Re: More noob questions
I bought a boat, and got a good deal......now what?
I signed up for the safe boating class and got it insured before I drove it home, but know I'm perplexed. The seats need some additional cleaning, what kind of cleaner do you use on the vinyl seats? More importantly how do I 'de-winterize' the engine? There's not really a list of steps to take to properly turn the thing on. What kinds of things should I check for before I fire it up? I know I need to run the blower for a bit before I turn it over but what else do i need to do?
Your local marine store should have some vinyl cleaner, or you can order some online. It will have a mild abrasive plus a conditioner that the vinyl will appreciate. Rumor has it that you should not use Armorall on the vinyl . . . I think it makes them get dirty quickly or something like that. I remember I tried it once just to see what would happen.
De-winterizing the engine . . . start it up, and presto - it is de-winterized.
Of course there might be some pre-season prep that has to be done in conjunction with 'starting it up'. It all depends on how much you do during the post-season prep. Since I'm lazy, I usually end up changing the oil and stuff in the Spring. Usually I keep a list of stuff that needs to be done to the boat and update it throughout the season. Then I decide on what I will do in the Spring versus what I will do in the Fall.
Before I start the engine (oopps, I mean de-winterize the engine), I usually charge up the batteries, take out the spark plugs . . . then I spin the engine with the starter until I see some oil pressure come up. This is so the oil system will be primed 'cuz much of the oil drained down during the winter. It also primes the gasoline line. Having the blower on when you do this sort of stuff is a great thing, as you will get some amount of fumes when spinning the engine.
Under normal starting, etc you are supposed to run the blower for 4 minutes. I only run it for about 3 minutes, but don't tell anybody. As an added measure, I check the blower exhaust vent to see if I can smell fumes. ( I learned that in boater safety class). Keep in mind that you will always smell some level of oil fumes. It is the gasoline fumes that are troublesome.
Once I get the spark plugs back in and reconnect the wires, etc. I'll run the engine on the muffs for a while. I check to see if the temperature comes up like it should, the oil pressure, the voltage all that good stuff.
If I do my Spring prep drill a while before I plan to launch the boat , then I'll usually start it up the day before I go to the launch ramp so that I do not end up being YouTube fodder at the boat ramp.
Anyway, that's enough rambling from me for now.. . . It's lunch time and I'm gonna take a walk outside.
Enjoy.
