SUMMER 2007 • PAGE 17
PAGE 18 • SUMMER 2007 THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SAILING ASSOCIATION
SAFETY AT SEA • OUTBOARD MOTOR TIPS AND TRICKS
By Drew Harper, Spinnaker Sailing School, San Francisco
W
e all have experienced it, you’ve had a great
day sailing, the sun is setting, you’re nearing
Starting Checklist
the breakwater and it’s time to fire up the
1. Check the engine clamps; make sure they’re tight.
motor. You lower it into the water, pull the starting cord
2. Put on the deadman (red cord) to the kill switch.
and nothing happens. What could possibly go wrong with
3. Lower the motor into the water. Make sure it locks to the
something as simple as a one cylinder outboard motor?!
thrust arm.
There’s a long list of things
4. Check to make sure there’s fuel in the tank.
that can be at fault here.
5. Open the fuel valve fully.
I’m going to try to narrow
6. Open the tank vent fully.
it down to the handful of
7. Make sure the engine is in neutral.
issues that usually are
8. Apply a small amount of throttle.
responsible for this
9. Pull the starter three times, if there is no indication of the
dilemma. For questions on
motor turning over (trying to start) pull out the choke.
parts, see the diagram to
10. Pull the starter three times. If it doesn’t start, push the
the right.
choke in and pull three more times. Don’t flood it!
11. Once the engine is running push in the choke.
First and foremost, these little
Securing for Sailing Checklist
engines are prone to flooding at
the drop of a hat. They don’t have
1. Turn off the engine.
fuel injection like your car, opting
2. Fully close the tank vent and fuel valve.
instead for the good old-fashioned carburetor. The key
point here is that good care must be taken to avoid doing
things to the engine that will flood it. Regardless of the
escape the tank. There
weather/temperature conditions, people invariably step
is no real fix for this
about a small boat, pull out the choke and wail away at
problem, just don’t
the pull starter until the engine starts. Using this process
use the choke as
there’s a good likelihood that the engine won’t start at all.
there is plenty of fuel
The ‘choke’ (see Fig. 11) is designed to choke off, or
(often too much) in
restrict the amount of air that runs through the
the engine already.
carburetor. Less air means more fuel, a good thing in cold
or damp conditions but far less desirable on our normal,
Most people use way
sunny day. Using the choke on a fair weather day simply
too much throttle on
puts too much fuel into the engine. Too much fuel is as
these motors. One-
big a problem as too little fuel. Best common practice
quarter throttle pushes these boats at three quarters of
when starting an outboard, regardless of conditions
their potential speed. You use up the other three
(particularly if you’ve already run the motor or it’s a nice
quarters of throttle attaining the remaining one quarter
warm day) is to simply go through the pre-start checklist,
of speed. These motors are designed to get the boat in
without using the choke and you’ll likely have no trouble
and out of the harbor and were never intended to power
at all.
the boat over long distances. Vessels with inboard diesels
are much better suited to that purpose.
Another culprit responsible for flooding the motor is the
internal tanks incorporated into their design. In order to
Finally, there are a few things you can do to make your
allow these engines to tilt out of the water, the
outboard more reliable, with better performance and
manufacturer installed a fuel valve and screw vent on the
higher fuel efficiency. Always pull the motor out of the
tank. This provides the necessary shutoff components to
water when sailing, making sure you close the fuel valve
insure that no fuel escapes the tank into the fragile bay
and the tank vent securely. Make sure the engine is
waters. On a warm day, as a result of the heat, the
cooling properly. There should be a small stream of water
internal fuel tanks pressurize considerably. If the fuel
squirting out of the rear of the motor. If not, either
valve isn’t securely closed, this will allow fuel to slip by
something is plugging the water impeller or the impeller
the slightly open valve and fill the motor. You may have
itself is damaged. Finally, make sure you follow the
noticed on a warm day when you open the vent you hear
checklists before you start the engine, while under sail
the telltale hiss, like you just opened a bottle of soda,
and in final stowage of the motor at the end of your sail.
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