Coming out of Hibernation

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zeus751

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12921
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I have a 2003 Monterey 248LSC with a Volvo motor. I have not used the boat for 3 years, which is when I winterized it last. I will be taking the boat out of hibernation this year and the plan is to use it for the summer and try to sell it between now and the end of the year as I plan on buying another one next year. As I prepare to use it, I am concerned about all the added things that I should check on given that the boat has sat for three years. I am the furthest from a mechanic so I have always brought the boat to the dealer for all maintenance. There are so many questions in my head so here are a few:

1. Monterey Dealer vs any good mechanic that knows Volvo. I have always taken my boat to the closest Monterey dealer that works on Volvos. They happen to be almost three hours away but I thought it was important to do so when the boat was new. Since the boat is now 14 years old and warranties are all expired, is there any benefit to taking it to the dealer or can I go to any reputable Volvo mechanic? Will they be able to help with non Volvo matters? How do I find a reputable Volvo mechanic? Very hard to evaluate a mechanic when I have little understanding of his trade.

2. With the exception of the first year, the boat has been used in fresh water (Lake George, NY). The first year was at the Jersey Shore. I have always trailered the boat and it has not stayed in the water for more than a week. Since I do not have a truck to trailer the boat this year and our schedules will not make it easy to make the 4 hour trip to Lake George often, I have the option to keep the boat at a marina ($$) or at a private residence (FREE) at the Jersey Shore again. This brings a few concerns: The boat is not bottom painted and I do not want to paint it. Since I plan on selling it, I think it would be better not to paint. I have always thought it looks better without bottom paint and never had the need for it. Will I be able to get away with leaving in the water and not painting if I commit to scrubbing it down once a week?

3. Marina vs private residence: How do you leave the boat in the water unattended and not worry 24/7 that something will happen to it? I can save a lot of money if I dock the boat at the private residence but no one is living there, there is no electricity or internet so there is no chance for security camera or anything. No electricity so, do I have to leave one battery on for the bilge pump? will it last a week? The marina offers electric, water and power but my boat is not outfitted for external power. Is there an easy way to hook up external power so I have peace of mind that there will be power to the bilge pump? I dont know if there is any kind of adaptor that will let me hook up my batteries to it and then I can leave them on and not have to worry about the pump or the batteries dying? Or maybe just buy a swimming pool cover type of pump and drop it in the well and hook it up to the external electric?

4. Things to check on the boat since it has sat for so long: Besides the typical spring commissioning, what else should be done? i have a full tank of gas with stabilizer but i am thinking I should get rid of that gas? Should i be checking throttle and steering cables? engine tune up? belts? hoses? What else?

Sorry about the long post. Let me know what you think.
 
3 year old gas--get rid of it before you cause problems for yourself. As far as leaving a boat at an unattended slip with no electricity to run battery chargers--I wouldn't do it. I'm confused here, no shore power on this boat? If that's the case, then I don't think you have a way to keep your batteries charged except running the engine, so I would definitely not leave it in the water at an unattended dock, and I'd even have a problem leaving it in the water at a marina.
 
Thanks for the reply. You are correct, no shore power. I don't know of any kind of "adapter" that would allow me to hook up the batteries to external electric so they stay charged. I agree, the gas has to go... I wish I had my truck back right about now.
 
You don't need an "adapter, you need a marine battery charger and a way to power it (shore power). I imagine any marina would have a problem with you Hooking up a non-marine, not permanently installed battery charger to an extension cord and then to shore power. Again, I wouldn't leave a boat without shore power and a battery charger, in the water unattended anywhere.
 
Non marime chargers may be wired so as to connect AC neutral to negative amn destroy props and shafts.
 
Gotta keep those batteries charged in case the bilge pumps need to run.
 
Also, after putting an hour or so on the engine(s), change the oil.
By now, oil will have come off of most surfaces that it would normally cling to for days/weeks.

At first startup, you are going to be doing some microscopic metal on metal grinding and you'll be getting excessive metals in your oil. Safe bet would be to do a quick oil change very soon after running.
 
Just a thought on unattended in-water storage. No real big deal. Does the cockpit self-bail overboard? If so, not much for bilge pumps to do. Still, it is a good habit to shut all sea cocks. For added insurance & peace of mind add a second bilge pump wired directly to a second battery. Mount the secondary bilge pump float switch in a location higher than the primary pump & switch which is wired directly to the primary battery. A fail-safe system. Not like;y that the secondary pump will ever switch on however if the primary pump fails for whatever reason the higher one will be backup & stop water from rising too far in the bilge.

I used this method in a 21' cuddy cabin that I had. It was not self bailing. Everything that fell in the cockpit went into the bilge. Think I only had a few weeks when there was so much rain that the primary pump killed its battery & the secondary kicked in.
 
Any chance the marina has an in and out service. They store your boat on land. Give them a call an they drop it in when you want to use. Don't have to worry about it when not in use. Best of both worlds.
 
1. Monterrey dealer vs. Volvo Mechanic - Pick any local authorized Volvo shop. Absolutely zero reason to look for a Monterrey dealer once the warranty is up, unless there is a recall.

2. If you don't have a truck and a trailer, how are you going to scrub it every week? You can really do a lot of damage leaving a boat in the water all summer with no paint on the bottom, or you can get away with it, depends on a few things. I kept my boat in the water in Avalon NJ before I painted the bottom - a week was a LONG time to leave it in, but I did it a few times - put it in on a Friday, went boating Fri/Sat/Sun, let is sit all week and then went out the next weekend before hauling on Sunday afternoon. Sunday night was not a lot of fun on my back under the trailer with bottom cleaner & removed barnacles dripping on me. How fast does the water move where your slip is? Surprisingly the faster the water moves, the more gunk that finds your boat, at least that was the case in Avalon. If you had a way to haul and clean it every two weeks, you could probably get by with no paint. Or if you have a slip far from an inlet, where the current isn't ripping through, and you think you are going to jump in the water every weekend and scrub, you may get by.

3. Private Residence - Thousands of boats are left at private residences in New Jersey, very few sink. How well covered is your boat? If you have a lot of canvas, be sure it has a fresh coat of waterproofing on it, and is properly 'tented' so no puddles form. Even in a downpour, hopefully the boat won't take on that much water. My bowrider can sit through a hurricane, and only get an inch or two of water in the bilge. On the other hand, I had a Sport fisherman that seemed to get six inches of water in the bilge on a humid day! I would NOT run any kind of AC power or pump onto this boat, more risk of stray current damage as opposed to boat sinking because batteries died. You can get a solar panel that trickle charges the battery, but that won't do it if you take on several feet of water. In my opinion more boats sink at the dock because the lines aren't set right, and they get trapped as the tide is coming up and down, as opposed to dead batteries being the problem. Make sure your lines are good through a couple high / low tide cycles, and you should be fine. Have enough
fenders to keep you off the dock if the wind kicks up.

4. The old oil and gas have been mentioned, but don't forget to have the outdrive oil changed. You will probably need a new battery. I am not familiar with volvos' but on the mercuriser there is a reservoir for hydraulic fluid to raise and lower the drive. That should be checked.

Do you still have the trailer, and no truck? If I were in that situation, I would buy a crappy old beater of a truck, find somewhere to leave it in Manasquan with the boat, and pull the boat out every Sunday. Wont have to pay marina fees, won't have to worry about sinking, won't have to take on the cost and loss of value associated with painting the bottom. And instead of givng a marina or 'high and dry' operation a couple grand for the summer, you'll have a truck.
 
My little Maritime Skiff is going overboard in a couple days after missing a season of use last year. The engine was fogged & not touched since Sep 2015.

Dumped the gas out of the tank & mixed it with fresh gas which was used in the car & lawnmowers. Changed impeller, lower unit oil, filled tank, did a carb kit service (it is a 2009 Merc 2 stroke) primed it & it fired right up on the second hit. Suweeeet! Gotta love the older smokers. Love this little boat. Great for 2.

http://i.imgur.com/7SSnBnD.jpg target=new
1jtQSid
Click For Full-Size Image.
 
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