Outboard kicks up in reverse

Newport F470 · 15 February 2011, 00:17

This boat/motor are new to me. I assume the outboard is not supposed to kick up in reverse, correct? Is there a latch/lock that is supposed to hold motor down?

Downhilldai · 15 February 2011, 00:30

Yes

9D280 · 15 February 2011, 09:11

There will be a knob or a catch somewhere round the main tilt tube or lurking under the front of the cowl.

If it's the same vintage as mine was, it's a rotate job. and you'll need to rotate it a lot further than you might think!

simsy · 15 February 2011, 13:27

Low power only in reverse is the norm..... as the mechanism to hold it down can be forced...... (my 2005 yam 20hp work OK in reverse, but I would not open the throttle)...

prairie tuber · 15 February 2011, 14:25

You should be able to get some propulsion while in reverse without locking the motor down as long as you use minimal throttle. Reverse should be done with minimal power anyway, fast reverse makes you very susceptible to having waves crash over the transom. For a SIB that might not be a big deal, but for many hard boats that can be disastrous.

My other concern about locking the outboard in the down position for reversing is that you might forget to release it when you are in forward. If you hit a submerged rock while moving at a good clip with your outboard locked in the down position, the destruction to the outboard & transom can be spectacular.

achille2124 · 15 February 2011, 15:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by prairie tuber

You should be able to get some propulsion while in reverse without locking the motor down as long as you use minimal throttle. Reverse should be done with minimal power anyway, fast reverse makes you very susceptible to having waves crash over the transom. For a SIB that might not be a big deal, but for many hard boats that can be disastrous.

My other concern about locking the outboard in the down position for reversing is that you might forget to release it when you are in forward. If you hit a submerged rock while moving at a good clip with your outboard locked in the down position, the destruction to the outboard & transom can be spectacular.

Agreed.

Also when you give too much throttle and the outboard falls down it gives a hard hit on the transom. Always lock it up or give minimal throttle.

Starovich · 15 February 2011, 16:08

Who drives so fast in unknown shallow water as to do catastrophic damage ?? if your in that much of an unknown situation, slow down.

Reversing with an engine not locked down is so dangerous, what if your near a pontoon/other boat etc, not only do you loose all power and steerage if the fan isn't in the water, you also have a metal blade prone to wizzing up and hitting anything close by if you make a mistake.

The engine i believe should auto lock down when its dropped into the water from its shore based position, requiring you to make a concious effort to un lock it to the lifting position. At least all modern ones do.

Newport F470 · 15 February 2011, 17:06

Thank you all for the replies. I will check the mechanism and fiddle with it. Agreed that one does not need much power in reverse. This all happened my first day out, on a new to me boat and motor, and new to me driving style (with tiller). Its going to take some time to get used to.

wavelength · 15 February 2011, 17:10

renowned for sticking, failing or just being bent and not catching. The lock normally drops a couple of claws over the pin that your engine rests on in the down position so have a look for the claws and if there are some work back from there. When we beach launched all the time we never used the reverse lock cos (a) we had no alongside work to do and (b) I wanted it to kick up when we beached. We have beached with the engine locked down but they do kick up, albeit with a clunk! If you do have the o/b kick up when in reverse don't do the obvious and take all throttle off, try to ease it back so the motor drops back slowly-easier said than done though

Leaning on the engine cover in reverse is the ad hoc remedy to no working lock

prairie tuber · 17 February 2011, 19:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Starovich

Who drives so fast in unknown shallow water as to do catastrophic damage ?? if your in that much of an unknown situation, slow down.

Reversing with an engine not locked down is so dangerous, what if your near a pontoon/other boat etc, not only do you loose all power and steerage if the fan isn't in the water, you also have a metal blade prone to wizzing up and hitting anything close by if you make a mistake.

The engine i believe should auto lock down when its dropped into the water from its shore based position, requiring you to make a concious effort to un lock it to the lifting position. At least all modern ones do.

I don't know what the rivers & lakes are like where you are, but over here, most of the rivers lakes have uncharted rocks that are submerged under the water. Sooner or later you hit one, and you aren't going to putter around in displacement all day when you need to cover 100 miles or so that day, just because there are some rocks out there. Yes, go reasonably slowly in the areas that you know are particularly tricky, but never lock down the outboard when in forward!

As for reverse, why in the world would you be approaching other boats or objects while in reverse?

Why would you try to move in reverse with anything other than minimal throttle??? If you're in that situation, slow down.

Starovich · 18 February 2011, 16:11

I take it you've never had to reverse to get onto a dock/pontoon?
Or turn boat in its own length?
Or tow a boat off a shallow shore?
or pick up a person from a beach with an onshore wind?
There are numerous occasion when you need to use more then "tickover" in proximity to other objects.

100's of miles a day? in a boat with a manually lifted engine? that's usually sub 40hp, which means a relatively small (or slow) boat, can you carry enough fuel for that sort of running?

How often are you running these 100 mile days? if often you would surely get to know the areas to beware of, in which case the water is not unknown.

If you are 50 miles into your trip and smack a rock at WOT engine locked or not your going to damage your prop/bush /gearbox/driveshaft.

Like walking/paddling 50 miles I take it?

The chaps that design these engines are not stupid, you think they would give a lock on an engines (many newer ones engage soon as you put it into gear) if they were not needed/sensible?

I have seen the after effects on sailing dingies, and windsurfers of exactly the scenario we are talking about, all I can say is thank god its only fibre glass and not limbs.

willk · 18 February 2011, 16:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Starovich

How often are you running these 100 mile days? if often you would surely get to know the areas to beware of, in which case the water is not unknown.

P-T is a regular guy, so pretty regularly I'd say:

http://rib.net/forum/showthread.php?t=33116

http://rib.net/forum/showthread.php?t=26453

I kinda like his style, in fact, the next time I visit Jura, I might just pack some artillery

prairie tuber · 20 February 2011, 16:30

I made no mention about running at WOT in areas you weren't sure about potential reefs, you use your best judgement if you are in a stretch where you suspect that there are uncharted reefs. Again, running in forward with the outboard locked down is just inviting all sorts of problems. The zapcat/thundercat racers use a bungee cord to apply some force to having the outboard stay in the down position, yet also allow some give. That way if a sandbar is struck at extremely high speed or the boat takes huge air and lands very hard, the outboard won't max out on it's up travel and wreck the bracket. My boat with my gear load will never approach the sort of speeds that the zap/thundercat racers run at. It is unlikely that I would max out the full up travel of my OB even if I did smack a rock at WOT. Having spare props on board is a must, and a good a skeg protector is also very important. I have a skeg protector but it is a very inefficient design, I'm planning on replacing it with something more sleek and hopefully just as effective.

As far as outings go, if I am on an outing with my GF and her 2 kids, our 1-3 day outings have been limited to 60 mile round trips so far. If on my own or with another experienced boater, 1-3 day outings are usually about 80-120 miles. The longest round trip that I remember was about 210 miles over 2 days (including a refuelling stop). I have a range of about 140 miles with 5 jerry cans aboard. I do carry tools extra fuel lines & fittings, handheld GPS & VHF, and most importantly a Spotme satellite signalling device, in addition to whatever basic outdoor gear that is suited to the conditions. I've posted reports of some trips on rib.net, many others I haven't.

Starovich · 20 February 2011, 18:03

OK, I can see you have a very specialist use of boat and mention additionally a very specific class of boat in the zapcat, in addition you have a good knowledge of boating.

Most boaters, do not carry spares like props, and are not races only 100m from shore with lots of support watching on.

The vast majority of boaters use the boat once a month for 1 day in the sunshine, and forget most of the finer points of boating skills they learned on there Pboat l2 course or similar.

I know this as i've watched them (as we all have) and had to rescue them.
The thought of a panicked boater shoving the boat into reverse next to the dock or another boat, then watching the engine rear up with the prop wizzing round at 100's rpm makes me shudder.

Yes there can be cases for all sorts of different techniques, but don't confuse specialist techniques and methods for what is best practice for the majority,