I going to do a water test after a long storage and need to know how to do it at my house. I see the motors have sea pumps so is there a water pump in the drive. Also there is a large water lihe under the right engine the has a lever valve on it and the hose goes through the bottom of the hull and there looks like a wire is attached to the valve??? What the heck is the hose and valve for?? Thanks for any and all help!

What kind of boat? If you follow the hose from the fitting does it go to the sea pump? The valve is a shut off that should be on any below the water line fitting, the wire should be a ground wire that goes to a buss bar connecting all thru hull fittings to ground them so they don't corrode.If that fitting is for engine cooling water you will need a "fake a lake" fitting like a toilet plunger with a hose fitting in it mount it under the fitting turn on the water open the valve & you should have water to run your engine. It most likely goes to a sea strainer then to the pump so make sure your strainer is clean. You should also see a wire from the strainer & any other brass piece that contacts the water. Hope that helps, Randy

Alphas have water pumps in the drives, Bravos do not (the have a sea water pump on the motor. Unless a crossover was installed both drive types have circulating pumps on the motors.

The sea-cock in the floor likely goes to something other than the engines but it could be the water pick-up for them (there should be 2 if they feed the motors). Follow that hose to see where it goes (do you have a flush toilet???). The attached wire is simply for grounding the fitting.

Ok, I think with your help I'm getting it. The through hull fitting just goes forward on the drivers side which is where the head is. So I thought the heads on these boats where pump out, why would it dump out like that and how does that system work? As for the engines, since the boat was stored for years, would it help to pull a top water line on the thermostat and fill with soapy water to help lube the sea pump and anything else in the water system. As for water testing in the drive way, just put the water connection on the drive and when is the best time to start it, should let the water run for a minute to fill the block or would that let water into the exhaust? Thanks again for the help!

To answer your question about a water hook up to the drive... you do not need to wait, water will not be pulled through the system until you start the motor... you should not run the motor very long on a hose hook up and you NEVER throttle the motors up on a hose hook up. Make sure that water is leaving the drain holes underneath the swim platform and inspect for rust and/or fumes...

However - I HIGHLY recommend you give the boat a sea trial... do not buy a boat just because you saw it idle on a hose... it really means nothing... you want to see how the boat performs under load - how it planes up, max rpm range , engine temp, oil pressure, etc.....

Is this water line you see in the engine room a Perko fitting/valve? It may be a fresh water flush system for the motors...

(I'm the guy that had the 1990 292 SR1) The brass fitting (I'm thinking 1-1/4" to 1-1/2" diameter) thru the bottom of the boat is the discharge for a maserator that is hooked up to your porta potty. The wire connected to it is a grounding wire and every fitting that runs through the boat and touches water should have a ground wire attached to it. Formula is very good about grounding all through hull fittings. I would do as Drock indicated. Put the ear muffs on the drive one at a time, make sure you have good water pressure to the drive. Make sure the drive is trimmed in to a normal running position. Start you engine and have someone monitoring the exhaust. After about 10-20 seconds, water should be exiting with the exhaust and/or the drain holes in the bottom of the silent thunder exhaust as Drock indicated. If it does not, turn the engine off and you will need to re-build the raw water pumps. Back on the seacock for the maserator discharge, you are going to want to keep that valve closed in the engine compartment. My first weekend, we had a buddy hit the maserator button in the head and drain the porta potty into the waste deep water we were all standing in around the boat. You should have seen us all de-assing the water. I used to just use the porta potty without the connection to the maserator and just remove the bottom and dump in my septic tank at the house.

There should be a water line going from the sea water pump back to the drive area. Make sure they are there and not cracked or split. You didn't say how long the boat has been sitting but I would think strongly about pulling at least one of the seawater pumps to check the status of the impeller before starting the motor.