Boat has been sitting for 5 plus years!

[stratoscaster23]

I have a chance to purchase an incredible fishing boat for a very, very good price. This boat is in showroom condition (visually) and has less than 30 hours on it. My problem is that it has sat outside, on the trailer, since 2005 without anything being done to it at all except for being covered with a boat cover.

I live in Wisconsin so the boat has seen some pretty cold winters as of late. It is a Ranger 620VS with an Optimax 225 and a 9.9 4-stroke Merc. kicker motor.

First of all, Ive heard some horror stories about the Optimax motors back in that era and when you compound that with the motor sitting for years does that make this motor a lost cause? If not, what can i expect to have to do to get this boat back into good working order?

I'm sure i'll have to go through the trailer brakes as well as replace all 3 batteries on board but what else can i expect to have to do to this boat to make it ready for use? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Its a shame to have such a fine boat just sit for all that time but a tragedy occured to the owner and the people around him just didnt know any better.

Thanks in advance.

 

[stratoscaster23]

Re: Boat has been sitting for 5 plus years!

I should have said that the boat is a 2002 Ranger 620.

 

[86 century]

Re: Boat has been sitting for 5 plus years!

First I would pull the plugs and spray the cylinders down with some type of penetrating oil (wd40 sea foam) before turning it over. While that soaks in look over the lower unit check the lube for water. Check the compression then check it again while you are at it look for spark. If possible bring your own fuel. If the eng has been tilted down you are less likely to see freeze damage.

I have been buying old boats mostly outboard for awhile now and this proses has served me well so far. Good luck

 

[Ki Ki]

Re: Boat has been sitting for 5 plus years!

What's the 'amazing price'? Also, take it from me, bring a mechanic along and pay the guy $100 to look at the engine. Never know what you may be getting into.

 

[DuckHunterJon]

Re: Boat has been sitting for 5 plus years!

Yeah, 2000 to 2002 were the years to supposedly stay away from on the Opti's. I read up on it a fair bit, and there were many failures. At the same time, there were many that never had a problem and are still running.

I'd take a good look at anything that has the potential to rot (look around in the bilge, check the deck carefully, look at seat bases, etc.) Make sure the boat is solid, then move onto the motor. Outboards can take sitting better than I/O's, but still some things to look at. Gas is going to have to be dumped, and tank may or may not need to be cleaned. Dump the oil reservoir as it most likely has water in it. Drain the oil resevoir in the motor, change the fuel filter, air filter on the compressor, and alternator belt. Then, run a compression check (I like 86's suggestion of oil, WD40, or MMO in each cylinder before turning over). The 9.9 is going to need similar attention.

Really depends on how much it is and how much risk you are willing to take on. Could be a steal. That's up to you.

 

[rockyrude]

Re: Boat has been sitting for 5 plus years!

Check out Tashasdaddy's sticky on wakening a sleeping outboard. It is a great list of things that NEED to be done. Nobody has stated the most obvious, replace the impeller and get your self some muffs before you even fire it up. Also get factory service manuals.

 

[stratoscaster23]

Re: Boat has been sitting for 5 plus years!

Lots of great info all--Thanks so much. Turns out that the boat was winterized in 2005 (and not run since) by a dealer and it was garaged in the winters although i'm not sure if it was heated or not. If i decide to buy the boat I will still do all those things that i read that should be done to "reawaken" it.
The "amazing price" btw is $15,000. At least i thought it was an amazing price! Maybe someone will be able to shed some light on that. I know that it was bought for $49,000 back in 2002 and was barely used before being left to sit.
My next quandary then would be to decide on if i want to sell my pretty nice (and very reliable) fishing boat which is a 98 Stratos 219 with a 04 150hp Evinrude Ficht Ram motor.---For those of you that caught that---yes i got Ficht with a 98 175hp Ficht Evinrude!---and buy what i see as a huge step up to the Ranger 620 boat but yet, take a chance on Mercs problem motor which is the 2002 Optimax!