Hours on the boat?

[jmstige]

What is everyones opinion on hours on the motor?

When we bought the boat - it had 150 on it and I know that was a MAJOR factor in purchasing....I expect it to have ~450 by the end of this season and we were chatting today about what to do.

On one hand - we are doing upgrades and this boat is a known quantity - it doesnt break, we know it, etc. But after we get 600-700 and want to upgrade - I think that many hours will make us upside down on the note.

What is the rule of thumb w/ boats and hours before they really start to become problematic? We maintain the fluids and all - but for a potential buyer - they won't care much about that statement - just # of hours.

[SPBFAN]

I would say as long as you maintain it and don't beat it to death 500 hours is a safe number.

[teachercop]

Just turned 490 hours on our 1999 22i today in Havasu.

Replaced the fuel pump and fuel pressure regulator (Thanks SPFan!) as I believe it overheated (fuel pump not motor) at Lake Powell last summer (As mentioned in previous post). Changed plugs, rotor and plugs a couple times and installed a water circulating pump last year. Change the sea water impeller every year and run synthetic Mobil 1.

Should hit 500 hours this week and then were off to Powell for 10 days.
MerCruiser 315 MPI rocks...

No plans to upgrade the boat, reliable and still providing us a boat load of fun...

[rogersbm82]

my 98' has 480 or so, Marine Power. All I have done is changed fluids, plugs, alt., starter, thermostat. With the exception of the starter going out(which luckily i had a starter button in my truck so my weekend was not ruined) the boat has never failed to fire right up first time, everytime.

[Fast1911]

What is everyones opinion on hours on the motor?

When we bought the boat - it had 150 on it and I know that was a MAJOR factor in purchasing....I expect it to have ~450 by the end of this season and we were chatting today about what to do.

On one hand - we are doing upgrades and this boat is a known quantity - it doesnt break, we know it, etc. But after we get 600-700 and want to upgrade - I think that many hours will make us upside down on the note.

What is the rule of thumb w/ boats and hours before they really start to become problematic? We maintain the fluids and all - but for a potential buyer - they won't care much about that statement - just # of hours.

We just hit 450 last weekend on our 2000 21i. Are you really going to put 250-300 hours on in one season? You must be out everyday.

[samw]

How do you check the hours on Faria, commander??? I have forgotten.

[samw]

Also side note, can you hook a computer to the engine and see what the exact hrs are??? I will assume you can??

[Fast1911]

Also side note, can you hook a computer to the engine and see what the exact hrs are??? I will assume you can??

Good question. I'm curious about that.

[samw]

why I ask, is the guy I bought my boat from said the normal hr meter there was an issue that it would run when ever the battery switch was turned on so it was counting up hrs and not even running so I would like to see what the difference is.

[jmstige]

We just hit 450 last weekend on our 2000 21i. Are you really going to put 250-300 hours on in one season? You must be out everyday.

Damn near every day...During the winter months we put a dry suit on and hit the lake for some wakeboarding...

I'm happy to be going to work today so I can rest. My buddy and I took last week off work and yesterday we were realized marked our 9th consecutive day out on the lake With upper 90's every day - it was a pretty good chore. I'm sure everyone at work will have a bunch of sympathy for me

[knelems]

hours

Any Mercruiser mechanic can check with a scan tool. We traded in an 01 21V last week that the hour meter wasn't working properly and had to scan to get the proper hours of 112. We did have some wiring problems with the 01's that would show higher hrs on the guage than on the boat.

[Jason B]

I actually have 2 hour meters. One is in the glove box and only runs when the motor is running, the other is on the dash and runs anytime the key is on. That's really kinda stupid since listening to the radio runs up the clock on the dash. The dash says 131 and the glove box says 85 hours. Big difference...means I drink too much sitting still with the radio on

My buddy had 1600 hrs on his boat and it still runs solid as can be. He used to be a boat mechanic so that thing has been mantained well. I think it really depends on how you take care of the boat and how it looks when the hours get higher. I personally would not mind buying a boat with higher hours if it was obvious the owner took great care of the boat. If it had high hours and looked like a$$ then I'd pass.

[skyski_tige]

Damn near every day...During the winter months we put a dry suit on and hit the lake for some wakeboarding...

I'm happy to be going to work today so I can rest. My buddy and I took last week off work and yesterday we were realized marked our 9th consecutive day out on the lake With upper 90's every day - it was a pretty good chore. I'm sure everyone at work will have a bunch of sympathy for me

Is Pier 121, referring to the South side of Lewisville lake? If so, I am coming in town Thurs / Fri. Do you need a 3rd for Thursday night?

[Matt Garcia]

Damn near every day...During the winter months we put a dry suit on and hit the lake for some wakeboarding...

I'm happy to be going to work today so I can rest. My buddy and I took last week off work and yesterday we were realized marked our 9th consecutive day out on the lake With upper 90's every day - it was a pretty good chore. I'm sure everyone at work will have a bunch of sympathy for me

What color is your boat? Have I met you out on Lewisville before? Are you the maroon/white 23V with the Monster tower?

[Matt Garcia]

Is Pier 121, referring to the South side of Lewisville lake? If so, I am coming in town Thurs / Fri. Do you need a 3rd for Thursday night?

Yes, that is correct. That is the same boat launch I use.