Engine Fushing

Flushing my '68 has always been a pain. I have been using a Fake-a-Lake and it works OK except now with my new trailer I have great difficulty climbing under the boat and fitting the Fake-a-Lake to the hull, it's painful to squeeze under the trailer and it's almost impossible. (By-the-way, the TechSun trailer is fantastic! I can appraoch it from a fairly wide angle and even be off-center and it gently centers the boat for easy drive-on. Topic for another thread.)

Has anyone put a manual cutoff valve in the water pickup hose right above the water intake fitting and added a tee to simply connect a water hose for flushing? This seems so simple there must be something wrong with it. It seems the boats would come from the factory set up this way. The tee could be capped and the valve opened for normal boating.

Jim:

Only one big problem with your solution. If you forget to open the valve (after flushing) for normal use...well you know.

The Flush-Pro referenced above eliminates this possibility.

I think CC now has an option for a flushing fitting on the transom of the boat. I believe you remove the "cap" screw in the garden hose and flush the engine. I would bet there is a "flush-pro" type device installed by CC. So, you could do the same if you do not mind the extra through transom fitting showing.

Jim:

I have not heard the bad reports of the Flush-Pro, but I share your concerns...plastic below the water line scares me.

So, make your own "flush-pro" out of brass. All you need is a one way check valve and a "T" with a cap. The only issue I have with this approach is the moment arm you are creating that could potentially stress the fiberglass at the through hull fitting. So, I would glass in a support block and strap the assembly to it.

Thanks Jim. I think I'm going to copy you.