Have you ever seen an experienced motorboat enthusiast take one look at a boats smoke and be able to tell you if there is an issue with it or not?  It must have felt like they were an engine whisperer, but it is actually a fairly simple method of just knowing what different smoke colours mean.

Firstly, the exhaust from your marine engine should always be clear.  If it does have a colour you should take that as a warning that there is something wrong with the engine. Let’s take a look as a few different smoke colours and what they can mean for your vehicle.

Black Smoke

If you see black smoke coming from your exhaust this means there are particles leaving the exhaust that have not fully burned up.  This can be caused by an insufficient air intake, engine overload or fuel injector failure in a diesel engine.

White Smoke

White smoke pouring out of the engine means either there is air in the fuel, there is dirty fuel containing water vapour, or there is atomized fuel with water. The atomized fuel appears like fog and comes from starting a cold engine.

Blue Smoke

When your combustion engine burns the lubricating oil, this creates a carbon accumulation resulting in blue smoke.  This oil spill can be caused by damaged valve guides, oil seals or piston rings. The crankcase or an overfilled air filter can be what causes the oil overspill for a diesel engine.

Lubricating oil

Lubricating oil should be checked every day before you start the boat as its condition can also help you determine if there is a problem with the engine. The best way to check the oil is to feel the dip stick for any unwanted particles.  Use your fingers to feel the consistency of the oil. Healthy oil should be as smooth as possible.

If you don’t fire up the engine that often, make sure you check the level of your engine oil regularly.  If the level is too high, it means the oil sump has been penetrated by water, this is also indicated by a milkiness.  This can lead to a broken piston of a cracked cylinder head, so this is definitely something you want to catch early. On the other hand, if the oil is too low you might have an oil leak.

If you have any of the above issues it is important that you seek professional advice and always be ready to react to anything that seems outside the ordinary.  This can be an urgent warning that there is something wrong with your boat engine.

If you are ready to purchase your own motorboat call the team at National Finance Solutions on 1300 13 50 50 or get an online quote today.