[C320-list] Securing outboard engine and gasoline

[Peter Herron]

Scott - We also store our outboard on a WM mount on the aft rail.  It's 
been there for 10 years and shows no sign of falling off.  We use a 
Garhauer lift for moving the motor.  These lifts are a great buy.  The 
gas tank is a U-shaped tank that mounts to the dinghy transom.  When 
not in use it fits nicely in the anchor well, and the anchor well vent 
lets vapors go overboard.

When back at the dock, I attach a water hose to the motor with 
"earmuffs" to run fresh water through the engine and to run the fuel 
out of the motor.  It's an old, smoke belching 8 hp two-stroke and the 
fuel runs out in just a couple of minutes.

Pete
Dreamtime, #329


On Jun 24, 2006, at 10:12 AM, allan.field at comcast.net wrote:

> Scott - I'll weigh in on this one from our experience.  We have a 
> Nissan 5 HP, 4-stroke with an external fuel tank.  I have had 
> 2-strokes in the past with internal tanks but would not go back to 
> them as the fuel left in the tank tends to wax the carb if stored for 
> a time.  Plus the 4-stroke is more environment friendly.
>
> We keep the motor on the aft stern rail on a motor mount we got from 
> WM. The motor weighs about 80 pounds.  We also had Kato Marine in 
> Annapolis make us a lifting crane with a 4:1 purchase.  With the 
> crane, moving the engine from rail to digny transom literally is a 
> one-handed job.  The stern rail is no worse the wear for holding the 
> motor these past 4 years or so.
>
> Our external tank holds 2.5 gallons of gas.  Even after being out for 
> 18 days (as we are now) and all the other times we use the dingy 
> during the season, we will not empty the tank.  We do add Sta-Bil to 
> the tank.  After each trip, we disconnect the hose from the tank to 
> the motor at the tank with the motor running so as to exhaust all fuel 
> both in the hose and in the engine.  We found that leaving fuel in the 
> hose stunk up the boat and leaving fuel in the motor for an extended 
> period gummed up the carb. What is really surprising is that once the 
> hose is disconnected from the tank, it takes a good 15-20 minutes for 
> all the fuel to burn-off. Little wonder we can't use 2.5 gallons of 
> gas in an entire season.
>
> The final lesson learned is to keep the fuel tank vent slightly 
> cracked open even when storing the tank.  Otherwise, pressure builds 
> up in the tank and eventually gas starts to blow past the seals.  The 
> tank directions also recommend doing this but in our case, Field's Law 
> prevailed - If Field has a 50/50 chance of doing something right or 
> wrong the first time, 90% of the time Field will do it wrong the first 
> time...
>
> We also purchased a Honda 2000 generator.  It will not start a 12,000 
> BTU air conditioner.  However, it will run the microwave, outlets and 
> charger fine.  We store ours in the anchor well and have the factory 
> cover (extra cost) in place.  However, we do not carry spare gas cans 
> on board. If we did, I imagine that I would lash them to a side 
> stanchion somehow but again, these motors use so little fuel that 
> carrying spare just is not necessary.
>
> We did see another Catalina on this trip with the Honda generator. 
> They removed the seat between the 2 aft lockers and store their 
> generator in that space.  The geneator stuck out maybe 6 inches past 
> the seat.  This may be something we do in the future as since 
> installing the NavPod for the chartplotter, that seat has become 
> virtually worthless anyway as we can no longer see forward under the 
> instrument pod.
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> Allan S. Field
> Sea Shadow - #808
> Columbia, MD
> -------------- Original message --------------
> From: Scott Thompson <sthompson at toad.net>
>
>> I'm in the market for an outboard for a dinghy and possibly for one of
>> the Honda 2000 generators that Orlando is keen on. Questions: Where do
>> others secure their outboards when not on the dinghy? Do the Johnson 
>> or
>> Edson mounting brackets work well on the stern rail of a 1999 vintage
>> 320? What kind of weight limit are we talking about to use these?
>> Also, where do others store a spare gas can on board?
>>
>> Scott Thompson
>> Surprise, 653
>>
>>
>