2003 Sundeck 220 Spring Commission

Hey guys and gals,
New-ish to the forum here, been reading and following threads for a bit but looking for some experienced thoughts on getting the boat back on the water this spring.
Marina staff did the winterization along with pulling the outdrive, working on the outdrive water pump, and storing the outdrive indoors. We have paid for parts and labor to reinstall the outdrive and bottom paint.
Spring is upon us and we are looking to start doing all maintenance ourselves. I started a class for boat owners at our local tech school (postponed due to the virus) and was hoping to get a lot of my questions answered there. In springs past we paid for their “$495 spring commission”, but looking at the list I believe I can do these items myself. Items on the list I could use your help on:
1) Bay test - record temp, oil pressure, WOT rpm and speed. Is there a proper way to do the WOT test? Or just get up and go once I’m out on open water? According to Mercruiser I should be seeing rpms in the 4400-4800 range if all is good.
2) Check engine gauges and warning alarms using dash gauges. Sounds straight forward, am I missing something technical?
3) Install zincs. The outdrive service includes the 5 anodes on the Alpha 1 Gen 2, are there other zincs I should be looking for? Transom, Hull, Motor? We have the Mercruiser 5.0 MPI.

As I said, out of the other 12 items listed two don’t apply to our boat and the other ten are well within my sphere of knowledge.

Any and all help is much appreciated.
Matt and Emily

I can't imagine spending $500 on a spring checkup. Especially if the same marina winterized the boat.

The fact that they itemized "apply lubricant to battery terminals" makes me think they were running out of things they could roll into this $500 charge

Check your plug, check your batteries, check your fluids and take it for a drive. You can definitely safely winterize your boat. And check your manual for the info on you zincs...

The boat is new to me, no manuals came with it. Ordered Clymer book as well as Mercruiser manual #31 which are on their way but I don’t expect much info on transom/hull. The manuals I’ve found cover engine and outdrives, maybe I’m not using the correct search lingo?

Pernalski said:

The boat is new to me, no manuals came with it. Ordered Clymer book as well as Mercruiser manual #31 which are on their way but I don’t expect much info on transom/hull. The manuals I’ve found cover engine and outdrives, maybe I’m not using the correct search lingo?

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You should be able to get your manuals from searay.com for free. Generally you just have to give them your email address...

In general, if you winterize properly in the fall, the spring commission should not be much more than starting the engine, checking for leaks and proper operation. In the fall I change the gear lube and engine oil, then winterize. I don't remove the batteries, just turn them off. Every third year (I have an Alpha like you) I remove the drive and store it in my garage, in the spring I replace the water pump impeller, then re-install the outdrive, I also check the alignment. Really no need to remove the outdrive every year. So my winterizing and spring commission checklist is below - yours might vary slightly but these are the basic steps:

Winterize:

• Add fuel stabilizer / run engine
• Change engine oil / filter
• Warm engine, introduce fogging spray until engine stalls
• Drain engine block, water pump elbow, manifolds (5 blue plugs)
• Drain PS cooler if necessary
• Re-install blue plugs
• Remove thermostat housing (or hoses)
  • Fill engine block with 1-2gal anti-freeze
  • Fill each manifold with 1gal anti-freeze - until it runs out of exhaust
  • Re-install thermostat housing (or hoses)
• Drain gear lube (start this in step 2 while engine is warm)
• Remove outdrive - if replacing water pump impeller
• Cover propeller with bag (prevent water from collecting in prop hub area)
• Put damp rid containers in boat
• Remove radio
• Turn battery switch off
• Remove drain plug - place in cupholder with keys

Spring Commission:

• Check / charge batteries
• Install outdrive (if removed in fall)
• Fill outdrive with gear lube (if not refilled in fall)
• Check oil / fluids
• Lube outdrive hingepins / coupler
• Crank engine / monitor until warm
• Replace fuel filter

You really can do all of this yourself, your talking an hour or two in the fall and same in the spring if you removed the outdrive and $100-$150 in parts (oil, gearlube, filters, waterpump kit and gaskets). Sounds like your boat stays in the water, so changing the anodes every year is a must. I am dry stored, so I haven't touched mine in years. There are 5 anodes on an Alpha I Gen II - 1 each trim ram, 1 front anticavitation plate, 1 rear anitcavitation plate (above prop), 1 on propshaft.

BillK
So as far as you know there are no additional anodes on the boat other than the 5 on the Alpha outdrive? The service mgr at the marina is telling me there are additional zincs on the trim tabs (my boat doesn’t have trim tabs) and “other places, such as the hull, the transom, etc.”
I’ve given in to their superior knowledge and asked them to install the “additional zincs” with an itemized bill.

If you don't have trim tabs, then no, the only anodes are the 5 on the outdrive. Actually there 6 anodes, I forgot about the one at the bottom of the transom assembly: https://www.boatzincs.com/alpha-one...a-5DkmjywmfHM9yAbu958BpP8ikd5AY8aAgLQEALw_wcB

Great info—looks like the 6th one is the gimbal housing anode. I’ll be very interested to see what charges come from the marina. I think they must be hurting and doing my own spring commission isn’t helping, but I hope they’re not scamming me.

Pernalski said:

Great info—looks like the 6th one is the gimbal housing anode. I’ll be very interested to see what charges come from the marina. I think they must be hurting and doing my own spring commission isn’t helping, but I hope they’re not scamming me.

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Since this is a new boat to you, Paying for the spring commissioning and anode installation isn’t a bad idea.

Before it goes in the water, ask them to point out all of the anodes that were installed.

Once you see them for yourself, it’ll be a job that you can do yourself next year.

Shame on the manuals ,they can be burned to dvd
The GEN II has 1 on each trim cylinder, 1 behind the prop, 1 on the front of the cavitation plate, 1 at the rear(trim tab)

As an update, our boat was launched last Wednesday and we received the bill—no extra charges for zincs. You guys were right and I was happily surprised that my marina did not try to rip me off. As for the spring commission, I flushed the fresh water plumbing, checked the oil level and gear lube reservoir, charged the batteries, and gave it a thorough cleaning. She ran great in the bay but I would imagine the recreational boating restrictions will clamp down until the govt decides it’s safe to ease them.

Thanks for all the replies—I’m sure I’ll have more questions as the season rolls on.