Used boat buying question

[Walleye Guy]

I am contemplating buying a used boat. The boat has a 1998 Mercury Optimax 150HP. The boat package is very attractively priced. The one dilemma I have is the boat is full of gas...from fall 2004. Approximately 40 gallons of gas. The guy who is selling it doesn't know if stabilizer or Seafoam was put in the gas the last time it ran in November 2004. The boat has been started briefly with the water ear muffs on and the motor starts and runs great.

I would like to take the boat for a ride before buying it. Would I be causing any problems buy running the boat with this old gas in it? Any precautions I should take if running it is ok? If not how do you dispose of roughly 40 gallons of old gas.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

[Slyster]

WOW that's a lot of precious gas! Siphon it out into tanks and run it half and half (with new gas) in your car or truck! Those engines don't care.

[Surface Tension]

Using old gas isn't a problem. Worst that would happen is it doesn't burn as clean and you get a little more carbon deposits. What you want to avoid is gas sitting in a carb for that long because it gums the carb.