Questions about hour-meter... any help and ideals?

[Newbateau]

We're looking for our first boat and very interested in a Rinker bowrider 2005. The boat looks very clean and nice, and the owner of the boat is the second owner, who just bought it one year ago, and he used it for about 80 hours. But the problem is he said the hour-meter of the boat was reset to zero by the first owner, so he didn't really know how many hours the boat was used by the first owner. He said the owner told him it was used for about 120 hours. We asked him why the hour-meter was re-set, and he said he had no ideal about it.

So, our question is if it's risky to take a boat like that? anything could be hidden? Is it possible the motor was replaced, is Rinker boat motor trust-able? The boat looks really clean and nice, we're pretty confused now... Many thanks for your reply.

 

[mpdive]

Re: Questions about hour-meter... any help and ideals?

It's not a question of hours but more about maintenance. It could have 700 hours on it but if was maintained it would be better than one with 200 hours on it and poorly maintained. Ask the owner if he would object to having it looked at by a mechanic and have a compression test done. That would tell a lot. Ask about a sea trial and see how it runs. If you have a marina on the water close to you they can kill two birds with one stone.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Questions about hour-meter... any help and ideals?

, is Rinker boat motor trust-able?

That is the absolute wrong question to ask when buying a used boat. The name on the side of the boat has nothing to do with the motor. Boats aren't like cars, where it says ford on the side and means there is a ford engine. (bad analogy, ford has a long history of using different engines (mazda, yamaha...), but anyway...) When it says rinker on the side, it most likely has a chevy engine. Lots of other boats will have the identical powertrain.

So in other words, read every word of mpdive's advice. Maintenance is the only thing you need to be concerned about, ignore brand.

 

[The Rooster]

Re: Questions about hour-meter... any help and ideals?

+1&2 for the comments above. Mechanical survey, and a sea trial.

 

[Cincyrunner]

Re: Questions about hour-meter... any help and ideals?

I'd still be a little leery of it, imo. Why reset the hour meter?? Doesn't make sense. The only reason to reset an hour meter is to hide something. All the maintenance could have been done correctly and motor is mechanically sound, but resetting the meter throws up red flags to me.

 

[cyclops2]

Re: Questions about hour-meter... any help and ideals?

I have a 2002 Chaparral 186 SSI with a 5 L V8 in it. Bought it new. Would you believe the 205 hours on the meter?

I sure as hell do not believe V8 sit around. In N Y .

Forget a stupid transfered meter job. Check out the boat carefully. Checks OK ? Buy a new hourmeter for it & park next to mine.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Questions about hour-meter... any help and ideals?

I'd still be a little leery of it, imo. Why reset the hour meter?? Doesn't make sense. The only reason to reset an hour meter is to hide something. All the maintenance could have been done correctly and motor is mechanically sound, but resetting the meter throws up red flags to me.

hour meters are CHEAP gauges and often fail... or it was wired up so it ran with the key on but no engine, and someone racked up 1000 hours with only a couple hours of engine time. Hour meters in a boat are for the owners maintenance records only, nothing more, nothing less. Even ones that are integrated into the ECU can be made to lie, or the ecu can be replaced.

And if it was actually a resettable hour meter, I could see myself doing that every season, and keeping a notebook of records, including # of hours I put on every season. I'd know how many hours were on the engine by looking at the logs, and how many hours that season by glancing at the meter.

 

[cyclops2]

Re: Questions about hour-meter... any help and ideals?

Good points Smokey.

 

[cyclops2]

Re: Questions about hour-meter... any help and ideals?

Does my hour meter show that the lower unit sits still in the water from May 1 to September 1? That is wear of some kind. Forget the meter.

 

[Newbateau]

Re: Questions about hour-meter... any help and ideals?

It's not a question of hours but more about maintenance. It could have 700 hours on it but if was maintained it would be better than one with 200 hours on it and poorly maintained. Ask the owner if he would object to having it looked at by a mechanic and have a compression test done. That would tell a lot. Ask about a sea trial and see how it runs. If you have a marina on the water close to you they can kill two birds with one stone.

Thank you very much for your reply, that really helps! The boat has always been used in fresh water, and we're not close to the sea, so we'll use it in fresh water too.

just wondering what's the difference to use a boat between sea and fresh water? Thanks again!

 

[Silly Seville]

Re: Questions about hour-meter... any help and ideals?

This may not be relevant, but I like the idea of two hour meters onboard. One in dash at the helm to record "hull" hours, and one in the engine compartment to record of course, engine hours. I think this setup would be ideal in the event of an older boat that has undergone engine re-powers or drive replacements. That way, records are in fact, more accurate. And I'm not 100% sure, but I think it is nearly impossible to "turn back" a quality hour meter. Unless you're really good at separating pieces of plastic that are heat or chemically welded together. And modern meters do not run backwards by switching polarity. The manufacturers were way ahead of that trick. YMMV!

 

[Beefer]

Re: Questions about hour-meter... any help and ideals?

And I'm not 100% sure, but I think it is nearly impossible to "turn back" a quality hour meter. Unless you're really good at separating pieces of plastic that are heat or chemically welded together. And modern meters do not run backwards by switching polarity. The manufacturers were way ahead of that trick. YMMV!

I don't know of any cheap ones either that can be reset. I'd be leery.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Questions about hour-meter... any help and ideals?

Let us know what engine the boat has . . it is either going to be a mercruiser or a volvo-penta.

I'm assuming that the hour meter was replaced, so there is probably a story to be told about the circumstances. You would need to know more about the boat's history in order to assess if it is worth pursuing.

Fresh water is easier on boats than salt water, everybody knows that. Specifically, in salt water the rate of galvanic corrosion is much greater than in fresh water. The outdrive needs to have protective "anodes" in order to resist the galvanic corrosion. Salt also tends to penetrate all of the fittings on a boat, making things harder to take apart when the need arises.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Questions about hour-meter... any help and ideals?

I don't know of any cheap ones either that can be reset. I'd be leery.

$35 cheap enough? (or $80 for a analog model)

http://www.amazon.com/Hardline-METER-HOUR-RESETTABLE-HR-8067/dp/B0022ZFGY6
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/EN...r Meters-_-6LVT2&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=6LVT2


There are LOTS of resettable hour meters out there... Also, I've seen lots of failures of the older style with dial digits. They often just give up the ghost and quit working entirely, so are fairly often replaced.

 

[Jasoniboat]

Re: Questions about hour-meter... any help and ideals?

We're looking for our first boat and very interested in a Rinker bowrider 2005. The boat looks very clean and nice, and the owner of the boat is the second owner, who just bought it one year ago, and he used it for about 80 hours. But the problem is he said the hour-meter of the boat was reset to zero by the first owner, so he didn't really know how many hours the boat was used by the first owner. He said the owner told him it was used for about 120 hours. We asked him why the hour-meter was re-set, and he said he had no ideal about it.

So, our question is if it's risky to take a boat like that? anything could be hidden? Is it possible the motor was replaced, is Rinker boat motor trust-able? The boat looks really clean and nice, we're pretty confused now... Many thanks for your reply.

Newbateu - I am a newer boater as well and I agree with everyone on this thread. When I bought my boat the hour meter said 130 hours... which is possible.... the boat was a 97, but immaculate. Anyways, come to find out that the hour meter stopped working on it's own. I don't know if the owner was aware or not.

However, what I have learned is that is is much better to have a boat with higher hours vs. a boat with low hours that hasn't been used and maintained. Based on looking at my engine, it appears well maintained....so that is what I went with. I bought a new hour meter and hooked it up to a battery charger to run it up to 130 hours, then installed in it my boat. I agree with the others that the hour meter is mostly to help keep track of maintainence. I am new to all of this, but I think it is better to have a boat with higher hours that is properly maintained vs. a low hour boat that hasn't been used...sitting out in the rain, etc. Engines are meant to be run and maintained. I could be wrong, but that's my 2 cents. Also a new hour meter will run you only about 40-50 bucks.

I have heard there is also something called an ECR on most engines that tell the true story of how the engine has been used.

hope that helps.

Jason.

 

[Summer Fun]

Re: Questions about hour-meter... any help and ideals?

Would that boat have a computer box on it ??.

If yes hook up a scanner and see whats there.

 

[Silly Seville]

Re: Questions about hour-meter... any help and ideals?

$35 cheap enough? (or $80 for a analog model)
There are LOTS of resettable hour meters out there... Also, I've seen lots of failures of the older style with dial digits.

Guess I should've googled before making any statements. I haven't shopped for an hour meter for over ten years, so I stand corrected about the versions that can be reset. In my defense, I was referring to OEM style, factory installed analogue meters that are built like an old car odometer. They "roll" on tiny gears, and were never meant to be opened or toyed with. That is the only kind I've ever had. I don't own a boat new enough to have a digital meter, and probably never will. A resettable meter on any piece of motorized equipment for "cumulative hours of operation" purposes would be pointless. Imagine where it counts in other industries like construction equipment that changes hands every so many years (or hours of use), fire engine apparatus, commercial generators, airplanes, semi-tractors, ambulances. These are items a buyer absolutely deserves to have some kind of documented hours of use on a motor, and I would imagine that those items are equipped with tamper proof meters still. I'm just saying!

 

[mr 88]

Re: Questions about hour-meter... any help and ideals?

As far as the hour meter goes I have one with a throw switch that turns it on.1966 Merc OB that is not wired for electronic hook ups.Anyway I have left that switch on a couple times and the last time I went from 50 hours[ which should of been 6] to 580.Left it on 2-3 weeks.No big deal ,as noted, any one can replace the hour meter and the new owner would never know.Compression test and general care/look of boat are two big ones in my book.If the guy looks like he is a neat freak,great!!

 

[Newbateau]

Re: Questions about hour-meter... any help and ideals?

Let us know what engine the boat has . . it is either going to be a mercruiser or a volvo-penta.

I'm assuming that the hour meter was replaced, so there is probably a story to be told about the circumstances. You would need to know more about the boat's history in order to assess if it is worth pursuing.

Fresh water is easier on boats than salt water, everybody knows that. Specifically, in salt water the rate of galvanic corrosion is much greater than in fresh water. The outdrive needs to have protective "anodes" in order to resist the galvanic corrosion. Salt also tends to penetrate all of the fittings on a boat, making things harder to take apart when the need arises.

Thanks for your reply. The engine is a Volvo 5.0L. That also brings another question. We just happened to see another Rinker bowrider (Rinker Captiva 212), which is exactly the same model, same year as the first one, but the thing is the second one we just saw got a Mercruiser 5.0L motor, and the Volvo has 270HP, but the Mercruiser has 260HP. So I'm a bit confused now. How come the boat with the same brand, same model and same year, got different motors? The seller with the Volvo motor said in his ad, the price is negotiable, but when we talked to him, he only agreed to drop 500$ on the price... and he said next spring he would sell it with a better price...

 

[Newbateau]

Re: Questions about hour-meter... any help and ideals?

Hi Jason, many thinks for your input, that's really helpful for me... As a boat newbie there are so many things to learn. Congrats for your new boat! Hope I'll be a new boat owner soon...