Question:
This is our first boat. Just looking for any tips on how to maintain, how often to change the oil, how often to change pllugs, can you run with muffs or not, should i park it with motor up or down, this is an 84 bayliner 16' capri with 85 hp force outboard motor. Motor seems to run good although i am not sure we are getting about 39 to 40 mph with 4 adults in it. I am not too sure what WOT is or what mine should be or how to tell. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Answers:
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its always good to change the plugs every season. although they dont get much use in a season, considering its a cheap thing, its worth doing.oil again might as well do it every season.
muffs are the devils hands of outboards sometimes. no end of times beeen asked about muffs, some swear by them. muffs are ok if you just want to flush the engine out, due to salt water use, or you having some trouble and want to run it on the trailer. HOWEVER, they are not designed, (no matter what it may say on the packaging) to supply enough water to run an engine that size at any kind of throttle. the garden hose can not supply enough water fast enough to adequately cool the engine. muffs also loose a lot of the water out the sides. some are only feeding one side of the intake. the outboard is designed to be submersed, that way the impeller can do its job and it can suck up as much water as is needed. so yes you can use muffs, if your just running at idle, or very low revs, but you should not rev it up or operate the engine for prolonged periods of time on muffs. if you need to do this, use a large 50 gallon drum or vat of some form and lower the leg into it and put the hose in to keep it full. or put the boat in the water.
motor up or down depends on its usage. if its only going to be a short while befor eyou use it again, it doesnt matter. if your going to store it, wisse to keep the motor down, this will allow water to drain from the leg and avoid freezing, as well as stop rain water building up in the hub, freezing. also it keeps the oil, if its 4 stroke, at the bottom of the sump, so when you come to drain it, most of the crap as settled and will drain.
40mph sounds about right. it may be worth popping along to your local marine store and having them check for the best prop size for your engine and your use. you might squeeze a few more miles outof it if you change the prop. WOT on that engine i dont know but you sound like your running ok..
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It is wise to change the plugs before you launch the boat every season. Some people will say not to, but at my marina, we change them unless otherwise specified by the boat owner. It is "cheap insurance" for reliability, you don't want to foul a plug on the water...that's when the fun ends. Do not run the boat without the muffs on it, you can dry out the impeller doing that. The impeller resides in the water pump, which is in the lower unit of the outboard, and is what makes the water circulate throughout the motor when it is running to keep it cool. You can actually safely run that motor all day long on a pair of muffs if you wanted to, it's the same thing as putting it in the water. In fact, think about it. If your garden hose has pressure, once the muffs are on the lower unit, the water is actually being pushed into the motor (to a point, depending on the motor). In the spring when we're getting boats ready for the season, we start them on the muffs to make sure they will pump water (so that we don't put a boat in the water that'll overheat). Believe me, when I can start a 500 HP 502 c.i. V8 on a hose and run it for an hour without it doing anything remotely bad for it, I think you're 85 HP outboard will do just fine.
If I am parking a boat into one of our slips with an outboard, when I park it I leave the motor down (freshwater). It doesn't hurt it to leave it down in freshwater, frankly, it's better for it (the impeller doesn't dry out). If it is being parked at a dock or mooring in saltwater, park/moor it with the motor up, but when you shut it off, make sure all of the water is done draining out of the "block." The block is the actual engine part, where the pistons, flywheel, etc. all reside under the engine cover. The water drains out the same way it is ejected out when the motor is running, which is either through the exhaust ports on the front of the motor, or through what's called a teletale, which is an opening specifically used to eject cooling water. When you shut the motor off, the water will continue to drain out of the motor for a short period of time. Once the draining has pretty much stopped, you can tilt the motor up safely. Salt water sitting in a motor is bad, period. When it's on the trailer, you should leave it in the down position when it's not under tow. In the fall, when you pull the boat out for the season, tilt the motor down so that all of the water drains out. Once the water has drained, tie a plastic garbage bag over the propeller and lower unit. Once you've tied the bag on, tie another one on over that one, so that you know the rain/snow is not going to get in there. Water expands when it turns to ice, and that will in turn crack your lower unit case or the propeller. Leave the motor down for the winter, and don't forget to fog the cylinders to keep the cylinder walls lubricated and clean.
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Sounds like the boat is running well in regards to speed and all. I'm not sure what the WOT RPM's are for that motor. Usually there is a plate, sticker or stamp on the block or flywheel that will tell you. It'll give you a certain range, i.e. 5000-5500 RPM's, which I'm assuming is what the range will be. With an older motor, you might want to hang towards the lower side of the range, maybe 5100-5200 RPM's.
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You don't change the oil in a 2 cycle motor, you basically just add oil to the oil tank when it needs it. You made a good move in regards to sizing for your first boat. I will let you know that Force outboards are very hard to come by, and that means that parts are very hard to find, and are expensive when you do find them. Once you become comfortable with this boat, I encourage you to seek out something along the lines of 18-20 feet, with an inboard/outboard (MerCruiser). I/O's, as they're often called, tend to be more reliable, cleaner, quieter, and safer than outboards. I have dealt with many Force outboards in my life, and they run and break just like any other motor. It's just that Force outboards are much more expensive to fix, and it's hard to even find someone to work on a Force these days. It's one thing when someone is servicing it, it's another thing when they're replacing a stator box (the box that gives spark) and it's costing an arm and a leg. Boating experience comes quick, and you'll often figure out your own tricks and ways when it comes down to docking, launching, cleaning, etc. As I often tell new and returning customers, Boating is a disease, once you experience the sheer enjoyment of it, you'll never want to leave the lake. Happy Boating!
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