Buying a boat that has been sitting for 5 years.

[mike quinn]

I am buying a sailboat with a yanmar 22hp 3gm diesel it was winterized 5 years ago and has not been turned over since and has been dry docked. what is the most likely condition and what do you recommend I do when I take ownership. thanks mike.

[boatman61]

Next time your aboard grab the flywheel and try turning it.. make sure its in neutral.. if it turns, likely all is well.. bar a full service..
But I'm not a mechanic

[HappyMdRSailor]

Service the water pump">raw water pump, top off all of the batteries, check the fluids, slip the feed pipe into a fresh jug of diesel, and crank away....

After she runs a bit, change the fluids and filters out, reconnect the tank feed, and try again... You'll probably be smiling...

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by HappyMdRSailor

Service the raw water pump, top off all of the batteries, check the fluids, slip the feed pipe into a fresh jug of diesel, and crank away....

After she runs a bit, change the fluids and filters out, reconnect the tank feed, and try again... You'll probably be smiling...

All the above but... I'd drain and flush the fuel tank first and top with fresh diesel..

[a64pilot]

You might want to consider pulling the injectors and squirting a little light oil into the cylinders and letting it sit over night first, just in case the rings may have some rust on them. After it sits, spin the engine with it's starter at least until it shows oil pressure because lots of bearings have to be completely dry after sitting for five years, then re-install the injectors and crank her up.

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by boatman61

All the above but... I'd drain and flush the fuel tank first and top with fresh diesel..

Originally Posted by a64pilot

You might want to consider pulling the injectors and squirting a little light oil into the cylinders and letting it sit over night first, just in case the rings may have some rust on them. After it sits, spin the engine with it's starter at least until it shows oil pressure because lots of bearings have to be completely dry after sitting for five years, then re-install the injectors and crank her up.

Waaaaatch out for these guys.... They're smarter than me "most" of the time...

[Stumble]

Check all the water hoses into the boat, and double check the hose clamps. This long being dry can wreak havoc on the rubber.

[mike quinn]

Thanks for the reply's, I was kinda afraid after 5 years everyone was gonna suggest tying a rope around It and using It for a second anchor. I will hope for the best and check to see If Its seized up.

[SkiprJohn]

Originally Posted by mike quinn

Thanks for the reply's, I was kinda afraid after 5 years everyone was gonna suggest tying a rope around It and using It for a second anchor. I will hope for the best and check to see If Its seized up.

Five years sitting in the yard is nothing. Sitting on the bottom of the bay 5 years would be a problem.

Make certain you have clean fuel and a full battery when you try starting it. The suggestion for changing all fluids and filters is a good one. If there is a fill tube on the side of the injector pump you want to make certain that is full. Remember that once you pull your injectors or open any of the fuel pipes leading to the injectors that you'll have to bleed the fuel system to get it to fire. Because you don't know how the fuel is in the tank I'd not use any of it unless you know it is absolutely clean. A lot of bad things can happen to fuel in 5 years. Learning how to bleed your engine is one of those things that all boatowners need to do.

kind regards,

[Rhapsody-NS27]

My 2GM was sitting for at least 2yrs before I started it. After getting new batteries and doing an oil/filter change (the last being done 4yrs prior), the most helpful thing I learned was how to bleed air out of the lines.

This video was of me trying to troubleshoot my 2GM engine.

Bleeding air from Yanmar 2GM - YouTube

[svHannabel]

I received the following advice when I asked this question last year (I ended up purchasing a boat with a new Universal 25XPB instead):

She should start rough and blow lots of white out the back. This should clear up after a few minutes. Check the outflow and make sure she is spitting water. Black water means oil is in the system like was the case for mine- it meant the baffle hose was shooting oil to the exaust causing black dirty water that over time would cause black smoke and eventually run away.

If clean water is coming out and oil and tranny lube is good color then rev up and down in neutral. Shift in and out of gear. IF your tied to the dock it wont matter if you drive in to the dock and throttle up near full load- run her full for a few minutes- check out water flow and listen to engine running for any off setting noises which would be internal problems and you SHOULD PASS. IF it sounds good and runs strong in forward and reverse for 20 minutes then idle back down and leave in neutral and then inspect visually the water and fuel pump. If they do not know the last time the impeller or fuel filter were changed no big concern- this can be done yourself easily on Yanmars.

Idle down to lowest load and check engine mounts. Engine should be virating pretty good knock knock knock this is normal but if mounts are loose this means you will have to take out engine and replace the support beams under the fiber glass (pass on boat) or perhaps just go a bigger gauge moutning bolts and bore deeper down (not so big of a deal)
Shut off engine after 45 minutes running and then inspect hoses- any worn hoses should be replaced bu these are cheap and easy but make sure you make a big stink to lower asking price. make sure not a lot of dust is present around belts which means the belts could be worn (easily replaced) or worse misaligned. If worn replace, if misalinghed I recomend you pass.

Next visually inspect the engine compartment. Is any oil leaking or fuel anywehere? Is the engine hot but not burning? 120 degrees around is normal.
is a stream of water evident from the stuffing box (not engine its self but if stuffing box is leaking AFTER engine is off could mean allignment problems and potential expensive repairs. I recomend you dig further- when was last time stuffing was replaced? This is not big deal- if prop shaft and engine are misaligned this is big deal and you should pass.

If the engine its self runs good, spits clean water, shifts fine, runs under load without weird noises, is held fast to the mounting blocks, and is properly aligned you should not have major concerns. Buy the boat. One thing- If the engine IS vibrating a lot then it could be a fouled prop but since your boat has been on hard you wont need to worry about this unless they have a wrong prop with in proper pitch installed.

If you do buy the boat YOU NEED TO take off the fuel pump and check the impeller visually, take off the fuel pump and inspect/replace the fuel filter, replace the belts, replace any suspicious hoses, and start a log of how many hours you are running on it to keep proper maintenance.

Even if you do get a surveyor this is what they will do. They will not go inside the main engine block or tranny and do anything so SAVE YOUR MONEY AND DO THIS YOURSELF.
If THERE IS a problem inside the engine block dont waste your time- move on. Tranny is not as big a deal they can be replaced by yourself (i did mine) but you will still have to disconnect the engine and remove it from the compartment to get to the tranny which is a lot of work and time so unless you REALLY love the boat just pass- its a buyers market.

[gjordan]

Something that has not been mentioned, is to replace the impeller in the raw water pump. If an impeller sits over the winter, or over 5 years with 1 or 2 vanes bent over at 90 degrees , those vanes are likely to break off very soon after start up. It is much easier to toss the old impeller, than to have to go into the heat exchanger looking for the broken off blades. ___Just a thought. _____Grant.

[mike quinn]

It sure is nice to get all this good advice. It reminds me when I was living aboard in FLA 30 years ago and every night all the boaters would come and sit on their dock boxes and swap all their problems and adventures they had that day. That was before the computer revolution. I am slowly getting used to this new way of chatting. More people more info but I still miss that salt wind in my hair and all the friendly faces. Thanks for the advice

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by gjordan

Something that has not been mentioned, is to replace the impeller in the raw water pump. If an impeller sits over the winter, or over 5 years with 1 or 2 vanes bent over at 90 degrees , those vanes are likely to break off very soon after start up. It is much easier to toss the old impeller, than to have to go into the heat exchanger looking for the broken off blades. ___Just a thought. _____Grant.

First line post #3...

[jeremiason]

A lot also depends on how it was "Winterized" and where it was stored...

As a condition of sale you could save yourself a lot of trouble by asking for an Engine Survey by a reputable mechanic.