CONTINUOUSWAVE

After a long, long time in dry dock, I need to bring my 1982 Sport 13 back into service. It has been so long that, while Continuous Wave remembers my old user name (Dr T), I can not reset the password. My last log in was in 2016. So, like my right leg, my new user name is a bit shorter.

Due to an unfortunate accident in 2019, I have been out of service.

Even worse, the 13 has been out of service since 2018 and I need to get it ready to go out.

In 2016, I replaced almost all of the wood and re-powered the boat with a new Mercury 40 hp 4-strokle with a 4-blade prop. At over 9000 feet above sea level, it will pop up on a plane in about 2 boat lengths and will top out at about 24 mph.

But the problem now is to bring the boat back in service after is has been sitting there. The problem is that I left it with about 10 gallons of fuel in the tank. I had put a healthy amount of fuel stabilizer in the fuel, but I don't know how long it will last.

So, should I just charge the (new) battery up and see if it will start? Or is there more prep work I should do?

PS: Jimh, Thank you for keeping this forum alive. And, thanks for getting the RF side active. The name of the forum, Continuous Wave, was what originally attracted me to the site. -tds

The first thing I would do is remove the spark plugs and spray some oil into the cylinders and let that soak in for a day or 2. Then try and manually turn the flywheel by hand slowly to see if the pistons will move.

Gasoline fuel that was treated by stabilizer eight years ago (2018) might still be combustible, but I wouldn’t take a chance using it in your relatively new four-stroke-power-cycle outboard engine. You probably should drain the fuel from the fuel tank and the engine. Try the fuel with an old-fashioned lawn mower engine that uses oil-gasoline mixed blends. Get fresh fuel for the outboard, and try as best you can to pre-circulate the fuel into the engine, especially if it is fuel injected.

It's virtually impossible to get all the fuel out of your engine. I recommend you consider using a spray can of starting fluid to get the engine to light off and run until the recommended fresh fuel works it's way into the combustion chamber.