What this service record is for
This is an hours and service record for recreational outboard engines. Fill in on screen, then download a PDF or CSV. Or print out a blank version and fill in by hand.
This form lists one outboard by serial number, make, model, horsepower, boat it’s on, hours, and date. It then goes through a series of services: oil, gearcase, cooling and impeller, fuel system, spark plugs, anodes and corrosion, and storage. Each service line has a check box to mark as N/A, Due, or Done. Your answers will remain in this tab only. A new person visiting the page will see a clean form.
You might have done the work yourself, had a dealer do it, or your boat may have been laid up for the season. Either way, this ensures the next person will know what has been done, how many hours are on the engine, and what is needed next. It’s a log, not a Pass/Fail inspection sheet.
Copy the intervals and hours off of your engine’s owner’s manual. Each manufacturer publishes there own hours. There is no single hour number from Yamaha, Mercury or Honda.
**Fuel System and Cooling/Flush**
The fuel and flush rows are related to federal recreational-boating pages such as the USCG Boater’s Guide to Federal Requirements for Recreational Boats; Boating Safety Circular 83; and the Spring 2017 Boating Safety Circular.
The EPA used-oil management guidelines and the EPA Shipshape Shores handbook manage waste fuel and used oil.
**Engine and boat. Identify one outboard.
What it is not
- It is not a boat pre-departure safety brief. Life jackets, lights, sound signals, fire extinguishers, and a leave-the-dock walk belong on that kind of sheet, not here.
- It is not a boat trailer inspection. Lights, winch, coupler, tires, and bearings are trailer work. Do not log them on this engine record.
- It is not a CMV driver vehicle inspection report, a CDL walkaround, or a vehicle maintenance log for a car or light truck. Hours on an outboard are not highway miles.
- It is not a Coast Guard fuel-system certification form. 33 CFR 183.501 applies to gasoline boats except outboard engines. You still inspect hoses and tanks because leaks start fires. The Coast Guard says so in Circular 83.
- It is not a substitute for the model owner's manual or a dealer procedure. If the manual and this template disagree, the manual wins.
How to fill each block
Know your outboard. Jot down the serial number and horsepower off the cowling plate or transom bracket. Include the hull identification number if available along with the boat’s registration or name.
Note the date and hours of previous service; note hours for this service visit. Indicate type of operation, brackish, salt or fresh water. Transfer the true month/hrs (from this manual) to the manufacturer interval box. Don’t assume a single 100-hour interval applies to everything as a simple pass or fail.
These are the hours and the next due date.
First Write the interval words (e.g., first month or 20 hours; every 6 months or 100 hours). Next write the corresponding dates and hours that you calculated based on those words.
As an example, Yamaha has a common practice of first-20-hour gearcase change on a new engine, followed by engine and lower-unit oil at 100 hours. Mercury recommends annual oil service for most four-stroke outboards; the exact timing of 100 or 200 hours depend on the model. Gearcase lube is usually every 100 or 200 hours.
Honda says in their BF150A owner's manual to do first month or 20 hours; every 6 months or 100 hours; every year or 200 hours; every 2 years or 400 hours. Their portable manual says first month or 10 hours; every 6 months or 50 hours; every year or 150 hours for US and Canadian portable models. Those aren't Pass/Fail lines for this form. They're just examples.
Engine oil and filter: For four-stroke engines, check the level with the motor upright and change the oil and filter together when the manual says to.
Propeller and gearcase.
Do both oil changes at one time, following the manual's instructions for hours and before long-term storage, even if the hours are low. For four stroke motors: Check level with engine up. Use original brand name marine oil. Replace filter. Drain and recycle spent oil and filter.
The EPA classifies used oil from personal equipment as household do-it-yourself used oil, and still advises storing it in a leak-proof container, not mixing it, and recycling it. Shop oil accepted marina is a generator. It is not Part 279 waste. For two-stroke engines with no crankcase sump, mark N/A for oil-level and filter.
Before trusting the seals, pull the prop and remove any fishing line.
Crack the drain and vent and look at the color. Burnt oil means the lube is spent. Milky = water. A magnetic drain screw may have fine metal dust which can be normal. Chips aren’t. Change crush washers each time according to Yamaha. They also say to fill from the bottom with the prop shaft level.
Honda says the propeller and cotter pin are due on the same schedule as gear oil. The propeller row is marked N/A for jet pumps.
These are the cooling, impeller, and flush components.
When the motor is running, make sure the telltale stream is visible through a proper flush device or while in the water. Yamaha recommends a 15-minute freshwater flush after each trip and an annual check of the pump and impeller regardless of water type.
Honda recommends flushing after dirty or saltwater and servicing the water pump and thermostat annually (or every 200 hours). The Coast Guard Spring 2017 circular sees skipping a washdown or flush as a maintenance failure in a salt environment. Don’t let your impeller run dry. There is no single impeller hour number to cover all brands; don’t make it up.
Fuel system: inspect hoses, fittings, and the primer bulb.
Check primer bulb, hoses and fittings. Use marine or USCG Type hose and replace any that is mushy, cracked or dry before use.
Check installed tanks at least once a year. Portable tanks should be filled on the dock, vent open when running and vent and cap closed in storage. Do not store in an enclosed area.
Regular unleaded with no more than 10% ethanol is OK for Honda; no E85 allowed. Others have their own fuel section printed. If you are keeping a log of how many gallons you used and where you bought them, you might want to put a fuel log template next to this one. This is NOT a trip fuel log but rather a block showing the fuel system on the engine.
The stop switch and spark plugs.
Read the manual to pull plugs at the right interval. Yamaha’s public 4-stroke example is every other season or 100 hours, specifying the same OEM plug number. For Hondas, it is a combination of hours and months that varies by model.
Check the emergency stop switch and spare clip. If the engine cut-off switch link is installed and you’re planing, it’s required per the Boater’s Guide.
**Corrosion, anodes and grease
• Locate all anodes as indicated in the manual. According to Yamaha, never paint sacrificial anodes; they replace them when they are about 50 percent worn out.
Rinse the exterior.
Touch up the paint on the bare metal.
What varies
Lube the points as per the manual.
Honda’s salt-water page advises that you do not spray corrosion inhibitor on the anodes, alternator, oxygen sensor or belts and lube each month. If your motor does not have power trim fluid and a charging belt, then these do not apply.
Winterization and storage
When bringing the engine out or laying it up, use this station. First flush. Then change oil and gear lube; don’t let acidy oil and water-cut gear lube stand for months.
Drain/fuel stabilize according to the STORAGE chapter of this model’s book. According to Honda, gasoline can begin to be a problem within 15 to 30 days depending on tank fullness and region. If your model calls for fogging the cylinders, do so. If it’s in season, mark the entire station with an N/A for oil change.
After you finish
Notes and sign-off
Describe what you found and what you deferred. State whether the engine will go back into service. Date and sign. Check box stating you copied intervals from this engine’s manual.
Different makes, models and even within their own serial ranges will have different hour intervals in hours, like a 10/50/150 portable Honda vs. a 20/100/200/400 midrange Honda; a 100-hour Mercury gearcase line vs. There is a Yamaha 100-hour example. Both Mercury and Honda are calendar time plus "hours or months, whichever comes first" too.
Anode and impeller life is shortened by salt, silt, and long idle time. Four-stroke, oil-injected two-stroke and premix two-strokes don't have the same oil rows.
This falls under United States jurisdiction. State boating law, marina rules, and used-oil collection rules may exceed the EPA's federal floor. Unlike inboard gasoline systems, which is certified by the Coast Guard, outboard fuel systems aren't.
Is it trailered? Put trailer work on a trailer sheet and engine service on this record. Want a copy to leave this tab? Download a filled PDF or CSV. Paper clipboard copy? Download a blank PDF. Nothing gets saved on the server. Fields are empty for the next visitor.
Save the dealer invoice, along with the owner's manual and an hour-meter reset note (if the boat has one). Resetting Honda hour counters is mandatory once those meters has reached their service mark.
Used filters, gear lube and oil should be recycled through a collection center or marina. When you hire a contractor to haul the wastes, give him/her a receipt. The EPA's marina handbook requires covered, separate containers of waste fuel, gear oil and engine oil.
Not a substitute for the OEM or a licensed inspection
If you have marked Due items, they are still due but lack either a next due date or hours target for Hours. A signed form does not constitute a launch clearance if there is no cooling water, fuel leak, or milky gear lube with metal chips, which make the engine unsafe to operate.
It’s a recordkeeping form. Not a Coast Guard inspection. Not a replacement for an owner’s manual of any outboard. And it’s not legal advice. Don’t make someone else’s example hours a Pass/Fail number on your other engine.
Stop if you see milky gear lube, dried-up residue, or a leaking hose. Follow a dealer or the OEM. Here’s the link to the form above the article. Below that is a preview of the printable PDF form: