starting a boat after sitting for 6 years

My friend was in the military for 6 years and now that he has returned he would like to unmothball a "fogged" engine after sitting for 6 years on a 2003 Seaswirl with a 150hp Yamaha 2 stroke.
The boat has been covered and this engine has less than 100 hours on it.
The fuel tank was drained before he left but I can only imagine that what fuel that was left in the talk is now hard as a rock.
Can anyone suggest the type of problems I may have in the future and how to proceed before I begin?
Should this tank be yanked and cleaned or just run her and change the fuel filter often?
Replace fuel lines?
Could I expect the rings to be stuck and not free?
Thanks in advance for any assistance you have to offer no matter how small. All feedback is appreciated!

Re: starting a boat after sitting for 6 years

From my similar experience here is what I did.
I could not pull my inboard tank so I ran a garden hose into the tank thru the sender hole and drained what gas was left in the tank.
I pulled the drain screws from the carbs.
I put a couple of gallons into the tank, disconnected the fuel line from where it feeds into the filter inside the engine cowling and pumped some gas through the lines to clear them of any trash left in them. Reconnect and pump some gas into the carbs, letting the gas drain through the carb drain screw holes. OK that should take care of the fuel issue as long as you have checked the filters. I strongly suggest a water/fuel filter.
Pull the spark plugs and sprayed like WD40 into each cyl let sit a bit and turned the engine by hand. If everything is free clean/check plugs and reinstall.
OK. Now move to the lower unit. I pulled the prop regreased and put back on. Changed the lube in the lower unit, checking the condition when draining. Milky could mean water. Drop lower unit and replace impeller
Fully charged battery. Grease all fittings.
Put on muffs and start. Note that pee outlet will probably be stopped up. A small nail can open it back up.
I probably missed something here but the only thing you might face is a carb cleaning. mainly try to only get fresh clean gas into the carbs before starting engine.
Good luck

Re: starting a boat after sitting for 6 years

Look here, tightlines:

http://forums.iboats.com/engine-fre...kening-sleeping-outboard-boatbuoy-158086.html

Re: starting a boat after sitting for 6 years

Just going to throw something out there that I didn't see on the link. When you fill the tank after cleaning premix the gas just in case the oil mixture system is plugged. Same procedure on a new 2 stroke outboard. I actually had a blockage when I first got my outboard and if it wasn't for the premix the brand new engine would have been toast. I waited until I the oil level went down and I knew it was working.

Re: starting a boat after sitting for 6 years

Unless a fuel system treatment like Stabil had been added to the fuel and then the engine run to draw the treated fuel into the carbs, I would not think about starting this engine without a carb rebuild. Plain and simple -- it is needed. Running that engine lean on even one carb is a good way to burn it down. It is simply not worth the risk. Before doing anything, you might want to turn the engine over by hand. If you can't, it is stuck and needs to be determined how badly. Hitting the starter on a stuck engine is a good way to break things.

Re: starting a boat after sitting for 6 years

Silvertip: If the engine was fogged, as he said, and fresh gas pumped thru the bowl drains, would you still recommend a carb cleaning? All this assuming that the pistons are free. After 6 years I would not think that any fuel treatment would have any effect after this long.
I'm just trying to pick the mind of someone much more knowledgeable than myself.

Re: starting a boat after sitting for 6 years

Thank you mygrady, JB, babbot, and Silvertip. all for these valuable answers... Awakening a sleeping outboard...great info here also!! If there is any fuel in there at all I suspect it to be like varnish or hard amber. An extra fuel filter or two on hand for a few years may be highly recommended also. If I were to mothball the fuel tank, maybe I would drain the gas put 2 sroke oil in the tank, pump it out repeat a couple times till it comes out thick to prevent blocks of tarnish from building up. I`ll be doing just a preliminary on this boat on Friday, I believe my friend wants to part with this boat. I want to putt the plugs first and boroscope before spraying oil in there or turning it over. I will follow all your recommendations. I would like to at least get it to idle to check voltage regulator(s) and make sure these high dollar components work. and get a quick compression test to make sure they are all within 10%.