Will the oil slick mess up boat motors?

[BugsBunnyBoater]

Day after day I see boats on the news in and out the oils slick. But I was wondering if the thick oil will mess up an outboard motor. It seems like it could clog the pee hole or do something to the water passages.

 

[Lrider]

Re: Will the oil slick mess up boat motors?

Well lets see sucking crude oil into the cooling system vs water? might be a small problem, not to mention the ring around the boat clean-up project

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: Will the oil slick mess up boat motors?

I would not like to find out.
what a F******* mess.-Sorry to those effected.

 

[commander315]

Re: Will the oil slick mess up boat motors?

I would imagine crude oil in the cooling system would pose a problem...but who knows...:O

 

[1badhusky]

Re: Will the oil slick mess up boat motors?

large boats that draw a lot may have an intake that is well below the water line, and since oil floats, might not be a big deal for them...small boats -wouldn't want to be sucking that crap into my engine.

So very sad about this. BP decision makers should rot in jail for destroying a large, beautiful part of the world.

 

[gsh]

Re: Will the oil slick mess up boat motors?

I would assume so unless you modify your boat to use a radiator and coolant. Even then I'd be hesitant to try it.

If you did somehow get some crude inside I'm not sure what you could do. I suppose you could run your boat on the trailer with a hose attached to a large tub of water and detergent to try and flush it out, but I wouldn't want to try it.

 

[5150abf]

Re: Will the oil slick mess up boat motors?

I heard Mercury issued a statement that any engine run in the gulf through oil would have there warranties canceled so it must really mess them up.

I heard that through someone else so I don't know how true it is.

 

[ENSIGN]

Re: Will the oil slick mess up boat motors?

Crude oil and rubber parts,Thats bad news.

 

[Philster]

Re: Will the oil slick mess up boat motors?

Well... it might affect the intakes and prevent proper flow of water.. So, doesn't sound like you'd want to suck up any oil.

 

[capt sam]

Re: Will the oil slick mess up boat motors?

I'm not chancing it if it makes it here.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Will the oil slick mess up boat motors?

I don't think I'll be boating in it in the first place, if it gets up here. Crossing a drift line at a high speed shouldn't matter, though.

 

[Ned L]

Re: Will the oil slick mess up boat motors?

Realistically, other than maybe affecting the water pump impeller I don't see what issue there could be (?)
One thing to be aware of around oil slicks is that any junk floating in the water (driftwood, garbage, etc.) will all collect at the edge of the slick, along the 'slickline'. I grew up back in the 60's & 70's near enough to NYC that we would periodically take the boat up to NY harbor. Back then oil slicks (& garbage pollution) were literally an everyday thing, and it was routine to have to scan the slick line to find an 'opening' in the debris to get into the slick, and then do the same thing on the other side to get back out of the oil slick. At times, no 'opening' could be found so we would have to slowly idle up to the line of junk , drop the engines in neutral & coast though the garbage. A line of garbage at the edge of an oil slick could be made up of everything from household trash to tires, mattresses, tree trunks, lengths of old towing hawser, and anything you could imagine that floats either on top of the water, or just below the surface. The old tires could be the worst, with the right amount of trapped air they bob up & down very slowly just below the surface -real tough to see.

 

[BugsBunnyBoater]

Re: Will the oil slick mess up boat motors?

The stuff they are using to break up the oil from the pictures causes to oil to break up and go deeper as globs. It look very easy to be sucked in.
What would scare me is the effect of the stuff they use to break down the oil inside my motor.

 

[commander315]

Re: Will the oil slick mess up boat motors?

Realistically, other than maybe affecting the water pump impeller I don't see what issue there could be (?)
One thing to be aware of around oil slicks is that any junk floating in the water (driftwood, garbage, etc.) will all collect at the edge of the slick, along the 'slickline'. I grew up back in the 60's & 70's near enough to NYC that we would periodically take the boat up to NY harbor. Back then oil slicks (& garbage pollution) were literally an everyday thing, and it was routine to have to scan the slick line to find an 'opening' in the debris to get into the slick, and then do the same thing on the other side to get back out of the oil slick. At times, no 'opening' could be found so we would have to slowly idle up to the line of junk , drop the engines in neutral & coast though the garbage. A line of garbage at the edge of an oil slick could be made up of everything from household trash to tires, mattresses, tree trunks, lengths of old towing hawser, and anything you could imagine that floats either on top of the water, or just below the surface. The old tires could be the worst, with the right amount of trapped air they bob up & down very slowly just below the surface -real tough to see.

1) The impeller is kinda a big deal.. and 2). If Mercury and Yamaha issued a statement that they are discontinuing warranties if thier engines operate in the oil slicks, it must do something bad to the engine....:redface:

 

[Ned L]

Re: Will the oil slick mess up boat motors?

Voiding a warranty and actually doing damage to the engine are two very different things. I don't really see how running oily water through a cast iron water jacket is going to hurt anything. As I said, hurt the water pump impeller, maybe, some of the rubber hoses, maybe - after some time, but direct damage to the engine itself (?) I'm not seeing it. (I'm not considering overheating caused by failure to replace a damaged waterpump impeller as direct damage to the engine.)
If you've got concerns about the oil dispersants that they are using getting in the crank case of your engine, you've got bigger problems to worry about anyway.

 

[JoLin]

Re: Will the oil slick mess up boat motors?

1) The impeller is kinda a big deal.. and 2). If Mercury and Yamaha issued a statement that they are discontinuing warranties if thier engines operate in the oil slicks, it must do something bad to the engine....:redface:

I've googled Mecury, Yamaha, oil slick warranty, oil slick warnings, etc and come up with zip. Unfortunately, this is how unfounded rumors start.

Not picking on you or 5150abf, but let's see some evidence that boat owners will be 'cut loose' if they use their motors in the Gulf.

In my opinion (repeat, opinion) unless you're smack in the middle of a very dense concentration of oil, the risk of actual damage is pretty small. Keep an eye on operating temp, flush the motor, change your impeller at end of season unless you're seeing other indications of problems (like higher temp). It isn't as if you're running the lower unit in a 55-gallon drum of 30-weight.

My .02

 

[commander315]

Re: Will the oil slick mess up boat motors?

I've googled Mecury, Yamaha, oil slick warranty, oil slick warnings, etc and come up with zip. Unfortunately, this is how unfounded rumors start.

Not picking on you or 5150abf, but let's see some evidence that boat owners will be 'cut loose' if they use their motors in the Gulf.

In my opinion (repeat, opinion) unless you're smack in the middle of a very dense concentration of oil, the risk of actual damage is pretty small. Keep an eye on operating temp, flush the motor, change your impeller at end of season unless you're seeing other indications of problems (like higher temp). It isn't as if you're running the lower unit in a 55-gallon drum of 30-weight.

My .02

I am in the process of purchasing a new boat with Yahmaha 250's. I was speaking to the dealer the other day and got to talking about the gulf disaster. He is a rep from Wellcraft and told me that both Merc and Yamaha are discontinuing warranties if their engines need servicing that is connected to issues from the gulf incident. I was just saying what he told me...

 

[PiratePast40]

Re: Will the oil slick mess up boat motors?

The pictures on TV show the crude as a thick substance. Wonder if the stuff clogging seawater strainers might be another concern.

Wonder how bad it smells out near the slick. I've never been out to sea near and oil slick but have been in the Permian Basin during a temperature inversion. Smells pretty bad under those circumstances. Can't imagine how roughnecks do it every day on the job!