than the highest possible tilt position and would not have put any of the lower unit in the water. That is partly why I was surprised after one day of heavy rains to find mine making water contact.
My Yamaha 4-S 15 hp motor, definitely had a more distinctive drop between all the way up and tilt locked position. I don't know if that is lower hp case-specific or Yamaha-specific.
The CA boat that is slipped in warmer, salt water, would not do well with the motor in the water times several days. During the summer, people without slip liners have to have their bottoms done no more than 3 weeks apart.
Conversely, the CT boat slipped, is in an estuary, literally on the line where the river meets the sound. It gets significantly less growth over a much longer period of time than the salt water boat.

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Author	Topic: Motor Up or Down in Saltwater?
Lil Ole Boat	posted 07-31-2012 07:38 AM ET (US) Any thoughts on whether to leave the motor up or down while leaving the boat on the dock in saltwater?
macfam	posted 07-31-2012 08:20 AM ET (US) In salt water, for any extended time, leave the motor up. If you leave the motor down, it will begin to foul with marine growth.
tom976	posted 07-31-2012 12:58 PM ET (US) Motor up and locked. Make sure to give it a flush if so equipped or just hose it down. Macfam is right, no reason to give the slim and barnacles something else to attach to.
andrey320	posted 07-31-2012 01:13 PM ET (US) Keep as much of that boat out of salt water and keep as much salt water as you can out of the boat....
kwik_wurk	posted 07-31-2012 01:29 PM ET (US) As others mention, motors up at all possible times, even on fresh water. The one exception is at public docks (or similar) where transient moorage (or hourly moorage) space is a premium. Lifting the motor can add length to your boat, and hog space because a sharp skeg or prop is not neighborly. -- This is more of a courtesy policy than anything else. I have only been asked once to put my motors down so I occupied less dock space.
lizard	posted 07-31-2012 01:41 PM ET (US) My boat is slipped in salt water, in an Armored Hull liner. Normally my skeg just clears the waterline. Because of some rain a few months back and a tad more water in the liner than usual, about an inch or so of the skeg ended up in the liner water. It was in there about 8-10 days before I went down to the boat. Assumedly some of the water receded. I had growth on the skeg, that fortunately, scrubbed off with out too much effort.
martyn1075	posted 07-31-2012 02:23 PM ET (US) I would agree with tom976, many will say its ok to leave them up without lock and are probably right depending on the motor and size but my experience has been even with short amount of time they tend to sag and put pressure on the lower cylinder seals eventually causing a tear and small leak. Its not worth it best to activate the lock or I simply keep them down all the time. Our boat is dry stored so its easy but in the water yes you would risk corrosion sometimes electrolysis perhaps and certainly buildup or worse barnacles in the lower intake pickups. Martyn
JMARTIN	posted 07-31-2012 07:19 PM ET (US) So, if I put the F70 all the way up and throw the lock, the motor is supported above the lock. I use to lower it down to the lock but it puts a portion of the motor into the water. Should I lower it to the lock or leave it all the way up? If I raise the 1992 200 Evinrude, the carbs or something drains and I get an oil slick. It can be quite impressive with a 2 stroke oil and gasoline mix. I am very aware of petroleum spillage in my business so I leave it down, but it is not in the water for extended periods of time. A couple of days in a row at most. I seem to refrain form "sailing" around on the anchor line if I leave it down also. John
lizard	posted 08-02-2012 11:17 PM ET (US) jmartin/Lil Ole Boat- My larger hp motors are all OMC/BRP. The tilt lock on those is less than a half inch lower than the highest possible tilt position and would not have put any of the lower unit in the water. That is partly why I was surprised after one day of heavy rains to find mine making water contact. My Yamaha 4-S 15 hp motor, definitely had a more distinctive drop between all the way up and tilt locked position. I don't know if that is lower hp case-specific or Yamaha-specific. The CA boat that is slipped in warmer, salt water, would not do well with the motor in the water times several days. During the summer, people without slip liners have to have their bottoms done no more than 3 weeks apart. Conversely, the CT boat slipped, is in an estuary, literally on the line where the river meets the sound. It gets significantly less growth over a much longer period of time than the salt water boat.