Make sure you drain the motor of water completely if stored in cold climates and I also always use premium in my outboards!
A last tidbit is when I mix my oil for my two strokes, I ALWAYS mix a tad rich. Yes, you will smoke a little more, yes at lower RPMS she'll want to load up a bit but a run at high RPMs always cleans the plugs. Just be aware if you run to rich your motor will struggle at idle. You remember, that speed you need when doing docing manuvers! LOL! Nothing like stalling the motor when you put into reverse!
StarTron makes an "Enzyme Fuel Treatment" additive to combat the Ethanol issue with water. Ethanol has been reported to eat rubber diaphragms in older outboards, my Sailor 280 had a very brittle diapragm that ruptured. Franz at Franz Marine recommended the product to me. The small 8oz bottle is about $10-15 will treat 128 gallons of fuel. I bought a bottle and left it in the club storage room for all to share.
I also run the carb dry on my 280 as well, and like Capt Scott I tend to run a bit rich. Back in my motocross days I used to run lean as possible for power and instant power, now its a touch rich for longevity. Hmmmmm.
Good post, Chrysler Outboard Operator's Manual states that the correct Angle for outboard is, a little up, pushing the stren down. On my 280 the pin is set one hole down from the top. On the C-26
You probably didn't contribute to your head gasket failure. About the only things that contribute to head gasket failure is an overheated motor or head bolts loosening, otherwise just chalk it up to a wear item.
I run a 10" diameter x 5" pitch prop. better thrust but less mileage.
On two strokes I run slightly rich. Too rich and the motor runs poorly and then the rings gum up and stick. Stuck rings from two much oil and burnt up rings from no oil are normal two stroke failures.
Fuel goes bad quickly mostly due to gasahol absorbing water. It even goes bad at the gas station before you buy it. I just recently filled the tank in my excellent running jet ski with 12 gallons from a gas station and it suddenly started stalling. I siphoned off the bottom of the tank and there was 1 liter of straight water in the tank.
Personnally I dont run my out board dry unless Im storing it for a while. I believe less varnish forms if the float bowl is full of fuel as opposed to almost empty. When I store it I use the float bowl drain to empty it and i rinse it with carb cleaner to.
hey, any special tips for us four strokers? I am curious now about props.... I have a tight slip with a current and would love a prop that would give me better revers ( mostly for stopping power too!)
You should definately consider a new prop. dig through the aftermarket props recommended for your outboard and get the largest diameter and the smallest pitch. I bought a solas prop. not everysite will have the ideal prop. My boat has a honda 15hp and I switched to the 10"x5"
I still get to the same hull speed but I have a lot more thrust. The blades on a sail boat prop should look like mickey mouse ears. Also with the shorter pitch my boats slowest speed in gear is a little bit slower which makes docking easier for me.
When I still had my original small diameter prop I came into the mouth of salt ponds marina. There was a dredger blocking the channel. I called him on the radio and he said he would let me through. when I got close and he still hadn't opened I called again and he told me I would have to wait. I put it in full reverse but it turned out the tide was rolling in and a strong current had formed in the channel pulling me toward him. It was all the little original prop could do to keep me from running into him. The new prop has a lot more reverse.
ok, got the info on the solas prop for me... 4 big mickey mouse ear blades 10 x 5 just have to decide alum ( great price) or stainless.... I have a small highly pitched 3 blade prop and that came with the OB and really never gave it any thought was was ready to buy a "thust booster" or some goofy round shroud that goes around your OB prop that is supposed to really boost the thrust for sailboat kickers...hmmm...
The shop just called my motor is fine. No blown head gasket after all. Turns out it was a carbin build up through the exaust ports that was losening u due to mu rich oil mix in the fuel. It runs excellent had a check-up and will be ready to sail once I pick it up.
Ye-ha! I did not break my motor after all and learned a few things here in this posting.
Ok, it is august , winds are slight and I ahve been motoring with my new soals 4 blade 5 degree flat prop..... the yard supervisor when he saw my new prop on my 9.9 four stroke suzuki, remarked.. " hell , now that is one hell'uve a scary prop that is the real deal." anyway.....
the thing really causes more vibration in the boat ( i now fear that my substantial OB racket may not be up to the task and I may loose my very expensive OB) also the prop leaves one hell've a "trailling" wake as it churns up the water.......BUT it barely moves the boat! at full throttle I can berely beat the current.... it is more effective in revese than the OEM small three blade highly pitched screw but does very little in forward.... I am thinking tha tthe rotation of the OB is wrong for the prop ( unlikley - I had the prop professionally mounted -- but they could care less I guess).
The samll oem screw was quiet and kinda "zippy" but had no reverse thrust to bother speak of
Is there a web site or store that is expert in OB props....? If I am going to do this all over again... I really need to have an expert figure this out...
genreally I need to figure out how to get the prop deeper in the water... but I already have the long leg version.... I no longer see thsoe old school OB's for sailboats with those really crazy long legs... and you could still add-in segments to make them longer?
also, how do you lift the OB.. I don't mean up/down the braket... I have my garelik bracket for that... I mean lift ot off the bracket w/o it falling in the water... my 4-strike is very heavy, on land I can barely muscle it around... I am thinking of making a harness and using the main halyard ( if it will reach back there) as a hoist... OR builfding a make-shift derrick of sorts in the aft part of the cockpit to lift it up and off... the boom would be perfect but I don't think it would be strong enough and it doesn't reach back there anyway... i would be too scareed to drop her into a dnghy for fear it would slip and head tot he bottom...
well i did somemore research and I do have the right "high thrust" prop a 5" pitch 10" dia, 4 blade prop for my suzuki DF9.9EL...
I will see about maybe getting it deeper in the water or somehow getting a longer shaft, since I can't see how I could safely go any deeper w/o risking the motorhead going under in a following wave. the cavitation plate is about 3 to 4 inches or so under the water. my prop is big and flat for sure.... maybe these huls just really don't go fast at all, esp. under power... it is scary to know that if you get in trouble you 9.9hp motor that you lug around with you all the time isn't worth crap in getting you out.... I guess that makes us better sailors.
I have the old faithful (well now it is after all that work) Sailor 280 12 HP, 25" shaft. It pushes the boat nicely, but, no, the boat really doesn't move all that fast, and that's with the keel up, plus you have the full keel worth of drag on yours. I've motored a few times keel down, and boy it is slow.
Also once I get to pushing a good bow wave at full power it gets a bit squirrelly if I catch a powerboat wave abeam, or if I don't slow down before I change course.
I just noticed your post. So your not reaching hull speed anymore? My honda ran the boat to hull speed with the 5 pitch. I didn't notice any vibration. when I transitioned to the 5 pitch I did notice I had to use more rpm to reach hull speed. I guess it might be to short of a pitch for that motor? Maybe the suzuki has very different gearing in the lower end? It sounds like your outboard is low enough, I wouldn't worry about that. When the boat is tied in the slip and you give it full throttle does it seem to have a lot of pull?
You should determine howfast the boat will go under power in ideal, flat and no current conditions. My boat under power will go 5.5 to 6.0 mph in ideal conditions. If Im going against a current I have to subtract the speed of the current. 3mph current working against me and I know the boat is only going to go 2.5 to 3 mph. I have been in some channels against an outgoing tide which I could barely make headway.
Under sail the boat will go 7 to 7.5mph Ive had it to around 10 surfing.
The vibration is not normal and means somethings is out of balance, offcenter or the prop blades are not consistent.
I double checked and the prop should be fine for my OB, as Suzuki specs the same type prop on its "high Thrust" versions of my 9.9HP.
I have the full keel and my knotmeter is shot but I will do as you suggest on flat calm water and check with with my gps for speed but I would guess about 4-5 mph so maybe I am OK. I do have to use higher RPM, the reverse is better.
I have to really deal with the vibration.. I bought a Solas aluminum prop so I hope it is balanced properly. THe OEM little 3-blade screw was quiet and smooth as silk, like a swiss watch..I will rebuild and beef up my gaerlick motor mount anyway, I will also take a lot of stuff off the boat hoping to reduce weight and increase speed ( alsways a good idea), I do get foward thrust at the dock tied up, so I know the prop is working. I am glad that the depth of my cavitation plate is ok, The prop wash ( very long "tail" or trail inthe water) is impressive with this prop, the boat speed is not. but I guess the boat is just not that fast under power.
Curious, I was wondering, for close in manauvering in the marina, I am thinking of swtiching from using the tiller and rudder and kinda hanin' over the side and TURNING the OB to steer and manauver. this might work best for backing up... but I tried it and it is pretty tricky and looks kinda scaray in the boat basin to have a skipper hang'n over the stern to steer with the OB...I could rig up a OB tiller extension but the angle is bad and I am not sure it is all worth it.
I got all the suzuki remote items including a tach. so I have to figure out the best way/place to install a dashboard..I am thinking inside the cockpit locker, or even mount it inside the cockpit locker lid so that when I open the locker lid I would have the dashboard controls at eye level.... not sure how that would affect the crew seating... might just put it in the cockpit footwell with a splash panel like normal and be done with it... just don't like cutting holes inthe boat,,,esp the cockpit!
We are both fixed keel and I found using the outboard to dock is a BIG improvement. look at the post I made with my pictures of my improvements and you will see the outboard has a large extension on it. I stand at the back of the boat and steer with the outboard tiller extension. when reversing with the outboard tiller you will want to controll the main tiller or it will swing around do to the reversing. for tight manuvering I keep a hand on both tillers or lock the main in place with my autotiller and only dock with the outboard. I think an extension is critical. I have inboard controls in the cockpit footwell.
As far as the speed. If you run it full throttle in flat ideal conditions you should get the same boat speed you previously got but you should be turning a lot more rpm. You were not achieving full rpm with the previous prop, you may think the enginge is pretty noisy at the higher rpms required to achieve the same boat speeds but it was engineered for those conditions, the loads on the bearings are milder at rpms that the motor was intended to run at, also the motor will be circulating a lot more oil which is good. you will not go faster than stock with any prop because we are hull speed limited. you will get worse gas mileage because you are turning more rpms. you should be able to pull against the dock a lot harder in foward and reverse because of the increased thrust. the boat will tow much better. the boat should now move slower at the same rpm (which actually helps me dock). the vibration is not normal.
I had a Johnson 7.5 long shaft on my C22 when I bought her, and on the 2nd sail had her shred the gearing in the lower unit. Since then, I bought a used Tohatsu 5hp long shaft, which gets the job done, but I'd still like to try and fix the Johnson.
Not sure of the year, probably early 80's. Looks just like this one
Curious, how much fuel do you carry and in what type tanks.
I used to cary the big heavy metal 6 gal tank muscled into the rear of the fuel tank locker. it was heavy bulky and started to get dangerously rusty.
I now carry a 3 gal. red plastic tank, very lightweight, but I am not sure it is enough fuel reserve and not sure it is strong or robust enough... curious what you all are doing -- .
Normal outing, 6 gallon plastic tank that fits snugly in the gas locker. If I'm going far out (Oriental to Ocracoke for example) I carry an extra gas can just in case. Only a 3 gallon can seems a bit too small for me, but that's just me.
I was reading that you have problems lifting the outboard out of the water. I remember reading once in a Mac 23 forum, a skipper came up with the 'Up yours lift' for outboards. It was basically a L shape wooden handle. The long end you grab, the bottom of the L serves as pivot point (it needs some sort of hinge or pivot in the transom of the boat) and the short leg of the L goes to the outboard, I never had to do it because I can still muscle the motor in if I need to.
Gus
NYCSAILOR wrote:FUEL TANKS...
Curious, how much fuel do you carry and in what type tanks.
I used to cary the big heavy metal 6 gal tank muscled into the rear of the fuel tank locker. it was heavy bulky and started to get dangerously rusty.
I now carry a 3 gal. red plastic tank, very lightweight, but I am not sure it is enough fuel reserve and not sure it is strong or robust enough... curious what you all are doing -- .
I know everyone here has a different motor so their requirements are all different. I have a c22 with an 2 stroke 9.9 and a 6 gal tank. I noticed the last weekend I was out I used about 4 gallons of fuel motoring around at full throttle. I really didnt motor a whole lot, and I was surprised to find out that I had used so much fuel. So the next day instead of motoring at full throttle I dropped it down to half or so. Pulled out the gps to check out the speed differences...there was only about 1/2-1mph difference between full and half throttle! At the end of the day I had only used about 1 gallon of fuel an did about the same amount of motoring that i had done the day before...
good thing i had a 6 gal tank on day 1 and not a 3 gal....
9.9 running full throttle? This ain't speed boats, they are displacement boats, it means that once you reach the hull speed limit of 6 knots, that's it, running the engine at full throttle its just a waste of gas.
very helpful thread... I will make some adjustments, Gus has a good point at 6-7knots.. just throttle back and enjoy the slow ride.... I am going to get a 3 blade 7" pitch prop for next summer.... I am hoping that it will be just right between the 4 blade 10" 5" ptich and the small OEM 3-blade screw that came with the OB. I think I will start looking for a good plastic 6 gallon that will fit... I do have a brand new 6 gallon steel tank, but that is big and heavy and I may not fit in the locker but I am thinking it would make a great second spare tank for longer or overnight cruising. I still have my OEM Chrysler Sailor 250 and all I am hearing I am thinking maybe I should dust her off... and see about her....
LOL working with some of the old cars that have been setting for years here that gas will get hard as cement and I have to drill into the fuel lines to clean them out. I don't think the guy is going to bring me the outboards I traded alot of work for , so its nothing for me to worry about...(sorry) I will have to hide a outboard buy. she knows we can sail fine with out 1
unbelieveable I just went to tell the person that I got my C-22 from about sailing a boat that he just stared at for 5 yrs. Well he said he had something I might be interested in...yes the original Chrysler 10 outboard.
So I know I wont have it ready for Tuesday sail, but if someone can tell me what I should do to prep it to r start.( the prop turns) and how it would mount, it seemed to had 2 blocks of wood one bolted to the drop mount and one in the motor clamp.
curious, anyone think there is any value in these wide horizontal "stabilizers" that you attach to the cavitation plate to "increase thrust"... I am not so sure one is on the Davis marine site called the whale tail but they are everywhere.... supposed to stop porposing etc.
I believe those "stabilizers" are meant for boats that plane, so our sailboats are exempt from any benefits.
I have also seen stainless steel propeller shrouds (like a sheet metal hoop, or partial hoop, around the prop). These may have some benefit for us, but I haven't tried one. They might also protect your rudder from your prop.
NYCSAILOR wrote:curious, anyone think there is any value in these wide horizontal "stabilizers" that you attach to the cavitation plate to "increase thrust"... I am not so sure one is on the Davis marine site called the whale tail but they are everywhere.... supposed to stop porposing etc.
These seem to make no difference at the lower speeds our Chryslers run at.
We have a 10'2" RIB with a 15hp merc. Loaded with my wife, my daughter, myself, and lots of supplies it struggled to get on a plane.My wife would lean forward to get the bow down to get the boat to plane. I added one of these and now the boat will plane without anyone moving forward. So they do help the dink get on a plane. The dink however is not any faster. Just planes quicker and easier.
, so its nothing for me to worry about...(sorry) I will have to hide a outboard buy. she knows we can sail fine with out 1
