Flushing Your Outboard After Every Trip: The Habit That Saves Your Engine

If you run your boat in saltwater, there's one simple habit that will add years to your outboard's life: flush it with fresh water after every single trip. It takes five minutes and it's the cheapest maintenance you'll ever do.

Why salt is the enemy

Saltwater left inside your engine's cooling passages slowly corrodes them from the inside out. Over time that leads to blockages, overheating and internal damage that's expensive to fix. Flushing rinses the salt out before it has a chance to do any harm.

How to flush properly

Fit a set of flush muffs over the water intake, connect the hose and turn the water on. Start the engine and let it idle for five to ten minutes until the water coming out of the tell-tale (the little stream at the back) runs warm and clear. Never run the engine without water going through it.

While you're there

A flush is also the perfect time to give the outboard a quick visual check — look over the tell-tale stream, the propeller and any obvious leaks. Small things spotted early are cheap to fix.

Leave the big stuff to us

Flushing keeps things healthy between services, but your outboard still needs a proper logbook service each year. Blue Point Marine services Yamaha, Mercury, Suzuki, Honda and MerCruiser engines right across the Central Coast — and we come to you.

Book your outboard service today on 0410 768 680 or online.