Newbie - Help Please!

[jaywalker]

Hi All,
I'm very new to this boat thing, so apologies before I ask all my dumb questions.
I have a 1999 Challenger 1800 with twin Rotax engines. It has been left adrift in (and sometimes under) a private freshwater mooring with no power (And no plugs in one engine!) for about 3 years.
I know it's going to be a nightmare and a very expensive one at that, but now she's out of the water and pressure washed all over, she's not looking too bad, however........
Where should I start when it comes to getting this beauty back to it's original glory? I know it's gonna cost a lot for the engine rebuilds but what can I be doing to help the ball rolling? Replace the battery? Flush the engines? remove the carbs? It's going to be a project to get it running for Summer 2010 -
Any advice to start me on my way would be much appreciated

 

[rexsteiner]

My advise would be to take a couple hours and read up on your boat. Make the search engine at the top of the page your best friend. There is a lot of info that's already documented that can save you the time of having to wait for a response.

 

[ablackway]

Honestly man, before I bought my boat, I researched the heck out of it and found out as much information as I could. Apparently for a fee on this website, you're able to access all types of other materials and manuals and get pretty detailed step-by-step directions on things, so to start, I would suggest doing that. It's like $10 a month or $60 for the year I think... Not bad for expert advice at a fraction of the cost that it would be for you to take it to your mechanic... As far as where to start with buying things, I would suggest leaving it up to a mechanic, unless you plan on doing the repairs, in which case, I think carb rebuild kits, engine rebuild kits, and a new battery would be a great place to start.

Adam

 

[livewir]

I agree, become a premium member, get the manuals and start at the fuel tank and work your way to the exhaust.

 

[don't sink]

I basically did the same thing you are going throught now. Bought a gem in the rough.
It had been stored since 2005 with unknown issues. I bought it for $1500 thinking even if I had to replace the powerhead and drive parts I would still come out even.

This forum has been a great help:hurray: in finding all sorts of info. PAY THE TEN BUCKS!!! It is worth it for the manuals alone! Plus Karl, Rookie, and the rest of the group [sorry can't name everyone!] have alot of knowledge and will answer your questions. Enough ass kissin!

As for the boat, I rebuilt the carbs, cleaned the hell out of connections, new battery, and replaced parts that came up "missing". All in all it cost me $2557 including purchase price and 6 very long weeks of waiting for parts and installation but it was worth it!

Drain the tank and if there were no plugs in one engine and it thought it was submarine then you are looking at internal rusting that will be a big job to fix. My last boat went under and I pickled the engine within 6 hours and it is still running fine as I write. Chances are your pistons are frozen forever but it was fresh water so you never know! Be patient and good luck.