New Boat - End of Season - Break in?

[orionone]

Hey guys,

Odd situation, our new boat may arrive within a week. Should we do the break in and run it a couple of hours before going into winter storage, or save the break in for next season?

Would it be okay to let it sit with that break in oil and have the first 10 hour service done next season?

 

[Wake_Dude]

If it was my boat, I'd break it in well. Your cylinders walls with a fresh hone (scratched surfaces), and other components, without being broken in, are ripe for rusting/corrosion over the winter. Polished/semi-polished surfaces after break in are FAR less likely to corrode/rust.

 

[HangOutdoors]

If it was my boat..... I would break it in and make darn sure there are no problems with the engine or other things that need to go into the dealer to be fixed. Since you wont be using your boat now is a great time to take it in, during the winter. You find things wrong something very wrong, the beginning of the boating season is less than optimal to take your boat into the dealer, you could lose part of your summer or more.

 

[orionone]

Very good point, thanks guys. Say we did the break in and had time to rack up ~5 hours, would you hold on the 10 hour service until next season or get it done now?

 

[WildCatFan54]

I had the same situation at the end of the 2019 boating season. I had just purchased the boat on Oct.10th and it only had 6 hours on the engines before storing it on the nest (lift) mid November for the winter. No need to change oil until the 10 hour service next spring in my opinion. Congrats on the new boat. It will be a long winter as you look forward to the good times next season.

 

[212s]

As mentioned, do the break-in, have some fun, and if you find any problems you can get it fixed over the winter and be ready for spring. As for the oil issue, I'd change it out early if it's going to sit all winter, then do the 10-hour in the spring. A simple oil change is cheap.

We expect to use our boat a few more times before storage here up north, often boating into sunny October weekends. The last outing will get fuel stabilizer and an oil change for storage, and be all ready to use come spring.

 

[Noko]

Very good point, thanks guys. Say we did the break in and had time to rack up ~5 hours, would you hold on the 10 hour service until next season or get it done now?

Are you planning on doing the oil change yourself or with a dealer? Easy to do on your own.

 

[orionone]

Thanks everyone, any issue if I do the oil change myself? I wouldn’t want to mess up warranty.

 

[HangOutdoors]

No problem at all. Save your receipts and take a few pics.