[kjdevrou]

well I just got home after picking up our new boat!!!
I picked it up from our neighbor in a seasonal campground. the boat has been sitting for a few years (about 3 years). covered up but stored outside. all I knew about it was he bought it brand new and it was about 20 foot and had a 5.0l v8. so before i went to look at it, I looked up some info online and found this site. VERY HELPFUL!!! anyway when we got their and took the cover off I noticed it was a Z202. I was so excited!!! a "Z". it needs a good cleaning but should clean up nice. then I noticed that it had only 52.4 hours!!!!. it needs a few things like: new battery, radio doesn't work, rear hatch lift cylinder is off on one side, he said the throttle cable is sticky, new covers both bow and cockpit (it has them but they really took the sun damage and are very dried out and brittle), and ALOT of cleaning. O and some more cleaning.... so i bought it and took it home and put it in my moms garage (1st time in a garage for the boat). it really needs alot of cleaning but it only has one tear in the interior about 1 inch.
here are a few questions:
- what works the best for cleaning the interior and exterior?
- should I do anything special to the drive line after sitting for 3 years?
- what speeds should I expect? 5.0l 4 barrel carb, alpha one, 19 pitch aluminum prop.
thanks
as soon as I can figure out how to post pics I will.

[csterner]

Congrats on the boat purchase! This is s a great group and there are a lot of experts on here that can give you a lot more detailed info than I can. A motor is never good sitting for 3 years without being started. The seals and gaskets will dry out and when it is finally started, you might have a lot of leaks. I would take it really slow and do some research. Have you ran the engine at all?


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[mikeyt]

Welcome aboard & congrats on the purchase. Posting pics is easy. When you hit "Post Reply" and start to enter your post, just look down the page a little further & you should see "Manage Attachments". Hit that & follow the instructions.

As for the boat, since its been sitting for 3 yrs it will need all of the fluids changed including the outdrive. Squirting a little bit of fogging oil in each cylinder thru the spark plug holes might be a good idea too to help in the initial lubrication when you fire it up for the first time.
Mr Clean Magic Erasers are great for getting rid of dirt/grime/stains on the upholstery but make sure you treat the upholstery afterwards with a UV protectorant. You'll need quite a few erasers though....
As for the exterior Meguairs make a very good 3 step cleaning process that should put a shine back on the hull.

As for speed, that motor / prop combo should net you right around 50mph.

If you are looking for parts vendors or parts for sale, check out our Vendor List and scan thru the threads in our Marketplace here.

[Mariah1]

Welcome . Would love to see some pictures. Take the boat to a good mechanic and have them do the first start on the engine.
303 Protectant will do great on all the interior surfaces once it is clean.

[ColoradoDiablo]

Congrats on a fine boat!!
The guys have covered your questions well , so I will just say "WELCOME" to MOC!
We all love our Mariahs , and look forward to helping you out in any way we can.
If you get a sec , go to the "Community" tab and click on "Members Map" , and put a pin where your located.

[kjdevrou]

thanks for the great advise.
should I start asap or wait till spring. it is winterized now and I would Have to redo it. but I would know that it runs or not. I like the oil in the cylinder idea before starting, should i spray some in the valve covers also. it has oil filler caps on both sides. I not sure if it would help or hurt.
also it has clean looking oil in the engine and lube in the lower unit. should I start it 1st. then change them out.

[allz28]

I'm in a similar situation as you. Just bought a z210 that hasn't been run in quite a while. I'm waiting to start mine until spring. Fingers crossed that I don't regret it and spend the entire summer fixing things. I am having a mechanic perform the first start. Just curious, what did you end up paying for your boat?

[kjdevrou]

I paid $2500 for the boat. it does need alot of cleaning and a few repairs.
I'm still not sure if I want to wait or not. depends on what I hear over the next day or so.
when I do start it I will let you all know how it went.
I'll also get some before and after pics.
any other thoughts on starting it now and re-winterizing it or waiting till spring.
allz28 how long was yours sitting?

[allz28]

Sounds like a good price. I paid 3500 for mine. It hasn't been started in two years. And that year they only ran it one time.

[kjdevrou]

sounds like we both got a good price.... as long as they both run good. time will tell. I sure like the boat so I hope all is good.
I believe it is hard not to like a Mariah!!!!!