Resurrection from dry-dock after ten years

[Al Maclean]

A friend is trying to give me a 19 foot Thundercraft Bowrider from 1995 which had only 40 hours on it when it was put into storage 10 years ago. A marina prepared it for storage and kept it in outside covered storage north of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada for ten years.

I don't have the engine details but it's claimed to be a 200hp, my best guess is that would be the 4.3 Merc. With only 40 hours of use, it would be a shame to scrap it, but I'm not looking to raise the titanic either.

I'd like to ask the experts to gaze into their crystal ball and give me an idea what I should expect or how I'd go about resurrecting this boat.

Would a marina be able to provide a reasonable estimate or is it the kind of project you'd have to get into the middle of before you'd know the extent of it?

Thanks.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Resurrection from dry-dock after ten years

There's no way to tell anything about it until you see it. You'd need to buy a new battery, change oil, and pull all of the spark plugs to spray some fogging oil or WD-40 into the cylinders to lubricate it prior to startup. Assuming you don't have a frozen engine or trim components and the floor/transom wood is solid then you'll have a great boat I'm sure.

 

[Silent Player]

Re: Resurrection from dry-dock after ten years

I purchased a boat 3 years ago, that had sat for more than 10 years. It was stored inside a machine shop uncovered. The entire interior had a nice black coating of soot on it, but was structurally sound.

Before I purchased it, I changed the oil, the out-drive fluid, put a new battery in it, and put it on the muffs. It started almost instantly, albeit a little rough. After I went through and tuned it up, and adjusted the carb, it ran like a top. Then one afternoon, with a couple of friends and their boats, took it on the river for a test run. She passed with flying colors.

When we got back, I did test patches on cleaning the interior and exterior to make sure everything could be cleaned/buffed out.

I went through all this, because I didn't want to buy a piece of junk. I figured it was cheaper to take the time, effort and minimal money to make sure it was worth darn. You are in a different situation. It's a free boat. I think it would definitely be worth looking into fixing it up.

I think my pre-purchase routine helped to get a solid boat, that I still own and use frequently.

 

[180shabah]

Re: Resurrection from dry-dock after ten years

[or is it the kind of project you'd have to get into the middle of before you'd know the extent of it? /QUOTE]

Exactly.

Could be just clean, rebuild carb, and go

OR

it could be much, much more.

 

[danond]

Re: Resurrection from dry-dock after ten years

It's being GIVEN!? Of course you take it. Who cares what condition its in. Sell the drive, sell a BOLT and you're ahead.

Get it. Figure out if it's worth keeping. If not, part it out. You can't lose.

 

[liquidlew]

Re: Resurrection from dry-dock after ten years

Dang! All that $ you would normally have to cough up to buy that boat will buy you a whole lotta beer! Lucky guy! Btw, welcome to iboats, most of us old boat owners last stop before the suicide hotline!

 

[Skippy J]

Re: Resurrection from dry-dock after ten years

Definately get the boat. Just took ownership of a boat that was stored inside for 12years. The previous owner hadn't even looked at the boat in 4 years.

We cracked open the door and behold a mint condition Wellcraft bowrider with a 3.0 L mercruiser with aplha one.

It had 4 of the flattest tires on the trailer I'd ever seen. But, the boat was covered and no rodents had sought refuge in the interior.

Aired up the 22 year old tires, put some temp trailer lights on and away we went. Still using the same tires.

First thing I did was drain the 12 year old gas out. Pulled the float in gas tank and sucked out every drop of gas. I drained everything on the engine that had gas in it, like fuel pump, hoses, etc.

Next I installed an inline fuel filter with the clear glass between the gas tank and the mech fuel pump and put fresh gas in.

Then I pulled the spark plugs and sprayed WD-40 in the cylinders and let soak overnite.

I checked all the fluids and cracked all the oil drain plugs to see if there was any water in the oils. There was no water.

I decided before I spent a bunch of money on the boat I would see if the engine would turn over. I installed new spark plugs and installed a new battery and turned the key. The engine turned over just fine but would not start. There was no fire.

So, then I took boat to mechanic, first thing they did was install a new impellor. Then got fire by doing a standard tune up. I told them if the boat started to the proceed with a full scheduled maintenence which included oil change, lower unit gear oil change, greased everything, etc.

Boats has been running great ever since.

Good luck,

Skippy J