Service Talk

Knowing something about your boat's engine and mechanical equipment empowers you in your time on the water. It's safer to know how some of the basic systems and equipment work. Here, Team CruiseCraft's resident technical expert, Darren Nichols explains some of the key issues. Latest tips appear on top.

Spark Plugs - Heat Ranges
Straying from an outboard manufacturer's recommendations on spark plugs is one of the easiest, but most damaging and expensive mistakes that can be made.

Interchanging spark plug brands can become a 'nearest' match rather than an 'exact' match. But near enough is not good enough and could cost boat owners thousands of dollars in repairs.

Heat range is one of the most important issues. Sometimes another spark plug manufacturer's recommended 'equivalent' plug can be incorrect by two or more heat ranges - enough to cause poor running or serious engine damage.

That damage can include piston crown melt-downs as a result of much higher temperatures being generated in the combustion chambers. There also are other major differences between spark plugs - for example some have resistors built into them, others don't.

Sometimes people deliberately use a wrong spark plug - one without a resistor instead of one with a built-in resistor - in order to overcome problems associated with tired ignition systems which are running out of puff. The components of the 'tired' ignition system are beyond their useful life. They therefore create too much resistance along their wiring to work effectively and cannot provide the charge needed at the sparking end.

Some owners think that by using a plug without a built-in resistor, they can reduce the load on the ignition system and that their engine will work fine as a result.

Wrong.

That kind of thinking just triggers off another series of issues such as false alarms going off in warning systems, or entertainment systems suffering from electrical interference.

Steering - Do Yourself A Good Tturn
Steering your powerboat through a couple of imaginary 'figure eights' down the driveway at home is one of the best turns you can do for your outboard.

You don't even need the motor running with a water supply to the impeller - just leave the motor turned off and start steering while the boat is sitting on the trailer.

That on-shore, going nowhere slalom will help lubricate the steering system on your outboard. That means there's far less chance of you finding a seized steering system next time you are at the ramp.

The on-shore drive should be performed every couple of weeks. Just turn the steering wheel back and forth, from full left lock to full right lock, a few times. The action should be enough to lubricate most push-pull type steering mechanisms used on modern outboards and won't hurt the older cable type systems either.