So my boats been sitting

I have an Cobia odyssey 195 vbr that's been sitting for about 3-4 years now and i'm wondering what all i should before attempting to start it. From the little research i've done i've gone ahead and drained the old gas out of the carb, replaced the spark plugs, replaced the battery and attempted to drain the gas tank (if anyone knows a good way to do this, i'd appreciate a little guidance). Any other helpful hints or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Re: So my boats been sitting

SlalomKing said:

I have an Cobia odyssey 195 vbr that's been sitting for about 3-4 years now and i'm wondering what all i should before attempting to start it. From the little research i've done i've gone ahead and drained the old gas out of the carb, replaced the spark plugs, replaced the battery and attempted to drain the gas tank (if anyone knows a good way to do this, i'd appreciate a little guidance). Any other helpful hints or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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I did a similar thing to my boat when I got it and it had only been sitting for about 2 years.

I exposed the fuel tank and removed the gage sender (get a new gasket and screws). I used a clear vinyl hose long enough to siphon the fuel out of the boat into 5 gallon containers that were sitting on the ground.

Use a helper to switch containers as they get full.

DO THIS OUTSIDE, NOT IN THE GARAGE TO PREVENT FUEL VAPOR FROM IGNITING!!

Also, you can tip the bow up (assuming the sender is in the rear of the tank) so you can "vacuum" out the debris and water in the tank with the siphon hose.

My engine did not sit that long but I already had the distributor out so I made a drive adapter so I could turn the oil pump with a battery operated drill to prime the oil system.

The oil pressure came up very quickly so that step probably wasn't necessary.


You didn't say if this is a stern drive but you should also probably replace the raw water pump.

There's more...... check the "adults only" sticky in the main forum for more info and a service manual (if it's a Mercruiser)


Regards,


Rick

Re: So my boats been sitting

Thanks for the tip. It's an OMC IO btw. Any hints as to where the gas sender would be? I'd guess it would be in the rear of the boat but i'm not sure (dont have any sort of manual for it). Thanks

Re: So my boats been sitting

The fuel sender unit is mounted in the gas tank. It's usually the only access point there is on a fuel tank other than where the fill/vent hoses attach.

Re: So my boats been sitting

IT's am OMG drive!!!

no free manuals available but you can still get FSM pretty cheaply on ebay. The adults only sticky mentioned still has some pretty good tutorials to guide you along the way.

One OMC specific note - check/adjust/replace the lower shift cable, Cobras are very sensitive to this. If it is not right, they destroy the upper gearset.

Re: So my boats been sitting

Sitting that long I would pump out a bit of what ever is in the pan or loosen the pan drain plug checking for a lot of condensation before starting .

Re: So my boats been sitting

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