Well there is no real good section for towing and boats so I'll post up here with you guys with campers. Today I finally took my boat to the boat yard where it stays over the winter since it takes up valueable driveway space in the fall and winter. So I winterized the engine and water system at home. Now for the part that hurts I have to take it to the gas station and fill it up before putting it away for the season. Mind you it has a 100 gallon fuel tank so it is a hard pill to swallow at this time of year but I am always glad I did when spring comes around and gasoline is over $4/gl. So I pull into the gas station and I see a couple of my friends (Who drive SuperDuty's) so I stopped to talk to them and take a photo too.


So after putting the big hurt in my wallet at the pump I drove across the street to take a photo of Blackie & SeaRay in front of Quaker Steak & Lube. Photo Op... And about another block away is BassPro and a 1/4 miles is the boat yard where I store my boat. Needlessly to say it's a pretty cool area if you are a guy.


So today was a sad day for me. And my driveway looks naked now without the boat taking up space. More room for Blackie and since the boat is put away it's time to start spenting money on Blackie again. During the summer the boat eats all my money $$$.

 

Nice boat Ed. There might be alot of cool stuff around and many things to do in the summer time but when winter comes along you can have all that. Sure wish they had a quaker steak by me.

I hope you put some fuel stabilizer in the tank also. That would be alot of money to waste.

 

Thanks on the boat. That's right everytime you have come up it has been winter so you haven't seen the boat. But when you are here is always nice to be able to go to Quaker Steak with you. And you know from being from here that winter really blows in more ways than one. For you guys that don't know we have Lake Michigan and it is over 300 miles long and when the north winds come down from Canada it gets cold and VERY windy. So Rob if they ever need a guy to sweep the floors are empty the garbage can's where you work let me know, I'll take it. My wife and I would move in a heart beat to Florida to get away from these winters as long as I get a job she says.

Oh yea ... fuel stabilizer for sure!!

 

Yeah, winter is just about here. Sounds like the last day with the boat in tow was a nice one though.

 

Scott actually it was a pretty nice day got to see some friends. I actually enjoy making my truck work once and awhile by towing the boat. What good is a dually if you aren't towing something. And I must say I use to tow with a SRW truck and after towing with a DRW I'll never go back.

And since I never get to post a photo of my baby here I think I'll just post a photo of her since I won't see her again until spring.

 

Damn that thing is big...(that just dont sound right)...lol, anyway you have a bathroom and kitchen on there also?

 

I don't know what to say to man that says that to me !?!? Thanks I think?? LOL Over all lenght is actually only 28ft and yes it has a bed, head with toilet and sink and when you first walk down in the cabin there is a ac/dc refrigerator, sink and stove. Other stats 25gl water tank, 100gl fuel tank, AutoMeter Pro Comp Carbon Fiber gauges, Kuzz built 355ci roller cam & rockers, 8:1, 72cc vortec heads, MSD, balanced/ blueprinted and dynoed 265hp 390ft/lbs torque if I recall correctly. I actually built this motor to specs to add a Whipple supercharger but between having a baby and owning Blackie that hasn't happened yet. The boat is actually a bit of a dog but jumps up on plane very quickly just no top end. If I went back to the (9.5:1 pistons and small cc heads I could gain alot more power but I am holding out that I can do the Whipple still someday. With the Whipple it would be rated at about 450hp 510ft/lbs that is why I also would need a Bravo drive also. So I need about $10k to finish the boat.

So hopefully next summer if you come up to see your parents I'll take you for a boat ride.

 

Well at least for now you can still go out and have a good time on the water without the extra engine work. Not sure when I'll be up there again but when I do I'll let you know for sure.

 

I don't want to tell you what to do, but nowadays filling the tank before winter is much worse than leaving it empty. the reasoning (old wives tale) for filling the tanks goes back to a long time ago. in the old days we had steel tanks in the boats and the moisture in the air would corrode the inside of the tanks. this would lead to clogged filters and a fuel tank you couldn't use. you had to fill the tank or the tank would be junk. the tank in your boat is aluminum as is most every tank installed. some smaller boats will run plastic. these tanks don't corrode internally from moisture. the fuel doesn't deteriorate if it is fresh in the spring. I winterize 100+ boats a year for the last 30+ years, never seen water fill up a tank from condensation. the bulletin I got from a major engine manufacturer says to leave it empty if possible. (I am a dealer). just took my boat for a ride to burn out as much fuel as possible for winter. engines can't run anything but good fuel. twin 650hp 509ci 33ft fountain 90mph

 

So you have a 33ft Fountain I'm guessing a "Lightning". Cool !! Did you put the 650's in the boat or did they come in it. Because I have a friend who had a Lightning and he had the 425's. My dream boat is a Fountain 38EC with 2x 525hp like I said "Dream" Now a boat like yours with 2x 650's has what 10.5:1 compression so I can see stale fuel would be really bad for them engines.

Now I myself have tried storing my boat both ways with and without fuel. Back when I was running 9.5:1 vortec engine I worried about the fuel going bad and would store it empty and the problem I ran into with the aluminum tank was white flakey corrosion almost like galvanic corrosion. Which it wasn't but it did cause alot of problems. I pulled the tank twice, rebuilt carb many times and went thru alot of filters. Mind you I can't afford inside heated storage so it is stored outside for the last 15 yrs. But like you said I never really had any water in the tank or filters. But I do blame condensation. The way I see it is the difference between night and day temperatures can also create condensation in a boat & fuel tank that is shink wrapped or trapped.

So I would say for at least the last 6 to 8 yrs I fill the fuel tank and add Marine Sta-Bil that treats ethanol blended fuels. Now last year I never pulled my boat out of storage, it set for 18 mths with about 80gl in it. So this spring I got it out and the only fuel wise issue I had was I had to go through the carb due neddle & seats were sticking. It ran fine, just smelled like old fuel.

Now I can see where on newer boats with EFI or high compression that old fuel could be an issue. And I think there will always be the some guys believe in leaving them empty and other guys like myself fill it up. But also I think there is a big difference between a '08 Fountain and a '82 SeaRay as far as what there needs are. Also I'll bet most of the boats you work on get heated indoors storage. I'm jealous. I guess I'll wish in one hand and poop in the other and see which one fills up first. LOL

 

no inside storage around here. third highest tax rate in U.S.. boats are covered mostly. my boat is an old ICBM which I repainted and restored a few years ago. great boat, super strong, fast and pretty. not costing or worth as much as a newer one. my experience with the 38ec is that the older ones are a bit of a pig and the newer ones are very nice. the old ones came with bravo ones and the newer with bravo three and really makes a difference on a bigger slower boat. towed an older 38 ec out to detroit with my 7.3 a few years ago about 18k on the trailer. (towing thread)

 

Slightly off topic, but...

If you are up for a road trip, the ORIGINAL Quaker Steak & Lube is in Sharon, PA, just across the Ohio border. It is really nothing like the franchise stores they are building, it was actually a service station. There are a couple of the "new" stores closer to me, but we still drive up to the original from time to time. It is worth the trip.