Bought first boat...have concerns.

[JLong]

First let me say I know absolutely nothing about boats.

I just bought an 1989 17' Javelin bass boat with a 120hp Johnson v4. The guy I bought it from said it had been sitting for a couple years but he hooked his garden hose up to it and fired it right up....it seemed to run fine. My major concern is that when I got it home I realized that the plug had been left in and even though it had been covered while in storage when I removed the plug it drained for a good 15min!!! Should I be concerned about any damage?? How can I check? Everything I've seen on this boat is fiberglass and I don't know how to get beneath the floor to see/inspect anything.

After doing some research I figure its a good idea to replace the water pump impeller, plugs, fuel filter, change all fluids and lube everything good. Any other tips/suggestion would be greatly appreciated...remember this is my first boat and I don't know much about what I'm doing.

 

[Four86Winns]

Re: Bought first boat...have concerns.

As long as the floor doesn't have any soft spots, it should be alright. The only damage that could occur is the floor to rot due to the condensation in the subfloor. Although, kinda curious as to how all that water got there, if it drained for 15 minutes; check the bottom for any hull damage. And tune up the motor, and lube everything as you described, and you should be fine. Good Luck

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Bought first boat...have concerns.

I realize that '89 is not '98 but I happen to have a '98 sales brochure and in there they boast that some models are total composite (no wood to worry about ...your concern) and they boast a 10 year hull warranty......very good. Course you have to ask yourself is the deck considered part of the hull? Then you have to ask when did they initiate the 10 yr warranty and what did they change in the hull before they warranted it?

So the underlying question is, was there any wood exposed to all that water and if so, for how long, and what did it do to it?

Mark

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Bought first boat...have concerns.

May want to weigh the boat and see if it has retained any water in there in any foam etc. Did that with mine. Did some research to find the original hull weight and motor weight. Weighed the whole outfit, launched boat and then weighed the trailer. Added the on board fuel weight and vro oil in tank weight into the equasion and got my answer.
Servicing the motor is a great idea and will give you a more comfortable feel when you are out on the water.
Good luck with it and let us all know how you go on.

By the way, Welcome to iboats

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Bought first boat...have concerns.

you can find the dry wieght of the boat and engine at NADA boats. this is dry weight as they left the factory, with no gear, gas etc. you may even find your trailer weight also. here's good info for the engine. and take a safeboaters course. http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=158086