Z3 hours

[Phillips]

I'm looking at Z3 boats and I'm wondering what is to many hours vs year like at 2013 jus wondering how any hours you guys have on your boats? Thanks

[rensink]

I used to put 200-250hours a year but the average for our lake is 50-75 a year?

[ChrisBarnes05-12-84]

I have 108 on my z1. Brand new June 1st of 2013

[gibbs114]

2014 Z1 pickup in mid April 115 hours so far. I put around 150 per year on my boats.


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[IDBoating]

You can have too many, AND too few, hours on boats. Too many speaks for itself. Too few may indicate that the boat and its engine/drivetrain sat idle for long periods of time (entire seasons?). Engines don't "just sit" well unless they are carefully prepared for very long term storage. It's far better to run them periodically to keep seals lubed, fluids circulated, etc. Even an engine that was prepped for storage can accumulate condensation in its oil and cooling systems from just sitting around, warming up and cooling down with the ambient temperature.

I'd say an average of 75-150 hours per year is very reasonable. I would be more comfortable with boats above that range before boats below that range. When I read "I found an awesome deal on a used boat, 10 years young and only 80 hours total!" I figure I'll be reading about the major overhauls soon after.

Hope this helps!

[sandm]

although I agree with waboating on the too few hours, shopping for z3's that have only been around for a few years and op indicated '13 specifically, I would look for a boat with less than 100hrs if it was my scratch. knowing it's a newer model, odds of any of them sitting for a season idle are slim so most should have hours in both seasons indicating use.

thinking resale, I look at chrisbarnes at 2 seasons above and only 108hrs and if gibbs keeps going, his 2 season boat will be at the 300hr mark. I don't know that I would look at a 2 year old boat with 300hrs(although his avatar is the exact color I want )

lots of variables to look at. the other piece of the equation is what the boat was used for. a day of surfing and we put 6hrs on. a day of going to the sandbar puts 1hr on. both are uses that, as waboating indicates, keeps the engine running and fluids circulating, but one is much harder than the other on the overall load placed on the engine. I'd stray away from dealer demos as well. odds of those being broken in are slim/none. I know the mb I demo'ed in '12 had 3 hrs on the clock and the dealer had it loaded up for surfing and no problems using it. some say that's ok, but I prefer, on an expensive toy, to know it had some initial break-in.

[IDBoating]

I'd stray away from dealer demos as well. odds of those being broken in are slim/none.

x2 on this. The demos I've seen before they were "cleaned up" for sale looked like they had been (ab)used by a frat house for a hazing weekend. The equivalent of dozens of hours of hard use no matter what the hour meter said. No thanks!

Don't forget leftovers... a new boat for a used price, with full warranty. Best way to buy a boat IMHO.

[sandm]

Don't forget leftovers... a new boat for a used price, with full warranty. Best way to buy a boat IMHO.

agreed.......

[begone]

I've got 36 hrs and bought the z3 this march/April. We use the boat a lot but don't really run it like most of you guys. I'll only probably put 50 hours a season cause we drive the boat out to the cove and let the kids swim. My kids and others are young and so we haven't started surfing or tubing yet. We can only get away and surf with no kids otherwise they are all bored. It'll be different in about 3-5 years. So in about 3 years I'll barely have 150 hrs.

[IDBoating]

In about 3 years I'll barely have 150 hrs.

A three year old boat with 150 hours wouldn't worry me. A three year old boat with 50 hours... I would hesitate, because that sounds like "We used the boat a lot the first season and then it sat for the next two years." It's a judgement call on a case-by-case basis based on what the seller tells you, what you can inspect for yourself, etc.

When I bought our first boat (used) I flew to the seller's city with tools, dipped and inspected the fluids to get an idea of what was happening in the lower engine and tranny/final drives, inspected the plugs and did a compression test to get an idea of what was happening in all cylinders, looked for a clean bilge (sign of TLC by the current owner), took it for a test drive on a local lake, and flew back home all in the same day. That boat is still on our lake, running strong other than normal maintenance, over ten years later. You just have to gather data and make an informed decision.

Or, you can buy a leftover and get a new boat with a warranty. Which is what I did the next time and would do again.

[gwhite94]

I picked up my boat on May 23rd and have 90 hrs on it. We seem to be the typical user around 120-150 range a year. I would also make sure they have some service history with the boat. I have a few friends with boats that they bought new and only put 20 or so hours a year on them they cruise at the local lakes anchor up for lunch or dinner and leave. I would not be afraid of looking at a boat like this if the service records support the hours.

[IDBoating]

I have a few friends with boats that they bought new and only put 20 or so hours a year on them they cruise at the local lakes anchor up for lunch or dinner and leave. I would not be afraid of looking at a boat like this if the service records support the hours.

Agreed. The key is that the low hours are spread out over its whole life, not just clustered up in one short period while the boat sat idle the rest of the time.