New Boat Owner. Some Tips/Advice Appreciated

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FloodCityKid

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Jun 24, 2012
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Location
Gainesville, FL
I just got my Dad's old 1979 Bass Tracker from PA and brought it down to where I live in North Central Florida. My dad is getting older and its been sitting in the garage unused for about 7 years now. The motor is a 15 HP Mariner that was bought new in 1995 with low hours on it. I am trying to get an idea of what I need to do to get it ready for saltwater (or any water for that mater). This is my first boat and would really appreciate any advice. I've had some friends with boats give me random tips here and there. I want to go out and fish the flats out in the Gulf and go scalloping. I'm sure the boat will be fine if I go out on calm days and stay close to the shore.

What I've done so far:
* New tail lights for the trailer
* Got a battery, tested the electronics. All wires are in good shape and the bilge pump still works.
* Started the engine (couldn't wait). I had a buddy who used to work at John Deere on small engines look at it, said it was fine to start, said it looked brand new. It idled and reved fine. Didn't put it in gear though. The muffs are right against the prop. I'm going to replace the gear oil then try to put it in gear this weekend and see what happens.
* There are two cracks above the water line. You can kinda see them in the picture. I'm going to scrape out the old silicone and fill them with JD weld marine epoxy.
* Cleaned the gas tank and fuel line.

Am I missing anything? Ive read alot online, and asked people alot of dumb questions. But theres not really a "Old Boats for Dummies" book out there. If there was, I'd buy it.

Thanks for your help!

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FloodCityKid said:
What I've done so far:
* New tail lights for the trailer
Double check these are waterproof and solder the connections using electronic solder, not plumber's solder.
* Got a battery, tested the electronics. All wires are in good shape and the bilge pump still works.
This right here is going to be your biggest problem over time. If it's a Bass Tracker and has the original wiring, it doesn't have tinned wiring nor are the connections waterproofed. In this case, where you are going out in salt water, you want tinned wire and you want your electrical connections to be soldered as much as possible and water proofed as much as possible. Salt water is very corrosive and has a way of getting into all your vulnerable spots. You don't want to be in a bay with the tide running out, the current going out or be off shore and have your boat die on you due to bad wiring. So upgrade your wiring.

* Started the engine (couldn't wait). I had a buddy who used to work at John Deere on small engines look at it, said it was fine to start, said it looked brand new. It idled and reved fine. Didn't put it in gear though. The muffs are right against the prop. I'm going to replace the gear oil then try to put it in gear this weekend and see what happens.
If it's been run in fresh water, it has either a plastic or aluminum water pump. You're going to want to upgrade to a stainless steel pump for salt water. This is a critical thing to prevent over heating and loss of your motor.

* There are two cracks above the water line. You can kinda see them in the picture. I'm going to scrape out the old silicone and fill them with JD weld marine epoxy.
Double and triple check everything below the water line. The ocean is NOT a kind mistress to those who come unprepared. It's a lonely feeling to be offshore with a broke boat and a storm coming in.

* Cleaned the gas tank and fuel line.
With today's alcohol added gasoline, consider replacing all hoses, from the fuel lines to the hoses on the motor. Have a local marine mechanic inspect the carbs to make sure hte rubber seals aren't damaged by alcohol. Dump out any old fuel and make sure the gas tank has no water in it. The new fuels are bad for this. Also, consider adding a water/fuel separator filter and replace your inline fuel filters. Depending on how long back in the past the carbs were rebuilt, consider having them rebuilt just to upgrade the carb gaskets to handle alcohol based fuels better. This is an ongoing problem around Atlanta and the big lakes here with many folks. Buddy of mine is having a heckuva time because his hard to remove built in fuel tank has water in it from alcohol based gasoline has drawn water into the gas tank, now he's having issues due to water in the carb bowls. He's going to end up spending a buncha money to get that tank out and replaced with a clean tank.

Am I missing anything?
Check the condition of your wooden decks and make sure they are good. If they are, seal the wood with either epoxy resin or spar urethane. Replace the carpet with Grizzly Grip or something similar. Use a color that's easy on you in the Florida sun. This way, your boat decks won't rot out on you over time due to carpet on wood that's not water proofed. (thank bass tracker for that one) While you have the decks out, check the floatation foam and make sure it's not soaked and causing the boat to weigh a ton. If it is, pull it out and replace with closed cell phone.

Ive read alot online, and asked people alot of dumb questions. But theres not really a "Old Boats for Dummies" book out there. If there was, I'd buy it.
Reading the restoration forum here, especially doing a search for boats like yours (and there's a bunch of them) will teach you a lot about potential problems with your boat.

Hope this helps. Better to be prepared than get stranded on the ocean. She's not a kind mistress for those who don't come prepared.

One last thought: Post pictures of your boat and the work you do to her as you do it in the restoration forum. Guys will comment, help you and encourage you.
 
Thanks for the advise. I'm going to be getting a new water pump put in this week. Went out and fixed the trailer wiring too.

I luckily, or unluckily, forgot to pull the plug from the back of the boat and with all the rain last week it filled up with water. The good part about it was that I saw a huge bondo glob dripping under the boat when I was taking the cover off. Me and a buddy chipped it off and it was covering a rivet. Epoxied the rivet. None of the other rivets seemed to be dripping or leaking. No other bondo repair jobs down there either. Off to Harbor Freight for a Tarp!
 

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