merc 60 4 stroke - tell tale blocked by wasps?

[Jeremy]

Been off the water for a few months now (twins are 8 weeks old this week). Try to run the outboard on muffs every month and keep the batteries charged and turn the wheel etc. Last week when I ran it on muffs the tell tale was reduced to a trickle and a bit of green leaf came out - I am thinking that those wasps which build nests and cut up bits of leaves may have made a nest in the cooling system somewhere. (sorry - no response to enter key for new para). Ran it again today in a drum up to the cav plate and same thing. Fed some 100 lb mono up the tell tale outlet but didn't help (could only get it about 6 inches up - must be a corner?). I have left it in the drum and will run it again this arvo - maybe the water will soften the wasps nest and it will come out. The outboard was last serviced in August and I have only done about 20 hours since, so the impellor and pump should be OK. Any suggestions as to anything else I should be doing?

[netmaker]

poke some wire up there instead of mono.

[Spaniard_King]

Get an Air compressor and blow 100psi air up the tel tale hose whilst ya running it
... in short blasts of course :)

[docaster]

How do we keep the buggers out? They get everywhere in my boat. Last time i took it out (about an hours drive). Got to the ramp and the floor was covered in dirt from nests in the rod holders. Any body have a deterrent of some kind? I worry about the motor too.

[Short Fuse]

Get a small length (10 inches) of 150 - 200 lb leader material. Use a lighter to burn a small lump on one end, and push the other end up through the skirt of a 4 inch pink squid. Slide the squid down to the blunt end. After you have completed your wash down and flushing proceedure at the end of a fishing trip, insert the leader up into the telltale till the squid rests against the outlet. This will stop wasps from being able to build a nest inside the tell tale. The bright squid is a visual reminder to remove it before you depart on your next fishing trip. A few of us have been using this method for many years, and have never had any problems with blocked tell tales even after many weeks of storage due to bad weather.

Cheers

Jeff

[IcyDuck]

An outboard cover will stop them. Either a full length one or one that at least covers the telltale and has a drawstring. Pretty cheap from any of the normal outlets.

[gr hilly]

whipper sniper cable does the job.Hilly.

[PROS]

Had the same problem few months ago, those wasps sure can tightly pack the leaves.
Bit of wire solves the problem.

[Dan5]

Put a dab of grease over the telltail hole when in storage.......that stops the suckers........Dan

[Mr Squiggles]

Put a dab of grease over the telltail hole when in storage.......that stops the suckers........Dan
Vaseline works too & a bit more pungent.

[Jeremy]

got the wire about 25 cm in so far. Only slight improvement in the tell tale tho. Give it another go tomoz