Boat Clean-Up After the Fishing Trip

[casper5280]

Mounted this on the trailer last year and it makes it so much easier. Can raise whole boat, brakes and still some to flush kicker. Has a electric pump,coil hose and a fitting at end of trailer to flush kicker.

 

[casper5280]

Not sure what year they started adding the direct hose conection to the cooling system, but for those who have it, do you fire up your engine with that connected or just let water pass through the system with hose pressure. I have heard it's a bad idea to run engine but curious to hear what others have to say.

Never run the engine that quick connect bypass's the water pump so no cooling to motor.

 

[Sculpin]

Not sure what year they started adding the direct hose conection to the cooling system, but for those who have it, do you fire up your engine with that connected or just let water pass through the system with hose pressure. I have heard it's a bad idea to run engine but curious to hear what others have to say.

You cannot fire up the engine using the hose connection. I do it both ways. I usually just use the hose connection but quite a few times through out the year I will run the muffs and blast some saltaway through it with the engine running. Using the hose connection doesn't bring the engine up to temp like running it does. It is convenient but not the best way to rinse a motor.

 

[Sculpin]

Mounted this on the trailer last year and it makes it so much easier. Can raise whole boat, brakes and still some to flush kicker. Has a electric pump,coil hose and a fitting at end of trailer to flush kicker.

That looks really slick .

 

[casper5280]

That looks really slick .

$100 at Princess Auto that was the tank and pump+$20 hose and just wired it in to my trailer plug

 

[Adler]

Thanks everyone for the great tips and thoughts, and really interesting to see that setup caspar! I'm definitely going to be adding a small pail of fresh water for lures to every trip out, and it sounds like I need to run the engine rinse longer than I have - like the idea of doing those first, I had been doing last and, if the return was late in the day, it has occasionally been left to next day.

What about anchor system rope, what should I be doing to take care of that?

 

[seadawg]

Here's a good reason to flush motors well.

I just got my boat a couple of years ago. Not too sure of the previous owner's routine but they did keep it moored for the summer months. On a trip that first year, about 5 -7 miles away from the marina, we could smell smoke and shut the engine down. Smoke was just billowing out when we stopped. Grabbed the fire extinguisher and popped the hood and the port bellows (rubber) was melting away with a gaping hole in it. Lucky there wasn't an actual fire. Made it home on the kicker, surprising how long it takes to get somewhere running the kicker at full speed, compared to how fast it takes to get somewhere while trolling.

The fault was the inside of the manifolds corroding and creating scale. The amount and size of the scaling was surprising. Some of the scaling came loose and plugged the holes in the riser, not allowing water to discharge with the exhaust. The exhaust was so hot and without the water discharging, it melted the bellows. The fix was to take off the manifolds and get them an acid wash at the rad shop. Did both sides and obviously replaced the port bellows. The biggest cost was for new gaskets in the risers. four of them at 40 bucks a pop.

Hooking up the muffs is one of the first things I do when I get home and am unloading the boat. Always bring it up to temp. I keep the muffs on board and if I'm able, will hook up at a marina and flush before leaving. Same with the wheels, I've already coughed up enough dough for brakes.

 

[seadawg]

I come home and let the wife take care of the clean up....Much easier that way. Those who know me know this is true. She normally has a martini and a bucket of soapy water ready when it get home. But now days its just soapy water...

I'm emailing this quote to my wife right now.

 

[Fish Assassin]

She has newspapers out, a sharp knife, multiple cookie sheets lined with foil on the counter for when I come home. Even if she is working that day she will try to set thing up before she goes to work. She realizes that this is food that feeds our family so she pitches in any way she can.

 

[Gear'n'beer!]

If you just flush with the water hose connection you aren't flushing the leg out. I think those water hose connections for the powerhead are pretty much just for guys that leave boats in the chuck. Granted there isn't a whole lot in the leg other than the pump that is exposed to raw water but I still like to look after those engines so they can look after me

 

[staying alive]

I got a deep plastic wheel barrow and the leg of my 225 merc fits good in there fill it up leave the hose running and fire it up works great do the same with kicker just have to block the wheel barrow up a bit and do the same