2007 SANTE 220 - 4 year old boat with 12 hours, which has been sitting. Advice?

[Pinsmeister]

I purchased a 2007 220 which had been neglected. It wasn't abused, as it only had 11.9 hours on it, but it had been left out in the sun and generally not well maintained. Trying to get it cleaned up and ready to go, considering that in a sense, it was never really broken in.

Cosmetically, I need to replace most of the sun damaged skins, replace the Clarion Remote, replace one faulty amp, buy/install carpet, replace all Sano pads, buy the removable stern seat, and find a cover. Let me know if anyone has any of these available at a good price.

Mechanically, I had a compression check done when I first purchased it, and the results were: 1-210, 2-210, 3-205, 4- 200, 5-200, 6- 185, 7-205, 8-190. The guys from Nautiques of Orlando who did the inspection felt like this was acceptable, likely considering that the boat has been sitting for a couple of years. They had to replace the battery, but it started easily and ran fine afterwards. Additionally, the belly ballast pump wasn't working, and the water pump was noisy, (impeller moved freely, but I'm a worrier). I'm replacing both.

My question is mostly relating to what can/should be done at this stage in the game to ensure a long, trouble feel life... Oil has been changed, Fuel drained and replaced, and V-Drive/Transmission looked fine. Change anyway? What about cleaning injectors? Would that get the compression in each cylinder a bit more in sync? I understand 10% flux is acceptable, and maybe just running it will help. Other suggestions for essentially 'breaking in' a 4 year old boat? What can/should be changed/replaced, and is there anything I need to do during it's first year of operation to break it in? Thanks in advance.

[holdendaniels]

I bought a neglected 2007 210 but it had 200 hours on it. I would not worry about the injectors. I would replace the impeller, change the motor oil every 50 hrs and run it. If the fuel that came out looked cruddy, I would drain the fuel filter after a good days use to see if thats going to be a problem. Hopefully, you got a great deal on the boat.

[DanielC]

With only 12 hours on the engine, it is not broken in. That may be one reason for the lower compression on one cylinder.
The biggest problem with an engine sitting for long periods of time is this. Oil slowly runs off the cylinder walls inside the engine, and because 5 or 6 cylinders on a V-8 engine have either an intake, or an exhaust valve open, no matter where you stop the engine, there is an air exchange in the cylinders, and under some conditions, condensation can get on the cylinder walls, and you get some surface rust.
That rust is gone now, the engine was turned over when the compression test was done, and ran. Was the compression test done with the engine warm, or cold, before starting it?
I would get it warm, and change the oil and filter again. What rust that was on the cylinder walls in now in the oil. If any other oils have not been changed, do it now. (v-drive, transmission)

By now, hopefully the old gas is been taken out of the boat. Change the fuel filters, both in the FCC, and any additional fuel filters there are.

Ok, now all the fluids have been changed, you got fresh gas in it. Time to break in the engine. You want as light of a load on the engine as possible. No ballast for until you have 25 hours on it.
Basic rules for breaking in an engine.
Never thrash a cold engine. EVER! Warm the engine up. Even after it is fully broken in.
Watch the temperature gauge. Do not run at a constant speed. Do not run at a constant high speed. After the engine is warm, after running it for about 15 minutes, after the launch, do this.

Stop the boat in the water, in a clear space, with lots of room.
Put the boat in gear, idle about 10 feet, and Wide Open Throttle. As the engine hits 5000 RPM, back to idle position, still in gear. Do not run the boat for more than 15 seconds at max rpm, if you do not get to 5000 RPM.
After the WOT run, and stop, cruise around at 2000 to 3500 RPM, always changing the speed, with turns, just playing with the boat.
After about 2 to 5 minutes of playing around, A WOT run again.

The reason for running the boat at WOT is this. WOT forces the piston rings against the cylinder walls hard, and wears both the piston rings and cylinder walls to each other. This matches them to each other, and they then seal better.
Closing the throttle after the WOT run creates a high vacuum inside the cylinder, and this draws a little extra oil into the cylinder, and this oil helps wash the wear particles away from the cylinder walls. That is why you have to change the oil again at 25 hours.

Keep repeating the above process, until you get about 25 hours on the boat. As You get close to the 25 hour point, you can start to pull people for short runs. Ideally, someone light, that does not want ballast. Try to avoid pulling someone for a long run, however.

TAKE THE BOAT IN FOR THE 25 HOUR SERVICE! Have the fluids changed again.
The 25 hour service is very important. It allows a qualified person to basically check the boat over, and find any problems that will be much more expensive if you do not get this done. Keep track of any problems and concerns you find with the boat, so you can bring them to the dealers attention at the 25 hour service.

After getting the boat back form the 25 hour service, you can start to use it normally, however, avoid funning with full ballast, except for short periods of time.

Avoid wake surfing for as long as you can. The excessive heavy loads, combined with the slow speeds "lug" the engine. Get the engine up to around 100 hours before you do this. I would also avoid pulling any inflatables before 100 hours. They also put a much greater load on the boat and engine than most people realize.

[Pinsmeister]

Thanks. That was exactly...

the detail I was looking for. I'm hopefull that the low compression cylinder will work itself out as I break it it and wear off some of the buildup.

I wasn't there for the inspection/compression check, so I can't be sure at what temp it was tested, but it was mid-day in central Florida, hooked up to a hose. Assume they let it run for a bit before the check, but again, can't be sure. I will make sure to drain and replace everything, and then plan on doing it again at 25. The 12 hours without much load is no biggie, though no surfing until 100 will be brutal!

Appreciate the time and effort that went into your response!

[DanielC]

Reality is you can wake surf before that. But I would not wake surf below 50 hours, except for very short periods of time. The problem with wake surfing is the RPM range you are running the engine, with the heavy load.

I will admit it. I do not like wake surfing. Not only does it throw wakes off to the sides of your direction of travel, it leaves rollers in the water behind you that slowly travel down the length of the river or lake you are in. You can travel a few hundred feet behind another boat wakeboarding, or waterskiing, and have smooth water between their wakes, but you cannot do this with a wakesurfing boat. They leave rollers along their entire path. And keep on mind, a wake surfing boat throws larger wakes off to the side, also.

Here in Oregon, we are starting to lose areas of the rivers for all towed watersports, and one of the main arguments used for banning towed watersports is the shoreline damage caused by large wakes.

[maxpower220]

You have had most of the fluids changed. I would ensure that all fluids are changed and install a new impeller. After that, "break in" may or may not be needed. You have no idea what was done by the original owner, he may have barefooted for 11 hours. If you follow the break in described above or by the owner's manual, there is no harm.

As for the cylinders compression, I would forget about ever knowing that. If the boat runs fine, then run it and change the oil every 50 hours. If you have problems down the road, then relook at the compression. I purchased my boat new in 08, I have no idea what the compression is on that motor. It doesn't matter until you have problems.