1988 Martinique C/C

Welcome to the CC club! Post some pictures of your boat if you can.

To start the engine you need to have water going to the intake. These engines are cooled by lake water and when you're not on the water, you need to provide cooling from a hose.

I'm not familiar with the Martinique layout but I'll assume it is similar to the others: you will find a through-hull water pickup on the bottom of your hull. Open the engine compartment and look for it aft of the engine. Follow the hose and you will find the impeller housing. Remove the hose somewhere before the impeller housing (between the pickup and the housing) and place it in a 5 gal bucket full of water on the floor of your boat or in the engine compartment if you have room.

Start her up and make sure it is sucking water from the bucket and water is exiting out the exhaust in the rear. If it isn't after 10 seconds or so, shut it off and investigate. Keep a hose in the bucket to replenish the water that is sucked through the engine.

It is not advised to put it in gear when you do this; it could damage the cutless bearing and poses a safety concern as well. Make sure you pull the pin on the Morse control and that it is in neutral. You'll be able to give it gas from the control or the throttle on the engine.

As for the 2 tanks, the only thing I can think of for the bow is fresh water... but there's nothing mentioning it in the features here. However, perhaps a previous owner retrofitted it for fishing or wakeboard ballast? Posting some pictures of it will help. I assume you're not referring to a fuel tank, and it is something else.

You should be able to find the correct manual in the Reference section in the top menu of this website.

Welcome to CC and owning a Martinique! I love martiniques. Very nice boat. The stern "tank" is a extra large "beverage" ice chest/cooler.    

Oh, wait. I am re-reading your post. Do you have a sink or, toilet on the C/C??