I picked up a 15' bass boat with a 40hp mercury outboard. I'm not really a boat guy, it was an opportunity with my father in law passing away. It's been sitting in a shed for about 5 years. Visually, the outboard and boat itself have little signs of wear.

I need to get the engine serviced and have someone take a look at the electrical system. I've gotten one of two batteries working as I can get the outboard to try to turn over, the trolling motor works, etc., but nothing done through the center console works (lights, horn, pumps, etc.). So need someone to take a look at that.

My question - is this better done through a local boat service center, or should I try to run these things myself? If the former, what is a good ballpark I should expect for an engine service and potential electrical issues? Anyone have an idea? Any other steps I should consider to get the boat operational? See attachment for a pic.

"A boat is a hole in the water, into which you throw money."

If you have experience in working on these things, then you can do it. But would you do similar work on your car?

It is a good looking boat. I hope you find a successful and inexpensive solution.

BOAT = bust out another thousand

I know nothing about boats except that they are expensive to repair and maintain.

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Depending on how the electrical system is setup you may have fuses, or a mini breaker/reset button somewhere along with a main power switch. I'd check for those as a boat that small with a basic horn/lights/bilge switch isn't terribly sophisticated.

As for the motor, yeah you'll definitely want to get that serviced. If it's been sitting 5 years or so and the previous owner was unable to get it winterized or flushed out it's likely to be gummed up pretty bad. If he did have it flushed and had it storage prepped you'll have minimal stuff to do on it.

As for prices, it would be best to shop around a bit as boat repairs can be right up there in price with car repairs.

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My grandfather had a Fishing boat just like that, he was always working on it. Seemed like every day.

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I think there are some mechanically-oriented people that can easily relax by just working on something like that, though. Not saying that was the case with your gramps, but I've known people who will mess around with something even if it's far from broken(car enthusiasts come to mind) =D

As for boats, they're expensive to maintain sure, but there's definitely a unique sensation about being in the open waters that, personally, I haven't found anywhere else. I'm not into it enough to own one at the moment, but I can understand why people would be adamant about keeping one.

I would like a boat.

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The whole thing was free... it's a great opportunity to give my kids some good memories. I have plenty of money to pour into it, so if I wind up spending $1k in maintenance and whatnot, I think it's worth it.

I got the electrical stuff working. Turns out there was a wire that was missing. All I need to do now is get the outboard serviced and I'm in business.

Outstanding. I hope you get it running in time to enjoy the rest of the good weather.

yep, I'm sure your father in law would be content knowing his boat is yielding good memories for your kids, hope it works out.