Flushing Yamaha 200 when on buoy.

M

Moosewood

Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2026
Messages
8
Fluid Motion Model
R-23 (Outboard)
Hi everyone.
We are new owners of a R-23OB and have been scouring the forum and learning a lot from all of you. Thank you for this forum!
We live on San Juan Island and will keep out new boat on our buoy most of the summer. We do have fresh water on our dock but we don’t keep the boat on the dock for more that loading etc. so fresh water rinse on the dock would be all moot as we would have to start up again to maneuver to the buoy 50 yards away. Is there a benefit to rinsing the engine anyways only to re-introduce salt water in the engine?
Also, does anyone have any alternative techniques while on the hook/buoy for cleansing your engine such as pump suppled water pressure from a five gallon container? I don’t suppose that’s enough water but might be better than nothing. Any other ideas for some more experienced readers?
Cheers !
 
Thats a tough one. Ideally you want to flush the engine for 10-20 minutes after every use. This will reduce the rate of corrosion on the internal parts exposed to salt water and extend the life of the engine (assuming regular maintenance is conducted).

Can you pull a long hose out to the boat with the dinghy or would the hose sink? Pull the boat to the ball with the dinghy after flushing, probably tough in less than ideal conditions? You've probably pondered these options.

You might consider T-ing off your freshwater line under the sink to a short dead-end hose fitting that you could connect a hose to and sacrafice a tank of water after every use? A freshwater washdown/shower at the swim platform is something I think would be a nice option on these boats.

Good luck.
 
RT23 Kingfisher said:
Thats a tough one. Ideally you want to flush the engine for 10-20 minutes after every use. This will reduce the rate of corrosion on the internal parts exposed to salt water and extend the life of the engine (assuming regular maintenance is conducted).

Can you pull a long hose out to the boat with the dinghy or would the hose sink? Pull the boat to the ball with the dinghy after flushing, probably tough in less than ideal conditions? You've probably pondered these options.

You might consider T-ing off your freshwater line under the sink to a short dead-end hose fitting that you could connect a hose to and sacrafice a tank of water after every use? A freshwater washdown/shower at the swim platform is something I think would be a nice option on these boats.

Good luck.
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Hi Kingfisher ,
I have pondered bringing a long hose out there but haven’t tried that yet. I’ll let you know if that works. Your idea of T-ing off the fresh water line is also interesting. I wonder how many minutes a full water tank would last under that method. Not sure how many gallons per minute would flow through the engine with the ships pump but it’s worth a try and boy would that be slick ! And even if I could only get five minutes that would probably be better than nothing right?
 
I have no idea what the freshwater system looks like in a Ranger Tug, but I tapped into my fresh water tank on my CB30, there is a 1/2” plug at the front bottom of my tank that I used to set up a fresh water wash down system. Worth looking to see if you have that plug
IMG_5864.jpeg
 
Hi Eagle2
That’s a grand idea too. Not sure how accessible my tank is however if it is not very , then I might consider tapping the hot water tank inlet hose which is accessible.
 
Moosewood said:
Hi Eagle2
That’s a grand idea too. Not sure how accessible my tank is however if it is not very , then I might consider tapping the hot water tank inlet hose which is accessible.
Click to expand...
Ok, Wherever you tap in, make sure it’s not a pressurized line. That’s why I chose the direct from the fresh tank port.
 
Eagle 2 said:
Ok, Wherever you tap in, make sure it’s not a pressurized line. That’s why I chose the direct from the fresh tank port.
Click to expand...
Thank you Eagle 2.
I have to ask, why not tap off a pressurized line? I was thinking about possibly using the 3.5 gpm pump from the fresh water system and tap into the inlet of the hot water heater, with a shut off valve. Wouldn't that work or am I missing something big here?
How did you make pressure for your fresh water washdown? Do you have a separate pump?
 
I suppose an alternate method could be that I flush the main outboard at the dock and use my kicker to position the boat at the buoy. Then occasionally flush the kicker with a salt-away like product.
 
Hi from also a new to us R23 with similar flush in water concern with no freshwater hose available. A post from July 2020 mentioned using salt away. So my plan was to tilt motor up apply muffs with hose connection blocked then tilt down and use engine hose flush port to fill it with 5% salt away. Wait 10 minutes or so then tilt up remove muff. Any comments on this approach appreciated
 
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