Anyone duck hunt with Yamaha outboard in cold water??

[byron.akhavi@gmail.com]

I use a Yamaha F40LA on an Alumacraft Waterfowler 16 to duck hunt. It gets cold in upstate New York and sometimes I am out when the low is 30 degrees. It warms up during the day but then it cools down at night after the hunt. I flush my motor with the flush attachment when I get home and store in my home garage (integrated in the home). The garage gets residual heat from the house but is not heated. It's warmer than the external temperature. Do you guys run your outboards late in the fall when it gets cold?? How cold would you say the limit should be. I am assuming 30 degrees is the limit. Thanks for your thoughts.

[DennisG01]

You can run an OB all year long with no worries. You can leave it outside all year long with no worries. Got the right weight oil in there?

Try not to overthink this one... 30* may be cold for you or me, but your engine doesn't care. That said, there's nothing wrong with keeping it inside, either - but remember how we talked about Boeshield and Yamashield? A cold engine being brought inside to warmer temps will gather condensation so use that stuff. You could also take the hood off to help.

[byron.akhavi@gmail.com]

Thanks Dennis!!

[99yam40]

Just need to make sure you drain all of the water out of the motor when trailering so the water does not freeze up inside on the way home.
tilting up and back down a couple of times may help make sure it all comes out while still hot or warm.

[byron.akhavi@gmail.com]

Thanks for the tip. I let the water drain tilted down when I get out of the water. All the duck hunting action happens later in the season when it gets cold. If the ice does not cover the marsh....I have to go out. I do not run any antifreeze for storage. Is this value added for a 40HP outboard??

[DennisG01]

No, I wouldn't worry about any AF, Byron. This is done with sterndrives/inboards because the engine retains water since it is mounted horizontally. OB's are vertical so they drain nicely on their own. While sterndrives can be left empty without AF (after removing drain pet****s), it ensures that if there was any pocket of water remaining that it pushes that water out - and the non-tox stuff that we use in boating also has anti-corrosion properties that helps with extended layups... but the AF has to stay in contact with the engine metal to be of any help and, of course, AF would drain right back out in an OB.

Another way to think about this... there are tons and tons of OB's being used throughout winter by fisherman and they don't do anything special.

You're good - go hunting and have fun!

[brian3006]

I run Yammies all winter long. No issues of any kind. both 2 stroke and 4 strokes. I do however let the engines idle at the dock a tad bit longer to warm up. Not unusual to have to wait till engine warms to melt ice in the pee stream. Ran one for several weeks last year with water temps between 30-12 degrees (salt water) with several stop and sit moments throughout the day.

Only thing I really have to change is that I will sometimes have to bump the idle up a little on my older 2-stroke carb 90hp. nothing worse than trying to pick up a string of decoys in the wind and the motor stalls out...

[byron.akhavi@gmail.com]

Thanks for the info Dennis....great explanation about antifreeze use!!

[byron.akhavi@gmail.com]

Brian, I had that issue with decoys. I mounted a bow *****ing motor (Edge 55). Makes the decoy setup and retrieve easier. Had an issue when I didn't warm up enough and the tell tale stopped flowing water. Stopped the motor and *****ed back with the electric motor. Then started it and let it heat up. The water flowed out of the pilot hole and I let it warm for 5 mins. This is what I started doing after that incident. It flowed water when I started and then stopped when I throttled a bit to leave the dock. Then it stopped after I left 50 yards. Started just letting it always heat up 3-5 mins before venturing out. Great tip...thanks.