Boat sat for over a year, now trying to get ready for summer

[jp1669]

Ok so to make this as short as possible. I have a 2001 Chaparral with a 3.0L Mercruiser in it that has been sitting for about a year now that I am now going to try and get up and running. I am looking for more of a sanity check than anything on things to look for and how I should really go about doing this. I know before it went down for a year it had some trouble starting up. Sometimes it would take over 20 mins to get it started and sometimes when idling it would shut off, any ideas? What are the steps I should be doing to get it ready for the summer? Sorry this is my first boat so learning as I go any advice would be good.

 

[aspeck]

Spark, fuel, air, compression. Make sure your battery is charged and ready to go. Make sure you are getting spark to the plugs. Make sure your fuel is fresh and clean and getting to the cylinders. Make sure air filters and clean and unclogged. If all these are okay and it still fails to start, check your compression.

 

[TurtleTamer]

Was it winterized? If not you're probably going to have some trouble unless you're in a warm climate.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Before I started it, I'd want to pull some fuel from the tank and make sure it still looks and smells like gasoline. If it's bad, you should be able to tell, and then you can get it out of the tank. Don't want to pump bad gas all through your fuel system.

 

[Scott Danforth]

to summarize all of the above and added to it:

did you winterize? (if you didnt, hope you live in south texas or south florida)
dont do anything until you drain and clean your fuel system (fuel doesnt last more than a year)
new impeller is highly recommended
new filters highly recommended
clean all your battery cable connections
replace your battery if needed (they dont like to sit)

 

[tpenfield]

What these guys said . . . similar process to if it was a car that had been sitting for a year.

Battery Condition
Fuel Condition
Lubrication in the engine

I'd shoot a bit of fogging oil in each cylinder via the spark plug hole and get the engine to turn over with the starter to the point where you are seeing oil pressure.

It sounds like the engine had a carburetor problem before it was laid up for the year. So you may be doing a deep clean or rebuild on the carburetor.

 

[Scott06]

Teds got you on the right path for sure. Only thing given runability issues you mentioned might be worth checking the spark with an inexpensive spark tester should jump a 1/4-3/8" gap and be a nice blue spark, orange is weak...
if you spark I see good dig into the carb most likely a correct disassembly and cleaning will correct any issues , just ,ake sure to check the fuel filter nonsense cleaning the carb and pumping dirty fuel into it...