I purchased the Nissan 6 horse four stroke motor for my Ariel, Augustine, a few years back. My boat operates in saltwater, so I remove the motor after each sail. I use the Garhauer Lifting Davit, which was installed as per the Ariel Manual. The davit is stored in a bow (as in a hunting bow) bag, which I keep in the V berth when it is not in use. The six-to-one ratio on this davit means that you are only lifting about 10 lbs when you raise and lower the 60 lb Nissan 6 hp motor. It's a one hand lifting job.
I also flush the motor after each use, unless I am on a multi-day voyage. To facilitate the flushing process, I installed a Yahama flushing apparatus that allows a quick connect/disconnect to a garden hose. Flushing is easy that way. The motor stows nicely in the lazarette locker, although you will need a block of some kind to keep the head of the motor higher than the prop when stowed.
By the way, don't go to sea with the motor stowed in the lazarette locker. I know someone who did this. Not a good idea to have the motor head down in a locker full of salt water when you are on a starboard tack. I just leave the motor in the water while I sail. It helps to have some neoprene to protect the leading edge of well where the motor attaches, and to insure that the motor does not rock back and forth and come loose from the leading edge of the well when under sail in rough conditions at sea. Some brave souls remove their motors and stow them in the cabin. I have pulled a motor at sea with my lifting davit to replace a prop, but the installed davit is in the path of the boom, so this should be attempted only at rest or at peril.
The long shaft motor operates well in all conditions, but I rarely run the thing at sea. I primarily use it to get under the bridge and out of the harbor. I only had the motor aerate on me once when I struck the bar while in a trough when I was surfing into the harbor here one late autumn day a few years back. The boat stopped cold when it hit the bar, and the stern rose up through the breaking wave so that the prop was for a few seconds out of the water. Then the wave lifted Augustine off the bar. That was at night, so it was pretty exciting for a few seconds.
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