Picking up my boat tomorrow

[Thomasj]

I bought a 2009 Tracker Pro 170 from an older disabled man who can no longer use it. The boat was serviced, winterized, shrink wrapped, and put into storage about a year and a half ago. The boat is in excellent condition (with the exception of the trailer tires which I am replacing). The motor (Mercury 40 EFI) has less than 20 hours on it.

I have been trying to schedule service for the boat before I take it out, but the earliest I seen to be able to get it in is about 5 weeks from now. I'm not sure I will be able to wait to take it out to the local lake. Any advice (silly question as there does not appear to be a lack of advice or opinions here!) As to whether I should wait to get it serviced before taking it out? I might take it to one of the small, electric motor only lakes a few times until I can have someone go over the engine.

[bdog7198]

Personally, I would not take it out until it was fully serviced after sitting. Won't be fun to wait but better off in the long run.

Congrats on the new boat!!

[cwenbass]

x2

Personally, I would not take it out until it was fully serviced after sitting. Won't be fun to wait but better off in the long run.

Congrats on the new boat!!

[idbefishing]

If it has been winterized, I'd would just take it out. It would be smokey when the motor first fired up but the smoke will clear when the fogging oil has burn off. Can't be too many thing wrong with it if any at all. If you're mechanically inclined at all, you can work on that motor yourself.

On second thought, how long has it been sit? a season or two I wouldn't worry about it.

[snoopy]

Personally, I would not take it out until it was fully serviced after sitting. Won't be fun to wait but better off in the long run.

Congrats on the new boat!!

What kind of service needs to be done after bringing it out of storage? says it was serviced and winterized before storage. never had to winterize about so just curious

[pa.X19]

I would run it before anyone puts their mitts on it other than me.

[yj99t04]

you could do the normal stuff you would do after winter storage, but the main thing I would be concerned about are the fuel lines. Being a 2009 it might have the old fuel lines and they could be a mess due to ethanol gas. Once you start it up, it could suck that crap in and make a big problem.

[Locknload59]

If the boat was serviced and winterized before it was stored I think you are good to go with new gas and a battery charge and check.

Check your fuel lines and bulb for rotting.

[Skunked again]

Pull the spark plugs, squirt some oil or fogging oil in, replace plugs. 1st - Verify you have the correct plugs. Run it at home. Either on muffs or in a trash can. To verify it starts/runs, and that it "pees". If it doesn't pee, start looking for a blockage, muddobbers LOVE to build in the various ports . Replacing a water pump is usually quite simple. Common wrenches and ratchets is usually all that's needed, and YouTube!

[RyanJ]

It was winterized. Put a lil fresh gas in and go.

[Late Bite]

Make sure its pissing water and go for it.....

[fr8dog]

I'd clean it up, do some routine checks on plugs, lower unit lube, etc. Only thing I'd be concerned about is the impeller and maybe the seals.

[mxmike]

Congrats on the new boat. So your saying you bought this boat without ever seeing it running?? As others have said, just some some basic checks and you should be good to go.

Where are you located in Pa. ? If you are anywhere close to me in NE Ohio/Pa line, you are more than welcome to bring it to my house and I could go through it and check out these things to get you going.

[yatesville88fan]

Congrats on the new boat. If you can get plenty of fresh gas in the boat. Fill it up and head to the lake. Like said above, it will smoke until the fogging oil burns off. Let it warm up good good and go.

[jarhead175]

Post this question one the Merc page and let one of the guru's walk you through what to do correctly.

[Casslaw]

I agree with most of what has been said. Once you get it all unwrapped and check everything out, make sure your batteries are good and will hold a full charge. Then fill her up with gas and run it on the muffs for 15 min or so. As long as she’s running fine and you have looked the boat over to make sure there are no bare wires and the batteries are good, take her to your nearest lake and learn your new boat!

Congrats!

[Skunked again]

Mxmike - That's a hell of a offer!!
Kudos to you !

[Bassmeister]

Mxmike - That's a hell of a offer!!
Kudos to you !

DITTO!

[Thomasj]

Congrats on the new boat. So your saying you bought this boat without ever seeing it running?? As others have said, just some some basic checks and you should be good to go.

Where are you located in Pa. ? If you are anywhere close to me in NE Ohio/Pa line, you are more than welcome to bring it to my house and I could go through it and check out these things to get you going.

Thanks for the offer but I'm 2 hours from the Ohio border. I'm driving 2.5 hours East to pick it up. I bought the boat at a price that took into consideration that I hadn't seen it run. The guy has all the paper work for the maintenance that was done on it so I feel pretty comfortable.

I do need to replace both batteries - they were shot so the owner took them out before storing it. I'll also replace the fuel lines, I've been down that road chasing gremlins in a much smaller boat motor only to find a bad fuel line.

We'll probably launch it on our favorite electric only lake to get a feel for launching and trailering it and to get some fishing time in. I'll likely end up taking it to the lake near my home and at least putting it in the water to start it up and see how things go. I do want to get it serviced though.

Another question, there is a boat mechanic in my town who has been in business for over 30 years. He was an authorized Johnson/Evinrude service dealer for a long time and has an excellent repetition. Since the engine is out of warranty, should I have this guy do routine maintenance and winterization or should I drive the two hours to get to an authorized Mercury service center?

[PolarKraft195]

The boat was serviced, winterized, shrink wrapped, and put into storage about a year and a half ago. The boat is in excellent condition (with the exception of the trailer tires which I am replacing). The motor (Mercury 40 EFI) has less than 20 hours on it.

My opinion......put as much fresh gas as you can in it, take it to the lake, and pretend ya had it out just last week! It should be just fine!