Water coming out of carb
 

Today I took my boat out for a short spin. It was idling too slowly and died when I was maneuvering back into the marina slip. Thankfully, someone helped me avoid drifting into other boats, mostly sailboats so long that they extended out into the channel.

Once safely in my slip, I removed the cowling and adjusted the idle faster. As this old engine accumulates hours after that 14 year sleep, things are changing as the carbs clean themselves with that fuel additive.

But I noticed a persistent drip of water from the bottom port side carb air intake. None other, just that one. I put my fingers into the stream and smelled it to ensure that it isn't gas. It is just warm water.

In a car engine, when radiator water mixes with the oil or gets into the cylinders, it means a blown head gasket. Same here?

I hesitate to believe that because it is definitely NOT running on 5 cylinders. It idles well and can turn 5000 RPM at full throttle, the boat hits 45MPH or more.

What does that water mean?

Larry

Fuel and oil, yes. Water? That's a bit confusing. The air intake is just that, and shouldn't have any cooling water near it, same for the carbs. I suppose that there could be a water leak that is "spraying" water into the intake, and when you pulled the cover, you saw it dripping back out.

Pull the plugs an see if 1) they're all the same color, and 2) if one if them is wet. Water in the cylinder will clean a plug, old timers trick to get rid of fouling is to spray a fine mist into the intake while the engine is running. Pull the float bowl and see if there's water in it. Pull the fuel line and squirt a bunch of fuel into a mason jar and look for water. Put the muffs on, or drop it in a barrel and run with the cover off an see if you can see anything leaking or spraying.

If it's idling well, and not leaning out as the throttle opens up, I'd be inclined to think it's an external source rather than internal

Thanks! What is so confusing is that it runs well, certainly that cylinder is firing correctly.

I will pull the plugs and see whether there is a difference between that cylinder plug and the others. That's about all I can do because as you see in the photo, the boat and motor are in the water in a marina--and my boat trailer is being rebuilt.

I would like to put the muffs on and flush it with fresh water, but I can't reach far enough from inside the boat to put the muffs on when the motor is tilted up. I might be able to angle the boat in the slip around to get the lower unit near enough to the pier. I don't see the others flushing their motors, so maybe that sea water is not so bad. Nearly everyone tilts their lower units up out of the water like I do.

Larry

As an ex-Navy sailor, please allow me to assure you.....That sea water IS that bad. It will corrode almost any metal you put into it (Gold won't corrode, so if your engine is made of solid gold you're safe). As I'm sure you are aware, the reason for tilting your engine up is to get it out of that sea water... but the water inside your engine will continue it's corrosive actions. Even if all the water drains out, the salt film left behind on the metal is still there, still eating into everything. If it's possible to fresh water flush your engine, then by all means do so. Your engine will thank you for it with many extra years of service.

I have been thinking about how I might attach the muffs to a broomstick and push them onto the lower unit with that. I'll keep working on that.

When we get a glimpse of the hull or motor or anything on any boat that has been submerged, it gets very ugly very fast! In only weeks there is a coating of green moss, etc. I am wondering how easy that will be to remove when I finally get the boat onto a trailer. My lower unit extends into the water only a few inches when tilted up-- and there that stuff is! I need to check it again after a short outing-- to determine whether the speed in the water scrapes that stuff off.

Periodically the sailboat owners hire divers to go down and scrape the bottom of their boats. I am unsure what that costs, but can't be cheap!

Regardless, having the boat in the Marina is certainly a LOT easier than trailering, loading, retrieving, etc. That process would almost certainly result in some sort of accident eventually because it isn't easy to launch or retrieve a Wellcraft V20. I am obliged to crawl through the back of my Durango and climb up onto the front of the boat-- thank goodness for that railing! But one slip of a foot and I could injure a leg badly enough to risk an infection! It is definitely a two-man operation. I suppose I could do it alone, but the others using a busy launch ramp would have to wait-- I would get lots of moans and complaints on a Saturday morning here on Shelter Island. So I am glad to have it in the Marina.

Larry

Larry, do you have bottom paint on your hull? they also make it for outdrives.

Yep, gotta admit that having a slip is the easy way to go. But I launch and retrieve by myself all the time. I have a special pair of booties (Like divers booties) that I wear along with shorts. I back my boat down the ramp, jump out of my Durango, walk into the foot or so of water, grab the previously attached bow line and give her a shove. She glides off the trailer, I guide her to the dock, do a quick tie up, jump back into my truck and drive it away. It's true that it takes longer than when you have 2 people, but only by a minute or so. As long as you seem to know what you are doing most people are understanding.

I regularly trailer and launch solo with my 30' twin engine cruiser... I am usually faster than whoever is in the next ramp..... no more than 5 minutes from the time I stop the truck till I pull out unless someone else delays me getting to the dock or I have to wait out a series of barge wakes before tying up.

No. And something with a lot of arsenic in it would have been a good idea, albeit that is super illegal these days! Years ago bottom paint contained all sorts of toxic stuff.

As I walked to and from my boat today I was able to look at the lower units of several outboards and I/O rigs that are down in the water and saw the HORRIBLE growth from the sea water.

I have no idea how I will get that off my boat bottom! My lower unit is tilted up as far as possible but still extends only a few inches into the water. The marine growth after 3 weeks in that few inches is amazing! So today I looked at the growth before and after an hour ride in the harbor. I kept the speed up over 20MPH most of that time and hit 30+ for a few minutes. Guess what? The marine growth was exactly the same, NO change! So simply erosion from the rushing water is certainly not going to remove that.

Larry

so, your keeping your boat in the water for the summer without any bottom paint on it?

that might not be a good idea