first boat...... where to start?

Hi, this is my first time on these forums and also owning a boat. I just got this boat for free. It is a 18' 2" renken bow rider with a 3.7 mercruiser in it. It was abandoned and doens't look like it had beeen used for at least a year. Since I'm in charleston the weather doesnt get to cold any part of the year. The boat was filled with debree (leaves, sticks, old fishing stuff) and the panels all had rotting wood behind the fabric. So far stripped the boat out and saved one of each panel and set of seats to makes templates for new stuff.

Now the big question. What about this motor? I work on airplanes for a living so i am pretty mechanically inclined ( aircraft electrician). Now the engine itself looks alright, but as many know looks may be deceiving. I checked the gear oil in the out-drive assy and there were no metal bits or shaving so that was good. There is still and tun of crap in the botton of the boat under the engine and is pretty hard to get to.

Where should i begin now? I know I have to change the oil/filter, get all the old gas out of the tank and clean that tank out, and make sure all the wiring on the side where the battery lies, is straight. There is a whole slew of wiring and most of it I got figured out. From each terminal I see 1 ea wire going foward to the voltage gage and 1 ea wire going port for the other battery. I found a pair of thick red and black wires going to the aft of the boat and behind the engine, and also found the starter wires. Lastly i found some brown wires with an inline fuse and a switch that led to under the engine??? Not quite sure what that is.

After changing oil and putting some good gas through the lines, what is suggested that i check or need to make sure is right before starting this thing up? Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks for looking,
rob

 

I'd put the boat on the water, turn it on and first check if the water pump is running, if so, take a ride!