New to boating maintenance and have a boat with no maintenance, what do I do?

[supr_fly03]

I have looked around in the forums and read through the FAQ's and stuff. Here is what I got:
-1999 StarCraft 2010 GT
-Alpha 1 gen II
-5.0 Chevy with original 2 barrel

I got the boat from my uncle who let it sit for last three years before I got it last year. Here is what I have done so far:
-I checked all the fluids
-Changed the oil and filter
-Changed the fuel/water sep filter
-Replaced several solenoids for the tilt/trim pumps
-Replaced the starter
-Replaced the serp belt
-Replaced the fuel pump
-Replaced the coil
-Put 4 new tires on the trailer and pumped marine grease in the bearing buddies
-Repaired a tail light and ground wire
-Compounded and polished the gel coat, cleaned the inside up, and replaced some of the vinyl
-Got a good boat over with support system to protect all my hard work

I have had the boat out on the water several times and it runs great, but cruising around in the shallow bayou's here in Louisiana took their toll last year. I hit a stump at full throttle that was below the surface and bent and chipped the keel, got caught up in a crab pot and messed the blade up, and the mud and dirt I think have taken a toll on the water pump. It runs about 180 on while planned out but cools back down to 160 while idling around. It started running warmer like that the last two times I took it out last year. The only gauges that work are the temp gauge, speedo, and tach when it wants. I have trouble shot them and found I need a new tank sender, oil pressure gauge, trim gauge, and volt meter.

My uncle said he never did any maintenance except oil/filter, fuel/water sep filter, and lower unit lube every year he had it in the water.

Here is what I have planned to do:
-Pull the lower unit and replace the water pump (housing and all)
-Take the boat to a local fab shop to repair the keel
-Either get the prop repaired or buy a new 3 or 4 blade SS prop

I have decided to buy the boat for $4500 and want to get the rest of the maintenance done (as in DIY) before I move to NC in a few months. What are your suggestions on what I need to do to the boat?

 

[proshadetree]

Re: New to boating maintenance and have a boat with no maintenance, what do I do?

While you have that drive off do a gimbal bearing and bellows change. Good cheap insurance in my opinion.

 

[Don S]

Re: New to boating maintenance and have a boat with no maintenance, what do I do?

I sure hope you changed things like the coil, fuel pump, trim solenoids, and the starter because they didn't work, because they sure aren't something you change as a normal maintenance item like the oil or oil filter.
Tuneups, bellows, raw water pump impellers, filters, belts (if old and deteriorating) are maintenance items. but not hard parts.
Drive gear lube is another item that need yearly change, along with pulling the outdrive, checking the engine alignment, lubing the coupler splines (VERY important if you don't like pulling the engine to replace a $400 coupler), anodes if the boat is ever kept in the water.
I would strongly suggest you visit the Adults only sticky at the top of this forum, trust me, it's not for adults only and do some reading. Especially item #10. http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=329915 there is a link to a 2001 owners manual that is identical to what you have. Well worth the read.
Also look at the "Winterization" and "Summerization" links as well. You'll get an idea how things get done at certain times of the year to make it easy on you and your boat.

 

[supr_fly03]

Re: New to boating maintenance and have a boat with no maintenance, what do I do?

I sure hope you changed things like the coil, fuel pump, trim solenoids, and the starter because they didn't work, because they sure aren't something you change as a normal maintenance item like the oil or oil filter.
Tuneups, bellows, raw water pump impellers, filters, belts (if old and deteriorating) are maintenance items. but not hard parts.
Drive gear lube is another item that need yearly change, along with pulling the outdrive, checking the engine alignment, lubing the coupler splines (VERY important if you don't like pulling the engine to replace a $400 coupler), anodes if the boat is ever kept in the water.
I would strongly suggest you visit the Adults only sticky at the top of this forum, trust me, it's not for adults only and do some reading. Especially item #10. http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=329915 there is a link to a 2001 owners manual that is identical to what you have. Well worth the read.
Also look at the "Winterization" and "Summerization" links as well. You'll get an idea how things get done at certain times of the year to make it easy on you and your boat.

The hard parts I replaced because they were bad. I dont "throw parts" at something till it works again. I always trouble shoot to find the root cause. The starter was bad when I got the boat. It just needed new brushes, but I couldnt find any brushes so I replaced it. I had an issue with the engine breaking down under load when warm. I thought it was the fuel pump and did the tests to it an the flow was below spec. Once I replaced it, the boat ran better but still broke down when warm. Found the coil can was leaking so I replaced it with a new one and it has been flawless since. It would not trim back up and traced it to a bad solonoid, then the following week the other one went out. I will go back and read those threads and make sure the gimbal bearing and bellows are something I want to tackle.

I have been getting all of my replacement parts from the local NAPA and they carry a lot of boat stuff since I live down on the coast. Where is a good place to get part numbers for all of this stuff. I need them to cross over to NAPA part numbers.

On a side note the bilge pump runs pretty regularly so I assume I have a small leak somewere. Anyone got any ideas?