Questions regarding low hours

[FLCERIK]

I have a 01 SAN which I typically use for about 30 hours per year. The boat currently has about 450 hours on it. Every other year I have the oil changed and the impeller replaced. Other than that I just winterize the boat in the fall and call it good. This year we just had a baby so our time on the water is limited. We will probably put less than 10 hours on the boat this summer.

My questions are:

1. Does using the boat for so few hours have any bad aspects to it mechanically?

2. The boat has never had a tune up- plugs/wires/belts/ect. At what point do you guys suggest I get a tune up.

3. I am thinking about not winterizing the boat since my garage is heated. Will leaving lake water in the cooling system for 6 months harm anything? Will it cause parts of the system to rust?

[gride300]

RE: Questions regarding low hours

someone will chime in with a list, but there is alot you need to do for storage for extended periods of time and you definitely need new plugs, plug wires, dist. cap, oil, oil filter, fuel filter, probably batterie(s), impeller, trans. fluid change, steering cable, etc. i could be wrong on some of the things.

[WakeSlayer]

RE: Questions regarding low hours

I would stabilze the fuel, drain the block, fill with RV antifreeze and call it good. The antifreeze is more for anticorrosion in your case, and will keep your impeller pliable. I change my oil and filter every year but get more like 50-60 hours. You should not need to change any of that other stuff on a seasonal basis with the hours you average. Why would you need to change out the steering cable ?

[DanielC]

Generally speaking, engines should be ran every two weeks. Also, the fluids should be changed once a season, at the minimum, prior to extended storage.

The engine should fogged with fogging oil, prior to any extended storage. Here is why. Any where the engine stops turning, at least four or five cylinders have either an intake valve open, or an exhaust valve open. This allows air to move in and out of the cylinder when the temperature changes. It is possible for some condensation to form inside the cylinders.
The fogging oil has wax in it, and it stays on the cylinder walls, much longer than motor oil does.
You could also have condensation in the fuel tank, from the long term storage.

The plugs, wires, and belts should not need attention for a long time. It would not be a bad idea to loosen the belts, but remembee to tighten them the next time you use the boat. Keep the battery charged.

What will happen to your heated garage if you lose power? Or natural gas? I took a snow ski vacation to the Tahoe area a few years ago, and was in a rented condo, that had electric heat, and most of the other condos in the area had no heat, a main gas line was washed out in the Truckee river.
If it was me, I would winterize your boat.

[2gofaster]

You're in nevada, so I'm guessing the weather isn't too extreme. Probably about the same as here where it rarely gets to freezing. We usually put stabil in our full gas tank, pull the plugs on the risers and block, put it in the garage in November and pull the boat out in early March. Then we'll change the oil and impeller, put the plugs back in and call it good. This has been the routine for the last 15 years for myself and my ski partners here. We can have our boats ready to run in 30 minutes in the spring.

[FLCERIK]

Thank you for your replies. I live in Reno, NV so the weather does get below freezing during the nights in the winter time. If I lost power/gas and could not heat my garage or home during the winter months I would have much bigger issues than worring about my boat freezing. I would be more concerned about the pipes in my home freezing. The chances of us loosing power/gas for more than a few hours is close to zero. From my understanding in order for the block to freeze it needs to be around 20 degrees for several days.

It seems everyone has a little different opinion on how to maintain the boat with low usage. If anyone else has some good ideas please let me kow.

[WakeSlayer]

At around 20* ambient temp in your garage, it is going to freeze a lot quicker than in several days. It may take a couple days to get to that temp, but once it does, it won't take long.
I tend to agree with Daniel about fogging to extended periods, but in saying that, I have not done it in nearly 15 years, and my boats sit between 6 and 7 months a winter, in stupidly cold temperatures.
Drain the water and fill with 3-4 gallons of RV A/F. Cheap and easy insurance.

[Chris4x4Gill2]

I have all of my seasonal toys(atvs, Boat, Jetski, Motorcycle, lawnmower etc) on pretty mcuh the same maintance schedule. Change oil/filter once a year minimum along with any other "early fail" maintenance items(impellar) Fuel stabilizer in the gas tank at start of storage. For the boats, I drain the water and refill with antifreeze at the end of th e year becasue its cheap insurance. And charge battery with a trickle charger once a month during off season.

Plugs, wires, belts etc. are repalced as needed when they show wear or corrosion

[gride300]

i suggested a new steering cable b/c he says he hasn't done anything for 500 hours and usually by this time water has gotton to it. steering and throttle cables have to be replaced once and a while. i would also try to run as much gas out as possible if you can.

[DanielC]

If your steering cable is bad, it will feel hard to turn the wheel. Same idea with throttle and shift cable.