The health of your boat motor is extremely important to boat owners. By staying consistent with the proper maintenance, you can help avoid costly motor repairs or replacement in the future. Let's take a look at five things that you can do to extend the life of your boat's motor.
Related Blog: Top 3 Boat Cleaning Supplies
1. Run Your Boat Engine
We all have had those seasons where we just can't seem to get out on the boat enough. Life gets busy and things come up. Yet, it is not good for your engine to sit unused. The oil drains away from internal components and back into the pan. Running your engine regularly, even if you don't really get a solid chance to use your boat, keeps your engine well oiled and in working order. It also gets the gas moving through your system so it doesn't sit in one place and create varnish. It is a good idea to fire up your engine once a week, just to keep things loose and running smooth.
2. Warm the Engine Up
Cold oil doesn't flow as well as hot oil. No one likes to idle for a long time from the launch dock, but long idles are good for your engine. Cold oil puts up resistance to flowing, and this is not good for the components of our engines. The resistance put up by cold oil trying to flow through the system can actually put a strain on your oil pump and the mechanisms that drive it. You can extend your engine's life by letting your engine warm up before you hit the throttle.
3. Flush the Engines Out
After a long day of boating, you may be tired, but it is important that you flush your engines after using them while they are still warm. Salt deposits grow in an engine and cause corrosion if the engines are not properly flushed after use in saltwater. Flushing your engines also helps maintain gasket integrity. Pro tip, run your engines until you can taste the salt in the exhaust stream.
4. Use Engine Treatment
Engine treatment will cost you a little bit of money to buy, but it is a lot cheaper to buy engine treatment than it is to replace your engine or essential components. This treatment bonds to the metal surfaces in your engine and makes them a whole lot slicker. Even if your oil drains back into the pan, your engine and the components will stay slick. This product is more metal treatment than oil treatment.
5. Cruise
We all know how much fun it is to open up the throttle and gun it. However, gunning your engine is not exactly great for the life span. Cruising speed is where your engine operates best and under the least amount of stress. The more stress you put on your engine the less life you will get out of it. Keep that in mind when you are out boating.
Using these five tips, you can make the most out of your time on the water and keep your boat's motor in tip-top shape. If you are in need of a dock, boat lift, or marine lighting, contact us today to learn more.
