outboard training course?

ollyit · 24 June 2004, 16:05

Guys,

My mate and I are fairly new to the boating scence -
Is there any kind of course you can go on to get educated
about Outboards,maintaince and general care - also maybe how they work perhaps

Any advice would be great - thanks

DGR · 24 June 2004, 16:13

When I did my PB1&2 they covered off general outboard stuff as part of the course (albeit at a basic 'looking after it' sort of level). The RYA run a diesel course, but not sure if they do an equivalent one for outboards. Try the RYA website, www.rya.org.

D...

P.S. The other stuff in the course was quite useful too.........

Nick Hearne · 24 June 2004, 16:17

You could always get a copy of this!
http://www.bosunsmate.co.uk/video.htm
He dose know what he is talking about.
Nick

DGR · 24 June 2004, 16:21

MENTAL PICTURE...

Me sitting in the lounge, with my Bosun's Mate video taking me through the finer points of changing the oil in the leg (or something equally messy), with my little aux engine in pieces on the carpet....

And then Nicky comes home...

Ha Ha Ha....

Nick Hearne · 24 June 2004, 16:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by DGR

MENTAL PICTURE...

Me sitting in the lounge, with my Bosun's Mate video taking me through the finer points of changing the oil in the leg (or something equally messy), with my little aux engine in pieces on the carpet....

And then Nicky comes home...

Ha Ha Ha....

Yes sound about right

Louise · 24 June 2004, 17:23

There's also a book available: 'The Rya Book of Outboard Motors' by
Tim Bartlett. You can get it from Amazon as well as the RYA.

Hey, bedtime reading! Surely your wife/girlfriend won't object to sharing the bed with a motor!

Biggles · 24 June 2004, 17:31

Ollyit

Keep an eye out in your local paper for any of the local College Course guides. Its suprising that even here in land, my local college has evening/weekend classes in Outboard Motors. Not very often but I have seen them.

Nick R

Paul Glatzel · 24 June 2004, 17:57

Ollyit

There is no RYA approved Outboard Course. Basic troubleshooting should be covered on Level 2 & more detailed stuff on Advanced. Basic electrics/fuel systems aside engines are now often so complex with electronic management systems & the like the view is that if they go wrong and you've checked the fuel & electric systems then there won't be much you can do to fix it. The Diesel engine course was created for the small basic engines found in yachts so whilst many diesel engines remain fairly straight forward many of the newer ones are getting more & more complex so that like with outboards once you have addressed the fuel & electrics they too will be beyond the scope of me and my spanner.

My suggestion is go to your local outboard repair chap and offer him/her £50/100 to spend the morning with them as they show you how to change an impeller, go through fault finding on the electrics/fuel etc. We've arranged this with the outfit (@ Cobbs Quay) we have used for a couple of groups and it seems to work well

If you use diesel engines then definitely do the course but bear in mind the engines are far more complex than they were and your fault finding will be limited to some fairly basic areas. I have to admit to being a 'bit lacking in engine capability' and look forward to being corrected by all of you who can fix complex engine issues with an ear bud and a pair of tweezers!

Paul

PS: Agree with Louise re Videos/DVDs & the books she refers to, although have to admit i fell asleep during the diesel engine one - just cannot get excited by engines!

Bajan · 24 June 2004, 18:09

Ollyit!
I've looked around for ages trying to find the same thing. I even approached some mechanics to see if they would let me work for free just so I could get acquainted, but no success.

As a result, I bought 2 books and ask as many questions as I can when I have the opportunity to speak to anyone who knows about engines. The books are 1. The RYA book of Outboard Motors as Louise mentioned and 2. Outboard Troubleshooter by Peter White. They are both easy to read and effective. They both explain different things in different detail so it's quite handy to have them both.

Good luck!!

Simon B · 25 June 2004, 08:08

Try this;

Outboard Engines: Troubleshooting, Maintenance and Repair
Edwin R. Sherman

It started me off and is detailed enough for a good understanding but doesnt cover more specialised engine menagement set ups. You could get Andy's video as well, look carefully and you'll spot his tea cup next to some freshly drained fuel tut tut Andy!! A true craftsman and a credit to British Ribbing!

Jon penrith · 24 January 2006, 12:34

The Bosun's locker has ceased trading so it doesn't seem possible to get that video now.Have just signed up for a day course on outboard maintenance with Southamton university.£80 for non university types like me.
Noddy,this does not apply to you as understand you were at university.....in a jar.
They run these regularly with next 2 being 11/2 then 6/5 is the one after that.

ADS · 24 January 2006, 12:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon penrith

The Bosun's locker has ceased trading so it doesn't seem possible to get that video now.Have just signed up for a day course on outboard maintenance with Southamton university.£80 for non university types like me.
Noddy,this does not apply to you as understand you were at university.....in a jar.
They run these regularly with next 2 being 11/2 then 6/5 is the one after that.

Seems a shame that The Bosuns Mate is no longer trading, message from Andy here:
http://www.bosunsmate.co.uk

Alex

Rogue Wave · 24 January 2006, 13:04

Bummer that is a shame.

The website was pretty informative too!

dave9960 · 25 January 2006, 11:27

I am booked to go on Southampton Universitys outboard motor course on the 11th Feb. Its the only one I could find.

http://www.sportrec.soton.ac.uk/water.html 80 pounds for the day isnt bad.

I'll let you know what it was like.

Dave

dave9960 · 13 February 2006, 08:43

I went on a one day Outboard Motor course at the Southampton Uni boat yard on Saturday.

It was taken by Fred, who has been in the marine trade for years, and at one stage owned three workshops, and seemed to know everything you needed to know about outboards. I thought he was a very good teacher, and always had time, and the patience to help you out. But he did make us laugh when he couldnt work out how to work a video, which he showed us to start off with on how outboards actually work. But hey we werent there for a video show, we were there to try and work out how to play around with outboard motors.

There were six of us on the course, with people coming as far away as Ipswich and Tinmouth. We had three engines to play about on, 'two' 2strokes and a four stroke which was still on the one of the university ribs. I got to play with the four stroke. We had a kit of things to change, which you would normally do for a service. A Thermostat, impeller, Fuel filter, spark plugs, and a couple of other things.

The course started at 9 in the morning, and finished at 5:15, with a short 20-30 min break for lunch and a couple of coffee breaks.

I learnt a lot from the course, and feel more confident in doing the basics, well ok not so basic stuff on my engine.

One thing I didnt realise that you must always check your spark plug gap with the manual when putting new spark plugs in. I naively assumed that the gap was pre-set correctly when they left the manufactor, but they aren't.

The course was well worth it for me.

Dave

ADS · 13 February 2006, 10:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by dave9960

One thing I didnt realise that you must always check your spark plug gap with the manual when putting new spark plugs in. I naively assumed that the gap was pre-set correctly when they left the manufactor, but they aren't.

The course was well worth it for me.
Dave

I found that out at the start of last season, stuck some new NGK's in the Suzook set the gaps and the fuel consumption actually improved.

Alex

Jon penrith · 26 February 2006, 17:36

I attended the same course as Dave & also found it very worthwhile.Dave,the 4 stroke we worked on they got the boat in the water & couldnt start it as couldnt get it out of gear!! Apparently we didnt re set that little lever thingy at the front.I told em we worked on one of the other engines!!!!

dave9960 · 02 March 2006, 08:56

Brilliant Jon... of course it wasn't us...

Oh dear and I've had a little play with my Honda 4 stroke.. I wonder if that will start