Buying a boat that has not been used for 3 years

RIN

RIN

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Is this a good idea? Boat kept in the water and engines serviced three years ago but no use of the boat since then. What problems are likely to come up with the engines? 2 x KAD300. Or would a complete service fix everything? Should I be wary? Any views?

Cheers

RIN
 
RIN said:
Is this a good idea? Boat kept in the water and engines serviced three years ago but no use of the boat since then. What problems are likely to come up with the engines? 2 x KAD300. Or would a complete service fix everything? Should I be wary? Any views?

Cheers

RIN
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There's no hard and fast rule, surely it must depend on overall condition. I'd certainly want to check anodes, heat exchangers etc, run the boat up to max revs on a sea trial and have a thorough engine check and service.
 
RIN said:
Is this a good idea? Boat kept in the water and engines serviced three years ago but no use of the boat since then. What problems are likely to come up with the engines? 2 x KAD300. Or would a complete service fix everything? Should I be wary? Any views?

Cheers

RIN
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I did some research on this sort of thing a while ago. I came up with the following.

1. The engine will effectively have been sitting in acid oil for a number of years and the raw metal, not protected by frequent use and fresh oil covering, will have become doubly effected or corroded
2. Gaskets and engine seals could have cracked
3. Hoses will need to be replaced
4. Fuel sitting in the tank may have bugs or gone bad and turned to a gel at the base of the tank and will clog up the fuel system.- this will only come to light after a bit of use…not a sea trial.
5. Gearbox Oil - Oil, even if it's only been run for a few miles, has deposits/contaminants in it, anywhere it's trapped it can eventually cause oxidation of parts
6. If it’s never been winterized frost damage/cracked block etc
7. ALL fluids will need to be replaced with new
8. Expect to change the belts, and thermostats.
9. If it produces WHITE "smoke" it may not be smoke. It could be steam from coolant leaking into the cylinders, and probably caused from a bad head gasket or cracked cylinder head. Pull the head and get it checked out. While you're at it, this might be a good time to have both cylinder heads inspected.


I don't know much about engines so it completely put me off...others who are more knowledgeable may be braver :-)
 
My boat had not been used for 5 to 6 years and was out of the water on the hard. Apart from the obvious stuff like recommissioning everything, new prop seal, and doing the things identified in the survey, she has been fantastic. 5 years less wear & tear.
 
I bought a boat a while back that had sat unused for at least 18 months (I think.) I would recommend a really detailed survey and also get an engineer involved in the process, as they can tell you very quickly where your issues are. The boat in question was not allowed to be sea trialled as both the seacocks for the raw water were in a dangerous state (!) along with seized up cutlass bearings. When you are viewing have a good rummage around the engine room and if you proceed get the surveyor/engineer to inspect the stern gear carefully! That said, after getting these things sorted and a new battery, the boat ran like a dream and I had no other problems with her over the next three years. (We only sold to go bigger.)
 
martin said:
1. The engine will effectively have been sitting in acid oil for a number of years and the raw metal, not protected by frequent use and fresh oil covering, will have become doubly effected or corroded
2. Gaskets and engine seals could have cracked
3. Hoses will need to be replaced
4. Fuel sitting in the tank may have bugs or gone bad and turned to a gel at the base of the tank and will clog up the fuel system.- this will only come to light after a bit of use…not a sea trial.
5. Gearbox Oil - Oil, even if it's only been run for a few miles, has deposits/contaminants in it, anywhere it's trapped it can eventually cause oxidation of parts
6. If it’s never been winterized frost damage/cracked block etc
7. ALL fluids will need to be replaced with new
8. Expect to change the belts, and thermostats.
9. If it produces WHITE "smoke" it may not be smoke. It could be steam from coolant leaking into the cylinders, and probably caused from a bad head gasket or cracked cylinder head. Pull the head and get it checked out. While you're at it, this might be a good time to have both cylinder heads inspected.
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I'd agree that list except 1+5. Ref item 1 the "acid" thing is overstated by web forums generally. Ref 5 there are no contaminants in gearbox oil except particles of metal that you get anyway, and that the filter deals with. Ref item 9, anyone who knows engines can tell difference between steam and smoke so a good survey will deal with that
 
If its on outdrives they may be useless, 3 yrs without anode protection will very likely have caused permanent and significant damage to the drive body. In general I would be very concerned with corrosion of different types within the engines. If the oil was changed 3 years ago and the engine have not been run since then they should sort of be ok on the inside from a corrosion point of view. The engines are recommended to be run every 2 weeks so I think anything with a spring may need changing, as far as I know that would at least be the injectors and valve train but possible a lot more.
 
My main concern would be the legs, check for any galvanic corrosion on them and for water in the oil. Check the bellows for any splits.

As for the engines.. does it matter if the water has sat in them for three years? It's not as if the water drains out when a boat is used so a used boat would have had salt water sitting in it for three years
 
If it has outdrives and the boat has been in the water for three years there could be serious corrosion to outdrive units, engines internal anodes will have dissolved many years ago so possibly internal corrosion, pulley corrosion, impeller u/s and probably fuel contamination. Look carefully at service history and when the tappets were last done.

Note the KAD 300 is no longer in production.

If I was buying the boat I would want some pretty cast iron guarantees from the vendor that he will put right any problems at his expense.

If I was to proceed and subject to my comments above it would be subject to survey and subject to my engineer's inspection and seatrial.
 
Don't be put off by the Neigh Sayers. If you like the boat then you will have to risk a £1000 or so checking it out.
Full out of water survey, full sea trials with competent engineer and full engine oil analysis.
Once you know what you're getting it becomes a negotiation with the current owner.
Then you have to decide if the boat's worth the price.
Good luck.
 
A_8 said:
If its on outdrives they may be useless, 3 yrs without anode protection will very likely have caused permanent and significant damage to the drive body. In general I would be very concerned with corrosion of different types within the engines. If the oil was changed 3 years ago and the engine have not been run since then they should sort of be ok on the inside from a corrosion point of view. The engines are recommended to be run every 2 weeks so I think anything with a spring may need changing, as far as I know that would at least be the injectors and valve train but possible a lot more.
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The OP says KAD300 which implies outdrives (if it was the shaft version it would be KAMD300). Outdrives in the water for three years without anode replacement must surely be scrap.
 
Ah well ... if its on shafts don't worry at all. Can't possibly be anything wrong with it .
 
MartynG said:
Ah well ... if its on shafts don't worry at all. Can't possibly be anything wrong with it .
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:D:D:D

Personally, I wouldn't be put off but that probably depends on two important factors - price and RIN's "hands on" skills! Experience of my own and that of friends, both with boats and classic cars is that sitting with out use for a while leads to lots of unexpected things breaking when put back into use. Unfortunately they're not always obvious things either like hoses and seals that perish - a friend had an oil pressure sensor fail and that resulted in a bilge full of oil! These things can obviously fail at any time, but do seem to accumulate in the wings when unused! It would require a good price to persuade me it was worth the hassle, but I suspect it will be and hence the question?

I bought our last boat at half the price of other similar vessels because it hadn't been used in a couple of years. I paid the asking price which was realistic and agreed a deal on trust before going to collect. Yes, I had to do a full service and fix a few things, but it was still a good deal and one I'd do again. If however I'd have had to pay to have everything sorted out, then I'd have probably paid over the odds. As it is I've only paid for more specialist jobs that a marine engineer can do better and in a fraction of the time that I could!
 
Oh my word. So many different points of view. Poor OP. But all valid I'm sure. The fact that you are asking the question Rin speaks volumes. Go with you first thought and walk away...
 
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