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i am buying a 1996 21 ft horizon from my best friend. they moved away 8 or 9 years ago and did not take the boat with them. it has been sitting up that long on dry ground covered and we cleaned it up about 3 years ago but now i am buying it and was wondering what i should do before trying to start it up. i know im going to drain all the fluid and refill and check all my gas lines and drain the tank. Possibly do a tune up (wouldnt hurt) but is there anything else i should definately pay attention to before turning the key? Any advice would be GREAT!!!!! thank you for your feedback.

I'd want to replace the raw water impeller after it sitting that amount of time, the rubber would probably have taken a set into whatever position it was in, and might not pump water well...new battery...but if there was any gas in the tank...I think it needs to be pumped out and the tank cleaned. If it's a carbed boat (most likely) the carb will have to be taken apart and cleaned, I hope that the cylinders were fogged, if not there could be rust in the cylinder walls. I'd also remove all the spark plugs and spray a rust penetrant in there and let it soak in for a week or so before trying to crank it over.

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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 dont know if they fooged it or not. hopefully after doing those things u suggested and draining all fluids and gas it will crank. im only paying 1000 dollars for it so i dont mind putting a lil money into it. i really just hope it runs. do u know how much or where to look online for the impeller?

DO NOT START THIS ENGINE USING THE STARTER. You could do serious damage to it. You could take a marginal engine and ruin it.

The first thing you want to do is make sure the engine hasn't seized. It's been a while since I checked on how to do this (I used to tinker with antique autos). But basically you want to make sure the pistons haven't seized in the cylinders, or the valves rusted solid into their seats. The safest way to check is to pull all the spark plugs, put some Marvel Mystery Oil into the open plug holes and leave it sit for AT LEAST a few hours. And consider putting some regular engine oil up into the valve covers if there's access ports. Then manually turn the crankshaft using a socket wrench. If it won't manually turn then the engine is seized. If it turns freely then at least you know the engine isn't totally screwed.

I've forgotten what's best to do next. Do some web searching on starting old cars. Most of the steps are going to be the same here. Steps like using a power drill down into the distributor shaft to turn the oil pump is one of them. That way you circulate oil without having the full force and heat of actual combustion. It's the initial starting effort that exerts the most wear on an engine. On a good engine that's normal but on one that's been sitting it could really make matters worse.

If you decide to go forward you will need ALL NEW HOSES, on everything. Rubber does not last that long. You do not want to get out on the water and have a hose fail. Kike a fuel line, cooling water hose or hydraulic steering and tabs (if present). And of course replace the impeller before attempting an actual wet start.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Think it might be best to find a good marine mechanic & let them go thru everything & handle the start up. Lots of things are going to need replacing & a good mechanic should be able to cover all of them.

You are going to make sure you prime the oil pump for sure after sitting that long. Also as mentioned before put some Marvel Mystery oil down the cylinders through spark plug holes and try to turn the engine over by hand to make sure the pistons will move in the cylinders. Most of the others have covered this, but just wanted to reinforce what they said.

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1998 Baja Boss 252 7.4L MPI Bravo 1 (SOLD)
2007 FW H200SS 5.0GXI (Sold)
2004 Chevy Silverado 2500 Crew 6.0L (tow vehicle)
1991 FW 170 Freedom 4.3L (SOLD)

thanks everyone for your feedback!!!

At this time of year? Yeah, right. Try finding a reputable marine mechanic with enough free time to fiddle with everything involved. That and you'd pay an absolute arm and a leg for it. Assuming you can even find a 'reputable marine mechanic'. Otherwise you'd have the "fun" of having your job get pushed further and further into the season because there's other simpler stuff he can tackle meanwhile. After taking your 'deposit' money, of course, and then gouging you for per-diem storage (so he makes more money by not doing your work). Call me skeptical, but that's probably not the best route to take for recovering a basket-case boat. There's no way you'd ever recover the total expense involved because of the labor. If it's your own sweat you can chalk it up to your own 'fun, learning experience' and only 'pay' for parts.

If you're mechanically inclined and the engine hasn't seized it's not all that complicated. Just a lot of disconnect this from there and replace it likewise.

If the engine has seized and needs replacing, known as a repower, then it gets a lot more complicated. Mainly because you need a forklift or other sort of crane to get the decking out of the way and the engine removed and reinstalled. And even if the engine isn't seized completely, just marginal, if you really intend to keep the boat then a repower might be the best way to avoid a season full of one breakdown after another. Just be aware you'll likely never recover the cost of it given the age of the boat and the resale market.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Dont be intimidated. Put a 3/4" socket on the crank inside the main pulley and turn the engine over. Pull all the plugs and put alittle oil in each cylinder. Ground your plugs and turn it over with the starter a few times and then put the plugs back in and start working on the fuel system.

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i am mechanically inclined and im hoping after doing everythiong that the engine runs good. it has been sitting but its been covered and your right im not taking it to a mechanic i wouldnt get back until who knows when and i would pay more then the boats worth to get it runnin. but im hoping it will be a pretty easy job gettin it runnin. i hope to find out in the next couple weeks. i will post a new topic to let everyone know how it went. thank you ll for your advice