Honest engine hours?

[Mike36c]

Looking for some opinions here. I've been inquiring about a few boats with original engines (8v71 450hp & 12v71 550hp) and with two of the boats the current owners admit they do not know the total engine times. At first I'm shying away but then I started thinking, how accurate are most stated total times on ~40 year old boats anyway? Of course the one or two owner boats with full logs are the exception but my question is that if an unknown time engine is fully surveyed for compression, wear, etc. and checks out fine does it really matter if it has say 2000 or 4000 hrs? As we know a babied 4000hr motor can look better than a 1500hr beat up (over propped) one.

 

[saltshaker]

Looking for some opinions here. I've been inquiring about a few boats with original engines (8v71 450hp & 12v71 550hp) and with two of the boats the current owners admit they do not know the total engine times. At first I'm shying away but then I started thinking, how accurate are most stated total times on ~40 year old boats anyway? Of course the one or two owner boats with full logs are the exception but my question is that if an unknown time engine is fully surveyed for compression, wear, etc. and checks out fine does it really matter if it has say 2000 or 4000 hrs? As we know a babied 4000hr motor can look better than a 1500hr beat up (over propped) one.

A thorough engine survey will tell you the condition and approximate life left in them. Both engines you are speaking of can offer long service life so hours aren't as much of an indication of condition. I have 1080HP 12V92TAs. When I bought the boat the actual engine hours were unknown. My survey estimated around 1200 hours. I later found out they had around 1100 hours SMOH.

 

[oscarvan]

I certainly eye Hobbs meters with a great deal of suspicion. Yes, aside of logs, your engine surveyor is probably the best source.

 

[rsmith]

Hours means nothing on these detroits. Like Dave has said its what size liner their up to as far as 71's go. Look at Billy Black and how many hours on those old 8's. My son told me in Afghanistan they had an APU that sounded like a Detroit turns out it was a 12/71T that's logs dated back to 1968 Guam during the Vietnam conflict. I still say that when the end of the world comes and all these new technology engines are dead and gone somewhere in the world a Detroit diesel will still be pounding away!

 

[tellico]

x2 on suspecting the existing hour meter on any boat. I've always had that concern.

I am no expert, but on my boat it was added when new, but not OEM, so I know it's accuracy. And I could easliy replace it anytime for a quick reduced hour reading. So who knows if one has been replaced, disconnected, etc. on another boat?

Despite all the govt's best efforts, even car odometers can still be replaced/duped, right?

 

[Glory]

I have seen 8-71Ns, marine propulsion, with 13,000 hours and running well. I'm not suggesting to buy a boat with 13,000 hours, just consider what is possible.

It is all comes down to maintenance and use.

Establishing what the maintenance and use is, can be harder than fighting out the hours. Especially with a list of past owners.

Maintenance records supported by receipts is a good starting point.

JM

 

[Tinman]

Hours means nothing on these detroits. Like Dave has said its what size liner their up to as far as 71's go. Look at Billy Black and how many hours on those old 8's. My son told me in Afghanistan they had an APU that sounded like a Detroit turns out it was a 12/71T that's logs dated back to 1968 Guam during the Vietnam conflict. I still say that when the end of the world comes and all these new technology engines are dead and gone somewhere in the world a Detroit diesel will still be pounding away!

You can count all those electronic engines out after that Alien EMP attack. Without maintenance records you would have to trust your engine surveyor, especially older boats with multiple owners.

 

[dottieshusband]

You know those Hobbs meters do wear out. When I bought my boat, the generator was represented as having 13k hours plus. The Hobbs meter showed 1130 hours, but there was a sticker added beside the Hobbs showing the original Hobbs was replaced at 1,200 hours (not 12,000). Sometimes you win! I wish folks would keep boat maintinence logs like aircraft logs, you could be pretty sure of the hours that wayl

 

[Mike36c]

Thanks guys, I didn't realize a good mechanic could determine engine life that accurately.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

I bought my boat in 2004 with really unknown hours. I had no survey but the 6v92s started instantly cold and didn't smoke a bit at idle or under load. I wasn't too concerned but I knew the meters were not right showing only 200hrs. I later found the old Hobbs in a drawer showing 2600hrs. So I figure now that I put on 1300 or so that I'm somewhere around 4000-4200. Its all about condition, not hours.

 

[oscarvan]

Thanks guys, I didn't realize a good mechanic could determine engine life that accurately.

He can't, but he'll be a lot closer than a Hobbs with the wires rotted of since 1986.

 

[arkiehawg]

I've also noticed several boats for sale with hour meters not working....Curiousity question from the
mechanics on the forum.... What kind of cost estimate would one be looking at to replace a broken
meter?

Thanks in advance, and as always, I really appreciate these forums!

 

[holtcl]

Speaking as an owner of a boat that is for sale and hour meters not currently working:

If it were a simple matter of buying new meters and plugging them in I'd have done that by now. Maybe it is, and I think I will try it just to be sure. However, because both of mine are out I'm betting there is a32v fuse or power source issue somewhere that is causing both of them not to function. Statistically it would seem improbable for both of them to go.

I've been troubleshooting my hour meters for awhile, but I've also been involved in a considerable refit over the past 5 years and did not consider the hour meters to be my most pressing issue. Nor is it an issue of finance, as hour meters can't cost much in relation to what I've spent just in the past year in things such as all new electronics, salon headliner, and more work done in the yard.

I can't speak for the other owners but I'm betting it just isn't a priority because like myself, most people who care for these boats probably keep a log of their hours, and as has been stated previously, most older boats have already gone through at least one set of hour meters and their reading is not the "gospel" but rather an estimation.

It's kind of looking at NADA for valuation - the information can get "lost in translation" with the older boats. Just my opinion.

Cheryl
Cinderella
1971 53 MY

 

[rsmith]

Everyone talks hours but in reality engine health can only be determined by a complete engine survey. Low hour engines with poor maintanance and lack of use is far worse than engines that have been run and maintained. And every catastrophic engine failure I've seen has been after a rebuild or maintance. Mechanics destroy more engines than hours run.

 

[Mike36c]

Yep, the two scariest times behind the yoke is first with a brand new airplane, and then one just after heavy maintenance. More than once I've had the fire trucks follow me to the hangar, then the paperwork, ugh...