Mooring Boat and Flushing Donk

[Splash]

Team,

I may be moving to a waterside residence with private mooring.

Dangers of long time mooring a fiberglass boat (in terms of rot, growth, etc)?

How do u flush the donk after use (with freshwater) - or does one still need to do this whilst it is moored?

Do u need to have the donk raised above water level whilst boat is moored?

Splash

[cormorant]

If it is a pontoon access get a airberth or similar and save yourself all the maintainance

Yes flush with onboard fresh water with earmuffs and motor down in usual position . let all water drain from powerhead and tilt up to keep it out of water and away from growth. Most don't have big enough water tanks or bother with flushing.

Long term dangers- before antifouling a boat a sealer undercoat membrane is put on. In theory no water can pass through this barrier. Antifoul in theoty stops growth but must be reapplied annually.

Everything on a moored boat wears out due to the movement and constant exposure to sun and saltwater just that little bit quicker but there is something special about just stepping on at a pontoon and not having to worry about trailers. Motor service can be a pain as well

C

[TimiBoy]

Splash,

Firstly, I'm jealous! Love to have a pontoon out the front. One day...

Second, what size is the tub? Airberths are great, but for larger boats they get rather expensive...

My Verado has a fitting for a hose to be plugged to it so it can be flushed in the canal with fresh water. You should have bought Black! (Actually I'm sure there are other brands with this feature too, I'm just stirring ;D;D;D)

Cheers,

Tim

[Splash]

Thanks guys.

Firstly, I do not know what an airberth is. Help?

What onboard mecahnisim do u use to have fresh water flowing through the muffs?

Good point about letting all water drain from powerhead first before tilting up.

Attached is a photo of that pontoon.

Thoughts?

Splash

[tigermullet]

Over last ten years or so we have never had a problem with not flushing the motor with fresh water.

On arrival at the mooring, the fuel line is disconnected whilst motor is idling, after engine stops, a few minutes are allowed for water to drain and then the motor is raised clear of the water and covered.

Many would argue about letting the motor run to burn up the fuel in the carbs and line. I tried not running out the fuel on a few occasions but the motor is always difficult to get going again with that technique. The motor always starts on the first attempt if the fuel has been allowed to be drain from the carbs.

[TimiBoy]

http://www.airberth.com/

[Splash]

TigerMullet - So u never flush your motor with fresh water - what about text book maintenance policy?

Do I need to flush motor whilst moored i nfirst place?

TimiBoy - Don't understand "When you get in the briny you've lost your spot on top of the food chain.." Help?

Splash

[TimiBoy]

TimiBoy - Don't understand "When you get in the briny you've lost your spot on top of the food chain.." Help?

Splash

That's my signature. I NEVER EVER swim in the sea. I view that as livebaiting sharks, in other words when you swim in the sea (the briny), you are suddenly on the menu for the grey suits...

I had a cousin chewed by a Great White in SA many years ago.

But the airberth website above that in my post is worth a squizz.

Cheers,

Tim

[tigermullet]

No, never flush, Splash.

It was a question that worried me when the boat was first launched because I always believed in flushing a motor after use with freshwater. I still do that with the dinghy motor at home.

Before we put the boat in the water (it was destined to spend life on a swing mooring) I asked many other owners how they managed to flush their motors.

As far as I could determine other owners were not concerned by the idea of not flushing.

I had all sorts of fancy ideas of using a bilge pump to try some sort of flushing but fresh water is always scarce on a moored boat. In the end I gave up searching for a method and, so far, no problems have been experienced.

Our and other's experience indicate that continuing the practice is okay and I am no longer concerned.

If we ever need a new motor I would not worry about that either, even if not flushing endangered the warranty. Most types of warranty are hardly worth the paper they are printed on (in my opinion).

[Splash]

Thanks Tim - Really sorry to hear about that shark incident. The airberts site was great and looked really expensive hey... :-((

Tiger - Your'e the first person I know who knowingly chooses not to flush their donk.

How long (in days on average) do you wait between starting your donk?

How long does it take for salt to start getting hard and damaging internals?

Do you accept that salt will be building up and corroding/clogging your donk?

How do you minimise impact of natural salt corrsoion/build up inside your donk then?

Splash

[tigermullet]

Sorry, Splash - I forgot to anwer your question on text book maintenance.

Servicing of motors has never been a strong point with me. I do change the oil, spark plugs and check the water pump at regular intervals but rarely bother with anything more. My little 8hp dinghy motor (1985) did have a service after ten hours and has had two services since then for a total cost, over the years, of approximately $500. Over twenty three years, I suppose I cannot complain but really do feel that the $500 was wasted.

The outboard on the boat (40hp Tohatsu) had a ten hour service in 1998/9 (or something like that) and we had someone give it a quick look over in 2004 or 2005. We might get another service done in five or so years but given my track record that is doubtful.

If we had a very expensive motor I might feel differently but I reckon that servicing would have cost a fortune over the years (since 1974/5) and I am in front of the game anyway.

It also might be different if I was going off shore. But, even when I was, there was only a problem on one occasion and managed to limp home. That little glitch was caused by a minor electrical problem that would not have been picked up in a service anyway.

I might have been one of the lucky few but with clean fuel, spare plugs, oil changing and a dab of grease here an there all the motors seem to have been very robust.

[Splash]

Thansk Tiger.

How long (in days on average) do you wait between starting your donk?

Do you know how long does it take for salt to start getting hard and damaging internals?

Splash

[tigermullet]

During winter the boat is in almost constant use but in spring, summer and autumn the boat will sit on the mooring for four to five weeks at a time.

We have never had a problem with residue as far as I know. On starting the water spurts from the tell tail without a problem - there has never been a need to clean it out.

There could be internal salt build up inside the motor but I no longer give it a thought.

Anyway, salt dissolves in water and I figure that fact is on our side.

The beauty about outboards is that, in the 40hp range, they are cheap enough to replace and are very easy to fit. Several years ago we did change the engine and it was a simple matter of getting the boat onto the beach at high tide at Maas Marina, letting the tide go out and then getting Gordon to lift off the old motor and put a new one back on. We gave the smaller motor (30hp) away to a friend and it is still running very well.

Very soon, unless I miss my guess, the market will be flooded with used motors of all sorts of sizes.

[Outsider1]

Hi Splash,

first congratulations on the new job. Would love to live in Darwin for a while, great place.

I have had my boat moored on a Pontoon for many years so have some experience in the pros and cons.

Firstly some questions about your likely usage;

1) How often and when will you be using the boat e.g. weekends only, any time etc

2) Do you still want to be able to tow the boat to other destinations?

3) Will you have somewhere to store the trailer and /or boat?

4) How much do you think your boat, and your motor are worth?. This is a somewhat rhetorical question, no need to answer, but you need to think about it in the exercise of what you are willing to spend to maintain them and their value as per Tigermullet's comments.

5) what will you be able to access from the mooring?, and how difficult is it to get there?

6) what if any restrictions are there on the mooring, e.g. fueling, water use, power availability etc?

Cheers

Dave

[Splash]

thanks tiger.

[tigermullet]

That's a good set of questions, Outsider and if 'ticked' off should provide answers and solutions.

If we were tied up in a Marina with fresh water available we would be flushing the motor after use.

I would be concerned if the motor had been more expensive to buy but at a cost of $4000 or so, depreciated over 10 years (with luck even more), what might be seen as an 'abuse' of the motor by not servicing just comes down to a financial consideration. With the cash saved by not servicing, the cost of changing to a new or new motor is not prohibitive. It would be a different story if one had to pay out $12,000 or thereabouts.

It is very much a matter of horses for courses.

Plus, being retired and not wishing to go outside (the smooth water of the Pin is pleasant enough these days) even breaking down is not a problem. With time and the right conditions we can always get the boat back to the mooring by using the dinghy to snig it along with the tide. It wouldn't worry me if the exercise took a week to wait for the right conditions of wind and tide.

But that solution is certainly not one that can be lightly chosen if you have to get back to a job or have something urgent to attend to at home.

Old age has its benefits. My wife doesn't care if I don't turn up for a month, let alone a week.;D

The one essential is that the boat must always have a decent stock of beer on board. Imagine running out of that.;D

[Outsider1]

Your thinking is totally logical to me TM. When I bought my boat I strongly considered buying a brand spanking new one with every option I could, but thought better of the treatment it was going to receive moored. I ended up buying one 2nd hand for less than half new price (80hours on the clock), already anti-fouled etc and set up for its life in the elements. I don't really care but it is probably still worth more than I paid for it.

Splash's boat is of late 80's vintage from memory so he will have similar considerations I would think. I have seen lots of different methods used for moorings, depending on circumstance and needs.

Some keep their trailer and only put their boats in the water when they want to use them. 3 or 4 days moored is no issue, but go beyond a week and you are starting to push it. Saves anti-fouling, easier to maintain, and you have the flexibility of still being able to travel. But against that you lose the spontaneity of a moored boat in your back yard. You still have trailer costs and unless a ramp is close and quick to use it can be a real pain launching and retrieving, and cleaning up all the time. It is a case of balancing your needs.

Anyway Splash, lets us know your likely usage a per my interrogation and we can narrow the advice and options to suit.

Cheers

Dave

[arvor]

hi all .well im lucky enough to have a mooring for our boat .we used to have it at a marina at the cost of near 3800 a year which is a little exy.but now have a pile mooring a lot cheaper .and have a low maintanance boat that i use regular about twice a week.i still have a trailer for any distant places id like to fish so it all adds up for me.as far as other maintance like anti foul i retrive the boat take it home and at leasure get into it.
and one more thing .the population in seq is getting crazy and every second family that moves here has a boat.and even on a average type of day the ramps cant handle the numbers .so good luck to lots of you when the wind is slight and the sun is out.good luck.gary.

[Splash]

OK boys.

Out of luck! Missed out on the mooring property. Lasted one day on the market!

Fckn CRAZZZYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYy!!

Anyway, apologies for leading you guys astray on this thread but has riased some very interesting points BTW and I appreciate your input.

I move to Darwin in 3 weeks and have 2 months to lcoate somehting to suit family, dog and THE BOAT!!!!!!! :-)))))))))))))

SEQ vs NT - waht do u think boys?????????????

Splash