I have found that I can make every mistake imaginable
Here's another one to imagine... I'm not actually certain that it happened this way, but this is my best guess about my Honda 2HP problem: Anchored in a beautiful creek -- actually, it was St. Leonard's Creek just by Vera's White Sands -- and went ashore in Moby Dink using the motor. All was well, but halfway back I ran out of fuel and had to row the last few hundred yards in the deepening twilight. All was still well. It was a lovely still evening, but just after I got back to Dolphin I heard a sound like 50 cement trucks racing up the creek and was hit by an _extremely_ strong little storm with driving rain and gusts so strong that I was convinced the anchor would drag. All seemed well and that was the last time the dinghy motor was used for several months. When I came to use it again, it wouldn't start. It turned out that the carburetor looked fine on the outside, but was a nasty mass of corroded metal. My explanation for this is that the driving rain had found its way in through the gas cap vent (which was open because there was no fuel in the tank) and then run down into the carb (the fuel was still on because I'd forgotten to turn it off because there was no fuel). I replaced the carb and it runs, but not well, and it might be time to seek professional help. (Note: This is the 2HP dinghy motor, _not_ the 5HP that I'm selling.) Giles Morris
Hi all, Just thought I'd throw in my experience with a 2hp Honda. I hope I'm not duplicating someone else's post because I came in partway through the thread. This was a 2001 Canadian model with clutch, bought new and used on an inflatable dinghy. At one point, when it was a few months old, I noticed an unusually strong gas smell (and there may have been a bit leaking into the water, the details have started to fade) while it was sitting on the dinghy. When we investigated, it became clear that fuel had gotten into the oil crankcase somehow. After changing the oil and getting it all squared away, we talked with the dealer and other boaters as to what might have happened. We had never stored the motor on the "wrong" side; it was either on the dinghy transom or stored upright on a bracket on the stern rail of the big boat. The consensus we all came to was this: While the motor was on the dinghy, but we weren't using it, we would tilt it up to get the lower unit out of the water. In that position there is technically no "wrong" side, BUT apparently in some big wakes/waves, the motor rotated - while it was tilted up - just enough to allow it to behave as if it had been stored on the wrong side and the gas and oil were allowed to mix. There was nothing but friction to keep the motor from flopping to one side or the other while tilted up. Luckily we caught it before starting the motor. After that we used a bungie to keep it rotated around the "right" way when it was tilted up. Perhaps they've improved the tilt mechanism to take care of that by now. In any case, it would only happen in rough water while towing or with large wakes. Something to think about though. FWIW --- Rachel Former owner 1981 M-17 #334, and 1993 M-15 #517
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Morris, Giles -
Rachel