[C320-list] engine hours

[james_delong]

Guys,

My Catalina 320, hull number 453, is 'softly' on the market.  By softly I mean it is not a full fledged marketing campaign.  It is listed only on the 320 web page and on Sailboat Listings.

Since October I have only received 6 calls and one visit scheduled for this Thursday.

A couple of other potentials have fallen through because the they thought the engine hours were too high.  Folks seem to be looking for a 13 year old boat with less than 500 hours!

This is a Yanmar 3GM30 Japanese version engine with 1680 hours.

I've read you should run these often and hard. In fact this months Sail Magazine recommends at least 4 hours at full operating temperature at hull speed every month. Just doing that I would have accumulated over 600 hours.

The question is:  What argument can be made for high vs. low hours?  Is low always better, or do low hours present a different set of problems vs. high hours in an engine that has been well maintained?

How much 'value' is lost do the high hours or is this just a perception issue?

Thanks!  Jim #453