Sugarsand owner

[mnk shelton]

Hey guys, new to boating here and would love some advice. Picked up a ta go 4+2 was told the motor had 7 hours on it and that it's been sitting for years but ran when parked. Not registered since 09 the tag says. Anyways pulled sparkplug dropped a little oil In it put em back in and with a little starting fluid she fired up. I did that just to see if she fired. Is there anything besides the bilge and exhaust fan I should Check out prior to putting her in water

 

[Paul in Ohio]

I owned a 2001 Sugarsand Tango from 2005 - 2022. Pretty reliable boat. Check the intake grate for cracks. Mine cracked due to seaweed ingestion and luckily didn't ingest the tine, it was just hanging there. I replaced it with a much stronger aftermarket grate without the stupid hinge feature. The 175HP Mercs do have an issue with magnetos corroding and failing. Mine failed twice. Try to store it with a rag beneath the hood to allow a little ventilation. Be very careful with using starting fluid, and don't use too much. You can easily blow a hole right thru the piston. My boat was hard to start the first time every day. I installed a primer button to fire the fuel pump for 15 seconds in advance of cranking, to fill the carb bowls with fuel. Some people told me that non alcohol gas worked better in that respect, as far as easier cold starts.