www.iFourWinns.com

Greetings fellow FW'ers. I bought my father's 2004 boat, with 190 hours on it. Since I bought it a month ago, we have put 9 hours on the engine. My dad had it serviced yearly by a reputable dealer/mechanic in NE Ohio. Since I've put it in the water, probably 5 times, I keep noticing a black residue around the drive of the boat at the water line. I also notice what appears to be an oil film coming from the drive area of the boat. All levels appear to be full and clean. I'm very nervous about tearing this thing up within my first month. I know B.O.A.T. stands for "BREAK OFF ANOTHER THOUSAND," but I don't have spare money to spend on a mechanics diagnosis. It burns me up how much they charge for such simple tasks. Ergo, I am trying to be a DIYer on everything.

Welcome Adam,

Most boats will have either a carburettor mounted choke or a cold idle enrichment on the newer FI engines - for cold starts.
When you first start the boat in the water, you'll often get a black line of fuel/ soot that sticks to the transom at the water line.
This happens to my boat every trip.
I'm hoping it's this simple an explaination?!

p.s. Any pic's of your boat?

Daz.

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2011 Four Winns H180 SS.
Aussie built Mustang 2800.
SOLD - 1997 Four Winns Horizon RS

If you see an oily residue, that suggests a leak of some kind. You checked the drive oil level? It could also be the trim system as well, so check that also. Usually the trim pump is in the engine compartment on the port side rear.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

I do have pictures of the boat, but I don't know how to upload them. It's got me thinking it's got to be soot. No fluids on the boat are black, so It just doesn't make sense for it to be a leak. I'm going to check my trim hydraulic reservoir to see the level. I appreciate the comments!

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2004 Horizon 200 4.3L
2012 Toyota Tundra
God is great to me!