[C320-list] engine hours

[Jeff Hare]

I agree with Chris here. I'll add one other point that is not always obvious.

Engine Hours on a diesel boat are not comparable to Truck/ Car diesel hours.  The main reason is that in a trucks load the engine heavily while accelerating, then use only a portion of that Hp to maintain cruising speed.  Overcoming grades/rolling/wind resistance is the primary load. 

On a moving boat, the engine is loaded heavily all the time,  its like a truck always climbing a hill.  Now if we could plane,  then that would be different. 

So,  with the exception of idling and battery charging,  boat engine hours are far more extreme than truck hours and need rebuilding much earlier.  

-Jeff H.
  
------Original Message------
From: Chris Burti
Sender: c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com
To: C320-List at catalina320.com
ReplyTo: C320-List at Catalina320.com
Subject: Re: [C320-list] engine hours
Sent: Oct 5, 2009 5:51 PM

Total engine hours is not a really meaningful number. 3000 hours on a well
maintained engine run at the proper rpm for extended periods of time is
nothing. 1000 hours run cold and shut off before  the engine gets good and
hot with little or no maintenance, may be ready to quit on you. And then
some abused engines seem to run forever.

If the boat is in good shape and the engine looks clean, starts easily
it runs up to 3500 RPM without smoking,  uses no oil on two hour test run,
 and the engine surveyor blesses it, it is a good risk regardless of the
hours. If the owner kept good maintenance records...even more so.
On Mon, Oct 5, 2009 at 10:50 AM, james_delong <james_delong at bellsouth.net>wrote:

> Y'all,
>
> This is really an unimportant question, but this group is full of opinions
> and that is what I'm looking for!
>
> What is an excessive number of engine hours on our boats?  Is there any
> such thing as too few hours?
>
> Mine is a 1997 with 1650 hours.  I only put about 50 to 60 per year, but I
> think the previous owner spent most of his time plying up and down the ICW
> under power, which is not uncommon here!
>
> When I bought the boat it had about 1500, but the surveyor called it
> 'lightly used'.  And when some one finds one with just a few hundred hours,
> it's considered a 'find'.
>
> Anyway, what are the pluses and minuses to the hours argument?
>
> Jim  #453
>



-- 
Chris Burti Farmville, NC