Motor Boat Questions - Need Help

[akthor]

Ok been fishing my whole life and besides having a 10' jon boat with a 4hp motor in my early 20's most of my boating experience is with canoes and Kayaks.

At the end of last summer I met a new woman. It got pretty serious and we started "going out" She is a great gal and a definite bonus is that she came with a pickup truck and a nice if neglected fishing boat.

As such I have sort of inherited her dad's old boat. He left it to her when he passed and since it was her dad's even though she has had no idea how to run it or maintain it she hasn't wanted to part with it.

So when I met her is had sat outside uncovered for a couple years at least.

We got it registered and read the manual and got her running with no problems. Took it fishing a few times and it was pretty awesome.

Of course having sat with no maintenance for so long there are issues but it was the end of the season pretty much by the time we got it out on the water so I figured I would cover it up for the winter and address them in the Spring.

Well Spring has sprung. My original intention had been to bring it to a marina and have them do a ful service on it and fix the items in question and perhaps perform the upgrades we wanted but............ in Oct of 09' I became unemployed so I really need to try and do this myself. I have a friend who is fairly mechanically inclined to help. But neither of us has much boat/outboard knowledge.

So the issues:

the power tilt/trim stopped working on the last trip

I can fill the livewell but I don't see how it drains

Has a fish finder installed, screen is all full of moisture, I think it sat outside too long. Can I buy another one and hook it to the existing wiring

Motor runs, but hasn't been serviced in who knows how long, so I would like to tune it up change fluids to avoid any problems in the future

we would to replace the decking with knew decking with new carpeting on it. I know how to do the pieces I can reamove with screws but the floor look like it was put in and the the seats/console/livewell were put in on top which is an issue since whereever those pices meet the hull on the sides they are riveted in so I am thinking removing them to get at the floor would be bad.

16' Starcraft aluminum boat
25hp mecury outboard

I included some pics of what I am talking about. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Also if there is a better place to ask my questions just point the way. Thanks

 

[akthor]

Well I tried to post pics but it doesn't seem to be working

 

[dodgeem33]

First thing with the motor, if it layed up that long you probably have Ethonal problems with the gas which means draining the gas tank and rebuilding the carb(s). At least start running starbite startron in the gas, mix it heavy. You can pick it up at most boating stores or walmart. Trim motors go bad, if you check the connections and still no luck you might need to replace it. Sunshine might be the best medicine for the fishfinder.

 

[Mike Fennessy]

I don't know a ton about boat motors but you'll probably want to replace the impeller. It's a piece of finned rubber in the lower unit that pumps the water through the motor to keep it cool. They get brittle after several years. Some people change them yearly if they run in sandy or silty water. They're cheap, pretty easy to change and can casue a lot of damage if they stop being effective. I'd also change the grease in the lower unit. Also cheap and easy.

 

[beau5278]

If the engine started and ran ok last year,it probably doesn't need much,that should be a 2cyc so there aren't any fluids,except the gas,you will want to find out the proper mix ratio and start running fuel stabilizer like suggested.If you get the model number off of the engine,you should be able to find a manual online,check with boating forums,it shouldn't be hard to find,even if it's just an owners manual it should give you specifics of maintenance.

 

[Domanfp]

I know Im not the only one who had other ideas in mind when I read the thread title.