I just bought my Macgregor 21 and it has a Briggs & Stratton 5hp. The motor instructions say that the motor is not for salt water use. I plan on taking the boat to the Gulf of Mexico. Any ideas or preventative precautions that I can take and still use this motor in salt water?
Briggs & Stratton and Salt Water
- Thread starter ByronCagle
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???
And you would put an engine in salt water that has a "do not use in salt water" warning because??
And you would put an engine in salt water that has a "do not use in salt water" warning because??
I agree.....
.............with the other posters. I'm familiar with the Briggs and Stratton outboard and I would sell it on ebay and pick up a real motor. Try www.onlineoutboards.com . The briggs engine does not even have a underwater exhaust and sounds exactly as you would expect, like a lawnmower strapped to the back of your boat. Ever see how badly a lawnmower will rust when exposed to the elements? You will be happy you upgraded. Tim
.............with the other posters. I'm familiar with the Briggs and Stratton outboard and I would sell it on ebay and pick up a real motor. Try www.onlineoutboards.com . The briggs engine does not even have a underwater exhaust and sounds exactly as you would expect, like a lawnmower strapped to the back of your boat. Ever see how badly a lawnmower will rust when exposed to the elements? You will be happy you upgraded. Tim
By the way.........
The tohatsu, nissan and mercury outboards of less than 10hp are all the same motors. Go with the tohatsu for the best price. Tim
The tohatsu, nissan and mercury outboards of less than 10hp are all the same motors. Go with the tohatsu for the best price. Tim
salt water?
I did some checking on the Briggs and Stratton (AKA b&s) since I was in the market for just what they had. It's not only a warranty issue, but salt water will corrode some vital parts(like water pump) on this motor really quick compared to a motor geared for salt water. The design and accessbility of the controls seemed perfect for the 21 but I was planning a trip to florida the following year and knew I would be sailing on the gulf as well as biscayne bay. The 4HP 4-stroke that i ended up with was worth the wait while ups tried to figure out where it was damaged and sent it back to texas first (one of only a few E-bay disasters). You'll be happier with one geared for salt water, but if you switch between lake and tidal be sure to flush thouroughly before going back to the fresh water..
I did some checking on the Briggs and Stratton (AKA b&s) since I was in the market for just what they had. It's not only a warranty issue, but salt water will corrode some vital parts(like water pump) on this motor really quick compared to a motor geared for salt water. The design and accessbility of the controls seemed perfect for the 21 but I was planning a trip to florida the following year and knew I would be sailing on the gulf as well as biscayne bay. The 4HP 4-stroke that i ended up with was worth the wait while ups tried to figure out where it was damaged and sent it back to texas first (one of only a few E-bay disasters). You'll be happier with one geared for salt water, but if you switch between lake and tidal be sure to flush thouroughly before going back to the fresh water..
I talked to Briggs and Stratton
When they came out with this engine since it is SO much cheaper than the competition. They said you would get about 1 day's worth of use, then it would be toast. That may have been an overstatement, but I now own a Nissan - which I got VERY inexpensively.
When they came out with this engine since it is SO much cheaper than the competition. They said you would get about 1 day's worth of use, then it would be toast. That may have been an overstatement, but I now own a Nissan - which I got VERY inexpensively.
Actual experiance
I bought the Briggs outboard for our Catalina 22 .It was indeed a little louder than I would have perfered.Other than that it worked very well for us. It would push our boat through 3 foot waves at close to hull speed while using very little gas. As far as rust goes ,after two summers out on Lake Michigan it still looked like new. As far as a water pump goes , It doesn't have one!
I bought the Briggs outboard for our Catalina 22 .It was indeed a little louder than I would have perfered.Other than that it worked very well for us. It would push our boat through 3 foot waves at close to hull speed while using very little gas. As far as rust goes ,after two summers out on Lake Michigan it still looked like new. As far as a water pump goes , It doesn't have one!
Briggs owner
Got a briggs for my Mac 25 works great and it dosen't have a water pump to go bad Got mine new at acadimy sporting goods for 700 somthing dollars.came with a gastank and the fule line. used it twice so far and it is only loud at wot. even though it sounds like a lawnmore it still quieter then the guys boat next to me when i launched with his Chevy v8 that sounded like a monster truck in the super dome.well mabe a little exageration but it still drounded out my little lawnmower motor.
Got a briggs for my Mac 25 works great and it dosen't have a water pump to go bad Got mine new at acadimy sporting goods for 700 somthing dollars.came with a gastank and the fule line. used it twice so far and it is only loud at wot. even though it sounds like a lawnmore it still quieter then the guys boat next to me when i launched with his Chevy v8 that sounded like a monster truck in the super dome.well mabe a little exageration but it still drounded out my little lawnmower motor.
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