Quick Fix for a Dinghy Outboard
Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2013 9:37 am
I know this is pretty off-topic, but I thought there might be some folks who have acquired expertise with outboards over their years with Freedoms, and so I'm giving it a try.
Our Freedom 32, with my wife single-handing her, is currently in the midst of a 6-week sojourn in Maine. We have a Honda 2 4-stroke outboard that lives on the inflatable. It's decided not to start and my wife believes water must have gotten into the fuel. In the past when this has happened and we've been at our dock in CT, we could take the motor to an outboard repair site, where the service would say the carburetor needed to be cleaned or even rebuilt. Such an undertaking probably isn't in the realm of possibility along the Maine Coast (she's currently in Buck's Harbor, on the edge of Eggemoggin Reach, on the way to Northeast Harbor, where I'll rejoin the cruise 8/1). Does anyone have suggestions for interim fixes? Replacing the existing fuel in the tank is of course a first thought, though that doesn't address the apparently bad fuel that's sitting in the carburetor. Do you think a simple fuel replacement for the tank has any real prospects for success? Any suggestions that take account of the situation and the limitations posed by that situation would definitely be appreciated.
Chris Mills
Our Freedom 32, with my wife single-handing her, is currently in the midst of a 6-week sojourn in Maine. We have a Honda 2 4-stroke outboard that lives on the inflatable. It's decided not to start and my wife believes water must have gotten into the fuel. In the past when this has happened and we've been at our dock in CT, we could take the motor to an outboard repair site, where the service would say the carburetor needed to be cleaned or even rebuilt. Such an undertaking probably isn't in the realm of possibility along the Maine Coast (she's currently in Buck's Harbor, on the edge of Eggemoggin Reach, on the way to Northeast Harbor, where I'll rejoin the cruise 8/1). Does anyone have suggestions for interim fixes? Replacing the existing fuel in the tank is of course a first thought, though that doesn't address the apparently bad fuel that's sitting in the carburetor. Do you think a simple fuel replacement for the tank has any real prospects for success? Any suggestions that take account of the situation and the limitations posed by that situation would definitely be appreciated.
Chris Mills