Total Hours Question

[stal87]

How many hours is considered "getting up there" on a boat? You know, like on a car, there is the 100k mile figure that a guy kind of uses as a guideline.

I am looking at a 1987 Four Winns 190 with a 4.3 inboard. It is advertised as ONLY 400 hours. Is this good? Does anyone know if this is a good boat?

Thanks for the input.

 

[Andy'sDelight]

Re: Total Hours Question

How many hours is considered "getting up there" on a boat? You know, like on a car, there is the 100k mile figure that a guy kind of uses as a guideline.

I am looking at a 1987 Four Winns 190 with a 4.3 inboard. It is advertised as ONLY 400 hours. Is this good? Does anyone know if this is a good boat?

Thanks for the input.

Hours is a useless figure that's meaningless to the condition of the engine. An engine that was well taken care of can last a lifetime. Conversely, and engine can be blown in less than 10 minutes if you try hard enough. If you know about engines, look it over with a finer tooth comb. If you don't, pay someone who does to do it for you.

 

[Subliminal]

Re: Total Hours Question

Well, like stated, maint. makes all the difference in the world.

That 400 hrs, over the 23 yrs of the boat's life, is ~17 hrs a year. I've already put that many on my boat, and I've only had it a few months!

 

[evilnss]

Re: Total Hours Question

Hours is a useless figure that's meaningless to the condition of the engine. An engine that was well taken care of can last a lifetime. Conversely, and engine can be blown in less than 10 minutes if you try hard enough. If you know about engines, look it over with a finer tooth comb. If you don't, pay someone who does to do it for you.

Agreed.

 

[rbh]

Re: Total Hours Question

Hopefully the hour meter is the origanal one one, and that it still works (they don't last forever.

 

[The Famous Grouse]

Re: Total Hours Question

I don't agree that the hour figure is meaningless, but it's not an end-all-be-all either.

You have to keep in mind that a boat engine works under tremendous load all the time. There is no coasting when it comes to boats. It's essentially like having a car engine that does nothing except pushing a car up a very steep hill.

So let's consider 400 hours in terms of "days of use on the lake". I would suspect that that figure represents somewhere between 100-200 actual days of use. Just for the sake of discussion, let's figure that every time they took the boat out, they put between 2 and 4 hours on the engine.

So is 100-200 uses "light"? Well, consider the boat is 23 years old, that means they used it somewhere between 4 and 8 times per year on average.

I would say that's closer to "average" than light for a boat of that age. I see you're in SD, so I'd have to say that your average SD boater, given the length of the season there, is going to be hard pressed to do much more unless they actually live on a lake.

Of course the condition and maintenance history mean a lot more than just the raw hour figure, but the bottom line is that viewed in context I can't support the seller's conclusion that 400 hours is "light" use.

Grouse

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Total Hours Question

I'll support the fact 400 hours doesn't mean much to a 4 stroke car based engine. You are no where close to wearing out the engine internals. Split one open and the pistons and rings should look like new. And as with any older boat, you are going to have accessory failure just from age. (belts/hoses fail, starters die, alternators go out, etc...)

maintenance is everything. I'd take a 400 hour engine that has meticulous maintenance records over one with 50 hours that I'm fairly sure has never even seen new oil.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Total Hours Question

I would say that's closer to "average" than light for a boat of that age. I see you're in SD, so I'd have to say that your average SD boater, given the length of the season there, is going to be hard pressed to do much more unless they actually live on a lake.

depends how much you enjoy boating... I don't live on the water, but have a weekend cabin on a lake. My RIVER boat, which is only used on nice days monday-friday, puts on at least 100 hours in a season. It isn't touched during the weekends even, when I'm at the lake.

 

[brick75]

Re: Total Hours Question

Hours is a useless figure that's meaningless to the condition of the engine.

Alright, this statement is a bit strong. I think everyone agrees that how an engine is maintained is what's most important, but how many hours it has is certainly not a useless or meaningless factor. EVERYTHING wears out over time, and in its simplest definition, the more hours you have on an engine the worse off you are.

400 hours really isn't all that much for 1987, but like others point out, the meters can be misleading (added after the boat had been used, no longer working etc.). Just check it over real good, and if you're not familiar with what to look for, have a shop take a look at it.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Total Hours Question

OK -- the man wants numbers. At 400 hours I can't believe the engine spent less than 20% off-plane so lets play with numbers. The boat in question probably tops out around 50 MPH so lets say the average over the 400 hours is 20 mph. 20 x 400 = 8000. So the 400 hours represents the equivalent of 8000 miles. Now the hooker. A car with 8000 miles at 20 MPH average would never crack 1500 RPM. This boat with 8000 miles would have spent most of its time above 3000 RPM -- and probably closer to 3500-4000 RPM. So lets put a multiplier of 2.5 on the 8000 miles which now brings it up to 20,000. I think we agree that 3000 hours (roughly) on a marine engine amounts to excellent service life. That is a factor of slightly under 8 for the 400 vs 3000 and that would equate to 160,000 miles of road use using all of my assumptions. Now as everyone has suggested, someone can screw up an engine in well under 400 hours while others can sell a boat with 3000 hours and still have the engine in excellent shape. Just looking at the boat and finding it "mint" is by no means a guarantee the engine is "mint". Besides, the hour meter may have been installed last month, last year, or it may be original. The word of the current owner is only as good as your relationship.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Total Hours Question

I know that low hours is not a good feature for an outboard; they need to be run often. Is the same true for inboards, experts?

I use the service manual schedule of "1 year/100 hours" to assume the manufacturer's expectation of 100 hours a year. That's where I am. It also indicates that service is needed even if it sits.

Crabbers and other commercial users may go 1000 hours a year. They replace engines every couple of years.

I see 400 hours in 23 years as not being used enough. 17 hours a year? Why would someone maintain correctly a boat he never uses? Why change the plugs and filters after 17 hours (3 day's of boating)? (Answer: because they have been sitting). To me, the "hours" would have some significance in a boat less than 5 years old; after that, except in extremes, probably doesn't tell you anything about the motor--but it tells you a lot about its use.

OTOH in parts of the country with short seasons, and if stored correctly (big if) you get a little "time capsule" effect. But the 23 year old boat in the salt and sun here may have as many, but different, issues as the 23 year boat in the Minnesota winters.

There are parts of boats that deteriorate with age just sitting there, so your 23 year old boat has 23 years on the parts regardless of what's been going on inside the engine block. In that respect hours are indeed meaningless, or more aptly put, a distraction.

 

[45Auto]

Re: Total Hours Question

I know that low hours is not a good feature for an outboard; they need to be run often.

Why would an outboard be any different than any other engine?