My in laws neighbor sold us the boat for $10k. He owns a successful auto shop and is one of those guy who washes/details his cars every weekend, and takes care of his stuff meticulously, so we felt good about our purchase. The original owner was a customer of his (a Dr.) who took the boat to his auto shop every fall for winterization. The Dr bought it for his kids and after they all grew up and moved off to college this guy GAVE IT to our neighbor for free.
Long story short, the boat was always docked in the water (never on a lift) and neglected. When our neighbor brought it home he spent DAYS cleaning the boat and got all the seats, etc reupholstered with factory original colors. The gel coat is surprisingly in great shape. Being a mechanic and all, he rebuilt or replaced everything that needed it. His hard work paid off and the boat literally looks brand new. Amazing what some TLC will do.
Fast forward to September, we bought it just in time to...... store it for the next 6 long, cold, freezing, snowy, Michigan winter months. It was a total impulse buy but my wife and I felt like this was a good opportunity to buy our first boat at a cheap price. I admittedly didnt do much research into Tahoe boats and was seduced by it looking brand new. Anyway, We pulled it out of the water in October, got it shrink wrapped and stored in my father in laws lot across the streeet from the lake.
Heres where things have me worried. The day before the shrink wrappers were scheduled to do the boat, I went over to pull the battery for the winter. The boat had been covered, but the 2 days prior to pulling the battery we got some serious rain.. like 4 inches in 2 days. I thought the cover would do its job but man was I wrong..
I opened the engine compartment and was horrified to see water. Lots of water. So much so, it literally filled the entire bilge/ transom area all the way up to the engine block and was about 3 inches away from touching the battery itself. Just guessing but thats like 12-18 inches of water from bilge to the battery area. Heres what happened. When the neighbor winterized the boat he screwed the drain plug back in. I shouldve checked it but didnt, and the boat had sat for 2 weeks (covered.....) prior to me pulling the battery.
Sooooo...I pulled the drain plug and left the hatch open for 24 hours. But didnt have any time to inspect everything closely.. The shrink wrappers came the next day and did their thing. So the boat is officially hibernating for the winter.
Now, after researching possible issues the water may have caused, I think I have a huge problem..... Apparently, I shouldve pulled the drives upper unit and checked to see if rain water had filled up the bellows from the inside. Judging by how much water was in the transom, Im 95% sure the bellows is completely full of water. Which means come spring, my gimbal bearing will be seized, the u-joints shot, and possibly a lot more.
Mistake #2: I didnt lower the drive unit down before I pulled the battery. Its stored in the half way up position which I discovered is another no-no. Even if theres not enough water in the bellows to ruin it when it freezes, having it sit for 6 months Trimmed up will probably crack it.
Some hard lessons learned in my short time as a boat owner....
Long story short, the boat was always docked in the water (never on a lift) and neglected. When our neighbor brought it home he spent DAYS cleaning the boat and got all the seats, etc reupholstered with factory original colors. The gel coat is surprisingly in great shape. Being a mechanic and all, he rebuilt or replaced everything that needed it. His hard work paid off and the boat literally looks brand new. Amazing what some TLC will do.
Fast forward to September, we bought it just in time to...... store it for the next 6 long, cold, freezing, snowy, Michigan winter months. It was a total impulse buy but my wife and I felt like this was a good opportunity to buy our first boat at a cheap price. I admittedly didnt do much research into Tahoe boats and was seduced by it looking brand new. Anyway, We pulled it out of the water in October, got it shrink wrapped and stored in my father in laws lot across the streeet from the lake.
Heres where things have me worried. The day before the shrink wrappers were scheduled to do the boat, I went over to pull the battery for the winter. The boat had been covered, but the 2 days prior to pulling the battery we got some serious rain.. like 4 inches in 2 days. I thought the cover would do its job but man was I wrong..
I opened the engine compartment and was horrified to see water. Lots of water. So much so, it literally filled the entire bilge/ transom area all the way up to the engine block and was about 3 inches away from touching the battery itself. Just guessing but thats like 12-18 inches of water from bilge to the battery area. Heres what happened. When the neighbor winterized the boat he screwed the drain plug back in. I shouldve checked it but didnt, and the boat had sat for 2 weeks (covered.....) prior to me pulling the battery.
Sooooo...I pulled the drain plug and left the hatch open for 24 hours. But didnt have any time to inspect everything closely.. The shrink wrappers came the next day and did their thing. So the boat is officially hibernating for the winter.
Now, after researching possible issues the water may have caused, I think I have a huge problem..... Apparently, I shouldve pulled the drives upper unit and checked to see if rain water had filled up the bellows from the inside. Judging by how much water was in the transom, Im 95% sure the bellows is completely full of water. Which means come spring, my gimbal bearing will be seized, the u-joints shot, and possibly a lot more.
Mistake #2: I didnt lower the drive unit down before I pulled the battery. Its stored in the half way up position which I discovered is another no-no. Even if theres not enough water in the bellows to ruin it when it freezes, having it sit for 6 months Trimmed up will probably crack it.
Some hard lessons learned in my short time as a boat owner....
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