Submersed Motor

Submersed Motor

The successful restarting of a motor after submersion depends on removing any water from the motor. The following procedure should be undertaken as soon as practical after immersion of the motor. IRB Drivers should be capable of restarting the motor within approximately 30 minutes after an IRB capsize.

*NOTE: After any rollover it is important to first attend to any injuries that either the IRB Driver or IRB Crewperson may have sustained.

Once the IRB is returned to the beach and taken above the tide line, remove the motor from the IRB to a suitable well-ventilated work area. It is recommended that the procedure is conducted once all essential equipment is gathered including relevant spill prevention kits.

Restart procedure for two-stroke carburettor motors

!It is highly recommended to use a spill kit to avoid contaminants harming the environment. Please ensure you follow local SOPs. If you don’t have a spill kit or it is not a local requirement extreme care should be taken not to pollute the environment

1. Act quickly and have a suitable fire extinguisher on hand in case of an emergency.
2. Remove cowling.
3. Wash motor with clean water.
4. Ensure kill/ toggle switch is OFF, and/or lanyard removed.
5. Ensure fuel absorbent mat # is suitably placed to catch / absorb fuel draining from carburettor.
6. Remove carburettor drain screw to flush out water, attach fuel hose and prime fresh fuel through fuel system, leave carburettor drain screw out.
7. Twist off spark plug boots and secure well away from spark plug ports.
8. Remove spark plugs.
9. Assemble orange fuel spill control tray (bund) # with absorbent mat placed to catch evacuating fuel from motor.
10. Lay motor so spark plug ports sit centrally in the spill tray.
11. Recheck that the kill/ toggle switch is OFF.
12. Pull starter cord at least 30 times making sure to expel all contaminate (fuel and water) has been removed from the cylinders.
13. Stand motor up and using fuel hose extension hose with reducing nozzle connected to the fuel cell, squirt approximately 3 full pumps of the primer bulb of fuel into each spark plug hole and 2 pumps of fuel directly into the carburettor air silencer holes, to aid in the flushing process.
14. Lay motor back down into spill tray #, again checking that the kill/ toggle switch is OFF.
15. Pull starter cord at least another 30 times to evacuate all fuel from cylinders.
16. Stand motor upright, clean spark plugs or fit new spark plugs, refit spark plug boots.
17. Refit carburettor drain screw, refit fuel hose and prime fresh fuel into carburettor.
18. Turn the kill/ toggle switch ON, and/or refit lanyard.
19. Pull choke out.
20. Restart motor.
21. If motor fails to start, repeat from steps 4 thru to 20.
22. Run the motor to ensure correct operation. The motor should be run under acceleration and load for at least 30 minutes back in operational conditions to assist in evacuating the water from inside the motor and ensure that it is running properly. Where a motor can’t be run under acceleration and load for any reason the lesser alternative is to run the motor in a test tank or similar at half throttle for at least 2 hours. If running the motor identifies an issue, then further servicing is required.
23. Spray motor with dewatering fluid.
24. Dispose of contaminated fuel absorbent mat as per spill control instructions #.

*NOTE: If the motor does not start, consider repeating the restart procedure. Time is critical if a motor cannot be started or runs rough after a rollover, your urgent attention is vital in minimising any further damage to the motor. Invert the motor and place the motor powerhead fully immersed in fresh water with spark plugs out to reduce corrosion. Immediate referral to a marine motor mechanic or technician will be required.

Advise Patrol and IRB Captain of incident and fit ‘DO NOT USE’ defect card. Report rollover incident to Club Captain, fill out Incident Report Log, fill our IRB Log, advise Surf Com of incident, attend to any injuries and report as required by your state SOPs.

It is good practice to arrange a replacement motor immediately there is a rollover, so the patrol remains fully operational, this also reduces the stress of the reinstatement process, and minimises IRB operational downtime.