I experienced a swamped outboard for the first time last weekend. Considering we are lake sailing, I would think this is a rare occurrence, except for maybe the great lakes. Anyway, it got me thinking about why this occurred.
My outboard is on a pod that I lower into the water. The pod sits level with the water, and the motor extends beneath, into the water. I can lift the pod in order to reduce drag while sailing.
We were sailing in 20 knot winds from the North. Because the lake is oriented North to South, and we are at the South end, a strong North wind has a lot of fetch, and creates large, rolling waves with short frequency.
In this situation, we turned North, into the wind, to lower the sails. While powering Northward at low speed, just holding position, the engine suddenly died, swamped, while the boat rose and fell on the waves. I restarted it, but it got swamped again in a short time. I lifted the pod to lift the motor out of the water, and that solved the problem.
It had my heart pounding pretty well. I stayed calm. I knew I could sail into my slip if I needed.
My question: why did the motor stop? I get that the lower cowling was swamped with water, but doesn’t the upper cowling draw air too? Was the carb choked? If the carb was choked by water, why did the water not cause a hydrolock? Or maybe a hydrolock does not always fill the cylinder? Was there another cause for the motor to stop?
Someone else has experienced this, and many/most of you have more outboard knowledge than me, so what do you think? I figured out how to stop it, but I am still curious. I guess I have the privilege of being able to easily adjust the depth of my outboard. Still, this could really put a person in dire straights.
Thanks!
My outboard is on a pod that I lower into the water. The pod sits level with the water, and the motor extends beneath, into the water. I can lift the pod in order to reduce drag while sailing.
We were sailing in 20 knot winds from the North. Because the lake is oriented North to South, and we are at the South end, a strong North wind has a lot of fetch, and creates large, rolling waves with short frequency.
In this situation, we turned North, into the wind, to lower the sails. While powering Northward at low speed, just holding position, the engine suddenly died, swamped, while the boat rose and fell on the waves. I restarted it, but it got swamped again in a short time. I lifted the pod to lift the motor out of the water, and that solved the problem.
It had my heart pounding pretty well. I stayed calm. I knew I could sail into my slip if I needed.
My question: why did the motor stop? I get that the lower cowling was swamped with water, but doesn’t the upper cowling draw air too? Was the carb choked? If the carb was choked by water, why did the water not cause a hydrolock? Or maybe a hydrolock does not always fill the cylinder? Was there another cause for the motor to stop?
Someone else has experienced this, and many/most of you have more outboard knowledge than me, so what do you think? I figured out how to stop it, but I am still curious. I guess I have the privilege of being able to easily adjust the depth of my outboard. Still, this could really put a person in dire straights.
Thanks!
