Engine hours....

[doc2b4fun]

hello all. looking to pick up my first nautique and was looking for some input from the crowd on engine hours. Obviously hours are not the sole determination on a boats value but i was interested in opinions on hours with respect to the engine. are there problems that go along with too few hours a year? (looking at a g23 or 230 with less than 20 a year/) Or on the flip side, what kind of problems with a boat with say 700+ hours thats only 1 year old. (was likely a ski school boat) Any insight from the crowd on hours and engine issues would be appreciated....

[scottb7]

My advice is simple: make sure the oil was changed regularly. Not necessarily every 50, but at least every 75 or so...

[Tallredrider]

I think if the boat is a 2013 or newer (Didn't G23 come out in 2013?), then I do not think too few hours is something that will likely catch up to you. I get concerned when I see a 10 year old boat with 100 hours or less on it. A 3-4 year old boat with 40 hours would not be a big deal.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, I would wonder more about who was driving and how beat up the boat is. If the same instructor or competent person drove the boat most of those 700 hours, I would probably not have many concerns. But if Wally took the boat out much of the time and drove it like he stole it, there may be some hidden wear and tear. A compression test would be something I would absolutely do for a high hour boat. And because most buyers think the hours are a terrible thing, you do have a reason to get a better deal. There is a beautiful red and white G23 in the classifieds with only 140 well maintained hours. I wouldn't hesitate to buy that, but think if I keep it for 3 years, I will lose more trying to sell a 3 year old boat with 450 hours.

[josemolino]

I mainly concentrate on maintenance records and general look of the boat (rust ? mold? clean? upholstery?, gelcoat?)

[Evening Shade]

My concern about a 1 year old boat with 700 hours is that its been at a ski school and had several people in and out of the boat that don't care how the boat gets treated because its not their boat after all. Like a rental car in other words. Also a one year old boat with 700 hours has had a lot of UV exposure to the interior which is tough on vinyl and stitching. Not to mention that its probably had a lot of water and thus mildew in the boat. I wouldn't worry too much about 700 hours on the engine as long as the oil has been changed regularly. But the price does need to reflect very high hours for year model as others have said. High hours will cost you when you go to sell a boat because its one the few numbers that get used in negotiations.

[skiinxs]

As a comparison.......... my 04 Suburban is getting pretty old now, but has been flawless for the last 11 years, and is just about to hit 200,000 miles and is almost at 6,000 hours. Probably close to half of the hours have been pulling a boat, so most likely has been run quite a bit harder than the boat. That equates to around 33 mph average, so 200 hours would be less than 7,000 miles. Conversly, my 2015 promo boat received just just under 200 hours this year, here again, less than 7,000 miles equivelant. Now before someone says they are harder miles in a boat, the last Diacam report showed the following breakdown:

Engine Operating Hour Summary (RPM vs MAP psia)
__________________________________________________ ___________
RPM\MAP 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 15.0 TOTALS
__________________________________________________ ___________
700 0.81 106.74 4.15 0.50 0.09 0.05 112.33
1800 0.98 0.70 5.44 1.63 0.29 0.01 9.05
2500 0.43 0.29 9.17 32.22 4.50 0.09 46.69
3500 0.01 0.03 0.27 6.86 18.20 0.65 26.01
4500 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.74 0.44 1.22
5600 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.01

Total Histogram Hours = 195.32

In other words, of the 195.32 running hours on the engine, 112.33 hours were at IDLE! There were only 83 hours where the boat was actually doing any work. Interesting data isn't it!
Dave

[Tryathlete]

Interesting data! Engine wear is a complex subject, but with modern lubrication technology, typical maintenance, and the fact the cold-starts on a boat are never really anything like sub-zero events.....and just how much we all tend to idle cruise around in our boats means most boat owners will never even come close the dealing with a completely worn-out engine. Look at some of the ski schools that hit 3000 hours and those boats are still strong.

I like to buy a boat with lower hours because it simply reduces the unknowns, but hour meters can be swapped out easily. If you worry about hours, just have a warmed-up engine compression check with a leak-down test performed.....you'll know if it's good, bad or ugly to decide if engine is strong or in need of top or complete OH.

I wish I had a new enough boat to pull data like that....but I already know the numbers you've pulled are pretty indicative of where mine would fall.


Sooner or later your toys own you

[EchoLodge]

I think if the boat is a 2013 or newer (Didn't G23 come out in 2013?), then I do not think too few hours is something that will likely catch up to you. I get concerned when I see a 10 year old boat with 100 hours or less on it. A 3-4 year old boat with 40 hours would not be a big deal.

I bought my 99 SS few years back from the original owner with 70 hours on it. Boat was showroom condition. While lack of use can be abuse I was happy to get a boat with such low hours. On the other end of the spectrum... I sold my 90 Sport to a buddy with 1200... Many of those hours in saltwater. That boat has close to 2000 hours and is still going strong. Maintenance is the key. Oil every 50 and tranny every 100...

Sent from my van down by the river!