Re: How many hours on motor
There is no firm number that indicates any engine has too many hours. As for condition, the tip of your finger run across the engine block will tell you whether the engine has been "oiled". Run your hand down the side of a glass or painted aluminim boat. If it feels gritty it has probably never been waxed even if does look good. A well cared for boat will be smooth to the touch (except maybe for water spots or if a salt water boat, salt deposits that have not been washed down from recent use). As for the interior, use your sense of smell. Musty odors indicates things have been wet. If you are not mechanically inclined, at least listen for mechanical noises that don't sound normal to you. Point them out to your surveyor. There is no reason an engine should be covered in grim, oil and dirt unless it has had little or no preventive or corrective maintenance. A well cared for engine can run 20 years or more. Up north where we have short seasons, 100 hours run-time per season amounts to 2000 hours and that's still not overly high time. On the other hand, a neglected engine (or boat) can be turned to junk in a week by an inexperienced and/or uncaring owner. Offshore boats are typically operated for longer periods and seasons are longer so time can be considerably higher. Look for a boat that you think is acceptable. Then get a survey. You don't have to be a boat expert to tell whether the boat is worth considering or not. The survey will do that. But you can certainly narrow the field using a "look", "touch", "smell" and "hear" approach.
