OK to leave the prop in the water?

[harpo999]

I have recently bought a 1984 Johnson 4HP Sea Horse and plan to use it on my dinghy which is kept in the sea.

However, despite tilting the drive shaft to the maximum, the bottom part (ie the propellor is still submerged. This is because the transom is quite low in the water for the length of the drive shaft

I notice that other boats have their outboards completely clear of the water. Is it OK to keep mine on the boat with the bottom 8 inches or so underwater?

 

[CATransplant]

Re: OK to leave the prop in the water?

That outboard weighs less than 40 lb. If it were me, I'd remove it from the boat after each use, then wash it off and run it in a barrel of fresh water and store it until the next use.

But that's just me.

 

[robert graham]

Re: OK to leave the prop in the water?

Fresh water, maybe....Salt water, probably not.

 

[DJ]

Re: OK to leave the prop in the water?

If you have to, you have to.

I would remove the prop and grease the propshaft with a water proof grease. White Lithium is preffered but a good wheel bearing grease will work too.

Do that at least yearly.

 

[harpo999]

Re: OK to leave the prop in the water?

That outboard weighs less than 40 lb. If it were me, I'd remove it from the boat after each use, then wash it off and run it in a barrel of fresh water and store it until the next use.

But that's just me.

Thanks for the advice - it's actually quite heavy (24kg = 53 pds) but the main problem is that 3 of us use the dinghy so it's much more convenient to leave on the boat. I guess we could take it out of the water but leave it inside the boat with the head on a seat.

 

[harpo999]

Re: OK to leave the prop in the water?

If you have to, you have to.

I would remove the prop and grease the propshaft with a water proof grease. White Lithium is preffered but a good wheel bearing grease will work too.

Do that at least yearly.

thanks for this suggestion

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: OK to leave the prop in the water?

I'd take it off and leave it in the boat as suggested.
You would otherwise need to put antifouling paint on the prop as well as the bottom of the motor, and you may get growth in the intakes. Do you paint the bottom of the boat, too?
Also sounds like you have a long shaft motor on a short shaft boat.

 

[harpo999]

Re: OK to leave the prop in the water?

I'd take it off and leave it in the boat as suggested.
You would otherwise need to put antifouling paint on the prop as well as the bottom of the motor, and you may get growth in the intakes. Do you paint the bottom of the boat, too?
Also sounds like you have a long shaft motor on a short shaft boat.

Thanks for this - I| think you're right - it needs to come out of the water. I anti-foul the bottom of the boat and could anti-foul the outside of the prop but I'm more concerned about seawater affecting the inside