Help ... Boat has not been used in 1 1/2 years

[Vegas guy]

Just made offer and was accepted , so I'm going to close on new boat this morning . the boat has been sitting on a Hoist for over a year with no one coming to start it up or anything ... It has 120 hours on it , It's a 2007 2700 SE withthe 350 / bravo 3, marina said it had a annual a year ago ... So my questions
1. Should I drain the gas tank ?
2. Drain oil ?
3. Replace batteries .
Is there anything else I should be concerned about , from a boat sitting 1 or 2 years ?? The reason it was sitting so Long is that the owners got divorced and just didn't care about the boat ... They are very wealthy ... So it didn't mean anything to them .... The boat is in the desert so no humidity ... ... This is my first boat .... Thanks

[mmwjr]

Welcome aboard.

So Vegas area therefore winterization should not have been an issue, i.e. no cracked block due to freezing.

However it should have been prepped for a long layup
Fuel treated?
Engine oil and filter changed?
Drive gear lube changed?
Batteries disconnected?

If the fuel was untreated and E10 IMO have it polished or drained. Oil and lube should be changed. Probably will need new batteries. Raw water pump impeller should be changed.

Was the fresh water system drained? if not do so and flush the system.
Was the holding tank drained? if not it's probably solid caked in the tank.

Take a CG approved boating course.

[Phillbo]

Have a marine mechanic perform a full service on the engine and outdrive.

[shrew]

It's a 9yr old boat with 120 hrs on it and its sat for 1.5 years. I doubt he filled an empty tank before the boat was docked the last time. I would make the assumption that they didn't use the boat much and at least a portion of the fuel is older than 1.5 years.

I've seen several guys try to 'work through' bad fuel by swapping out fuel filters. At least 3 that come to mind all blew their motors in the process of trying to run very, very leaned out fuel.

There are companies that will come out and 'scrub' the fuel for you. I would change the engine oil and drive lube. Little interest typically begets little effort. With hours so low, I would be afraid the PO is skipping maintenance (I only used the boat for 5 hrs this season, why bother changing oil and lube?).

These things should be done yearly anyway.

[Vegas guy]

Thanks ... I am having the marina change and inspect everything ... And start fresh

[Phillbo]

Do you have it on Mead?

[Vegas guy]

Originally Posted by Vegas guy

Just made offer and was accepted , so I'm going to close on new boat this morning . the boat has been sitting on a Hoist for over a year with no one coming to start it up or anything ... It has 120 hours on it , It's a 2007 2700 SE withthe 350 / bravo 3, marina said it had a annual a year ago ... So my questions
1. Should I drain the gas tank ?
2. Drain oil ?
3. Replace batteries .
Is there anything else I should be concerned about , from a boat sitting 1 or 2 years ?? The reason it was sitting so Long is that the owners got divorced and it just sat there ... So it didn't mean anything to them .... The boat is in the desert so no humidity ... ... This is my first boat ....

UDATE :

Had inspection all is good .... I'm having annual done, plus put all new batteries in ..and generator and A/C serviced so it should be good to go ..... He smelled the fuel and said it smelled ok ... This guy has work at the marina for 20 plus years so I trust what he said ... The tank is all most full and the previous owners did put fuel stuff in it ... And it's been about a year . C

[Phillbo]

Add some Marine Stabil and top off the tank at 1/4 tank for a while to introduce fresh fuel and you should be fine.

[mmwjr]

Originally Posted by Phillbo

Add some Marine Stabil and top off the tank at 1/4 tank for a while to introduce fresh fuel and you should be fine.

Adding stabilizer will not make bad gas better. Maybe an octane boaster to help increase low octane from sitting.

[Vegas guy]

Previous owner did all the maintance ... They were going through divorce ... What does scrubbing fuel do ?? And how do I find a company that does it .. Thanks

[mmwjr]

Scrubbing also know as polishing filters the fuel to remove debrie, water, ...

If the fuel has phase seperated it cannot be saved.

Try googling for fuel scrubbing in your area.