how long can a boat sit without use?

[JMann]

My wife and I had our first kid last Friday, of course he's the cutest guy ever. So I'm not going run the boat for a month or so but don't want to winterize it yet either. We do think we will get at least a few more days in come September or October.

We live in northern cal with the boat on the side of the house with a canopy with a cover. The boat is a 1991 PS190 with the Indmar 351. My two questions are
1) Is there anything I should do to the boat before it sits for a month and a half?
2) Is there anything I should do before I take it out for the first time?

We've only had the boat for 2 years and never let it sit this long without taking it out of winterizing.

Thanks for you help

[flipper]

Congrats....get him out on the water. Mine, a year now, was only a month when we took him out. You should be fine with it sitting. If you are worried about it, put some fuel stabilizer in it, run it for a while, and dump some sea foam down the carb

[454Prostar190]

Congratulations on your boy! My boys are the best friends that I ever had! Fortunately, our winters aren't very cold like other parts of the country and do like Flipper said:)! A month and a half isn't that long.

[CameronCarey]

yep, Sta Bil and Sea Foam wont harm anything and they can make your life alot better if you happen to let it sit longer than you thought, The other thing i usually do is spray the electronics and switch connections with Boeshield T9 or Corrosion block........

[JimN]

Congrats on the new addition!

Fogging oil wouldn't be a bad idea, StaBil for the gas and disconnect the battery cables. Make sure the cover is vented, since you can have high humidity and fog. The condensation from temperature inversions can really make a mess of things.

[bigmac]

IMHO, rather than disconnecting the battery cables...leave them connected and put a float charger like a Battery Tender on it.

Sta-Bil or SeaFoam in the gas.

[Ramhouse]

We don't use our much any more since the kids are gone. I been using my Whaler a lot. I hook up the hose and run it every week for about ten minutes, even thru the winter, i'm in socal. That way it's always ready to go when the kids say "wakeup dad!"

[kkkeating]

In October, on the last day of the season the people across the slip from us drive their Centurion boat into the slip, throw the cover on and don't come back until May. They don't do anything at all! The slips are covered, but if the boat sunk or the cover blew off they wouldn’t know until May. I would not even think of doing or recommending this but it shows how some folks can luckily get by without doing anything at all. Of course I’ll sure problems will start arising with their boat a few years down the road.

[JMann]

Thanks for the advise. I hooked up the fake lake today and started the boat today. I'm going to leave the fake lake hooked up and will start it every week or so.

Thanks

[Chicago190]

Thanks for the advise. I hooked up the fake lake today and started the boat today. I'm going to leave the fake lake hooked up and will start it every week or so.

Thanks

I add a bottle of Stabil every time the gas in the tank will not be used in 2 weeks.

[JohnnyB]

I would go with StaBil. Buy a bimini and very small life jacket and take the baby out on calm days. My daughter was born on May 3 (2003) and was in the boat about a month later while we were skiing--calm, no traffic lake.

This is now the kid that can't get up to save her life to go to kindergarten on the bus at 7:10am, but if Dad and his buddies need a 3rd for the dawn patrol, she's dressed and ready and fed herself breakfast by 6:30am......

[TMCNo1]

Congrats on the little one!
A month or two is nothing, our '89 sits in the basement for six months during the off season with nothing more than a shot of Stabil in the full tank of premium and a Battery Tender on the battery to keep it charged.

[bigmac]

StaBil or Seafoam (or any of several other such anti-oxidant nostrums) are not unreasonable as gas stabilizers. Gum/varnish and some loss of octane can become significant after about 3 months of storage. Using the stuff more often than that isn't necessary, but probably doesn't hurt anything, and I'm sure it makes those manufacturers and their marketing departments very happy.

[wakesurfer]

Hi someone mentioned sea foam in the gas tank ? as well as sta bil or instead of? thanks for the time

[TMCNo1]

Hi someone mentioned sea foam in the gas tank ? as well as sta bil or instead of? thanks for the time

One or the other, but not both. After you have put it in the tank, fill the tank and run the boat so the entire fuel system will have the treated fuel in it.

[Thrall]

Don't worry about the boat sitting a month or 2. Sometimes it's that long between trips to the lake here due to weather. Doesn't hurt anything as long as it's dry.

[davomaddo]

Congrats. We have 2 kids, both we had in the boat very soon after being born.
The Bimini is key for the little ones. The sun is bright on their eyes and skin.

We found that the hum of the engine would put them to sleep which made wakeboarding with the kids a nice outing.

[JMann]

Thank for all the advise. I didn't get him out on the boat this year, the wife wouldn't let me, but I did order him a life vest from Overton's and will be getting him out early next year.

[Jim@BAWS]

My wife and I had our first kid last Friday, of course he's the cutest guy ever. So I'm not going run the boat for a month or so but don't want to winterize it yet either. We do think we will get at least a few more days in come September or October.

We live in northern cal with the boat on the side of the house with a canopy with a cover. The boat is a 1991 PS190 with the Indmar 351. My two questions are
1) Is there anything I should do to the boat before it sits for a month and a half?
2) Is there anything I should do before I take it out for the first time?

We've only had the boat for 2 years and never let it sit this long without taking it out of winterizing.Thanks for you help


Save the additives...add some good fresh fuel 89-93 octane Run it and be over it

A month or so will not hurt anything

Jim@BAWS

[medicmoose]

I tend to be a little on the anal side and if I were to leave my boat not running for a couple of months I would use the Stabil but I would also change the oil...the acids that build up in used oil play havoc on your lines/rings etc. Again, perhaps this is over-kill but for $25 I can avoid any problems associated with old oil. :twocents:

[JohnE]

I tend to be a little on the anal side and if I were to leave my boat not running for a couple of months I would use the Stabil but I would also change the oil...the acids that build up in used oil play havoc on your lines/rings etc. Again, perhaps this is over-kill but for $25 I can avoid any problems associated with old oil. :twocents:

Interesting take. I only had about 20 hours since my last oil change when I winterized my '09 mcx.. I asked my dealer whether I should change the oil with that little use. (Half of those hours were basically putting around, too. Not skiing) He said he wouldn't waste the time or money changing it. Not that either aspect is significant.:twocents:

[Thrall]

Interesting take. I only had about 20 hours since my last oil change when I winterized my '09 mcx.. I asked my dealer whether I should change the oil with that little use. (Half of those hours were basically putting around, too. Not skiing) He said he wouldn't waste the time or money changing it. Not that either aspect is significant.:twocents:

Yeah, little overkill I'd say. I tend to be pretty anal about maintenance on all my stuff, but bottom line, you won't have any problems associated with old oil if it sits 2 months or 12 months with used oil in the crankcase. Heck, I got a '74 Jeep that, until this year, hadn't had an oil change in 10-15 years maybe. It doesn't even burn oil.

[JimN]

Yeah, little overkill I'd say. I tend to be pretty anal about maintenance on all my stuff, but bottom line, you won't have any problems associated with old oil if it sits 2 months or 12 months with used oil in the crankcase. Heck, I got a '74 Jeep that, until this year, hadn't had an oil change in 10-15 years maybe. It doesn't even burn oil.

I wouldn't worry about a '74 Jeep, either but on an '09 that's still under warranty, I would think about changing it just for the peace of mind. Also, I seriously doubt the Jeep is run the same way as the boat (high RPM, no shifting, etc). Once the acids in the oil start pitting the various metal parts, it's hard to say what would possibly fail first.

[bobx1]

Interesting take. I only had about 20 hours since my last oil change when I winterized my '09 mcx.. I asked my dealer whether I should change the oil with that little use. (Half of those hours were basically putting around, too. Not skiing) He said he wouldn't waste the time or money changing it. Not that either aspect is significant.:twocents:

Same with me. Had about 25 hours since last oil change and dealer said (during winterization) that he would do the oil and trans when I bring it in the spring to get her ready for the summer.

I dont think a 5 month layup with 25 hour oil is going to cause any issues. I had a post a while back that was entitled "too anal" and I think that a lot of guys on this board would be shocked at how people actually treat their boats (MC's included). I would be willing to bet that most people in the south dont have a clue what winterization is and treat their engines like they do their lawnmowers (change it every 3-4 years).

[Jim@BAWS]

I dont think a 5 month layup with 25 hour oil is going to cause any issues. I had a post a while back that was entitled "too anal" and I think that a lot of guys on this board would be shocked at how people actually treat their boats (MC's included). I would be willing to bet that most people in the south dont have a clue what winterization is and treat their engines like they do their lawnmowers (change it every 3-4 years).

Oh we all know what WINTERIZATION is. I can even spell it. We just don't have to worry about it !!! By the way only every 2 years.

Jim@BAWS