You can take your chances if you like, but I never kill my motors and we catch plenty of fish. What would you do if they didn't start ??

 

By leaving the motor on for a whole day like 5-6 hours, does that burn a lot of unnecessary fuels?

 

My Yamaha F150s burn little less then one gallon per hour at idle
Considering how much eltrontics, pumps and such we have running when offshore it is not a good idea to turn motors off.

Tow boat may or may not be able to get you depending on how far out you are

 

If it wasn't something I could fix myself, I am a towboat member.

 

I just didn't know if the disturbance of the motor would keep me from catching fish. I have no problem leaving the motor on the whole time as the motor I have is very fuel efficient.

 

Starters

I agree with JR ^^^^^^^! Also Starters are mechanical and WILL break, they will work only a finite number of times. I personally would like to figure out what that number actually is at the dock not 50 miles offshore. Just food for thought.

 

Have had to try and get another boat started that decided to kill motors but didn't turn off electronics. They wound up stuck until coast guard lined up help as we weren't prepared with jumper cables. Run them.

 

Leave 'em on. It won't affect the fishing and it removes some poss. points of failure during your trip.

 

Leave them ON.

Two years ago I had to come in from 33 miles on one motor, couldn't get on plane.
After three hours, at 9 miles out the "good" motor spun the hub. It was soon dark, waited until midnight for the CG to come tow me in which took another two hours. Tow Boat US guy in POC said his boat wasn't working..

 

Leave them ON.

Two years ago I had to come in from 33 miles on one motor, couldn't get on plane.
After three hours, at 9 miles out the "good" motor spun the hub. It was soon dark, waited until midnight for the CG to come tow me in which took another two hours. Tow Boat US guy in POC said his boat wasn't working..

They've got ONE boat for the area? Seems reasonable...sad3sm

I hope to never need SeaTow, but i've got the service if needed.

I'm a one motor fella. I keep mine running from the time i leave the dock till the time i return. 1 less thing to worry about.

 

I've always left my motor on and it doesn't seem to affect the fish at all. In fact, I've caught kingfish within 20' of my idling outboard.

 

Mine always stay on. Its never affected fishing for me.

 

I turned off one of mine one day while offshore and tried to restart it before I shut the other engine off. The starter was hung in the flywheel and engine failed to restart. I limped back to shore on one engine and it wasn't easy. I made an extra 20-miles running east & west to go north.

After this event I never turn off my engines once I leave the dock.

 

Last time this was discussed I was convinced by others that it is best to leave the motor running. I have done so on all following trips and really do not notice any difference on fuel burn. I am running an F250. I also seem to catch the same amount of fish.

The convincing idea was that "IF" there was a problem you would be aware of it immediately and could get SeaTow or other help before an event such as the current changing direction and pushing you into a rig would take place. Otherwise it could be later in the day before you went to start up to head in before you know there is an issue.

 

you can not depend entirely on Sea Tow ....yes they will come if you are in their limited area of operation and if they are not towing someone else....you might be waiting a long long time ...best be able to deal with what comes up yourself...or do not go....I will not go offshore shore on anyone's rig but mine ...
guess why......

 

i dunno.... cause you dont know how to work on an outboard motor or your a clutz with tools while floating on the water ? lol just messing with you. opened yourself up for that one. haha

 

Turn them on at the dock and turn them off at the dock-you wont care about fuel savings if they wont start 60 miles out-safety first! Plus, as some mentioned, the risk of draining a battery(s) is probably a greater risk than the re-fire of the motor.

 

Leave 'em on for sure. As a diver I can tell you, an idling pair of outboards can barely be heard/felt 90 feet down. Heck, outboards running WOT can barely be heard/felt 90 feet down.

 

Lots of fish are attracted to noise. I agree with everyone here. Too many things have to happen mechanically and electrically to start an engine. Switches have to work. Relays have to work. Starters have to work. Batteries have to work. Motors running are a good thing. Don't stop a good thing.

 

Leave it on. Has no effect on saltwater fish. Some are even attracted to the noise and commotion. I'd rather not be dead in the water, either.

 

Thanks for the advice everyone. Would anyone be interested in buddy boating Friday/Saturday out of GYB? If you are send me a PM.

 

Leave em on, for the whole 12 hours, don't upset a happy running engine.

 

leaving engines running

I have been fishing offshore for over 50 years. I have owned and fished on outboard boats, gas and diesel inboards.If you do not trust the engines to re start after shut down,you need to stay inland. I always shutdown and have never had engines not start. I have spent 2- 3days offshore and I do not see the need to leave engines running.Keep your engines in good order and you will not have problems. Your electronics have so little amp draw that you could leave them on for days before the battery goes down. If you need you could run your engine about every 2-3 hours for 30 min. and charge the batteries or carry a spare fully charged battery and jumper cables. Leaving engines running puts a lot of un needed run time on them. Go with what you are comfortable with. Boatman