I am starting to look at boats for a purchase next spring and I'm wondering how do the hours on a boat relate to miles on a car? Just trying to understand when the hours become a concern just like too many miles on a car. Thanks.
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I am starting to look at boats for a purchase next spring and I'm wondering how do the hours on a boat relate to miles on a car? Just trying to understand when the hours become a concern just like too many miles on a car. Thanks.
You can have hours without miles, but you can't have miles without hours.
With outboards you may end up having more hours than miles so hours end up being a more accurate representation of engine usage. Think slow trolling where you can be running all day long and might only have a couple of miles. The best way to think of a comparison is by using the 4 strokes where 100 hours ends up being the oil change interval.
The closest analogy that I can think of--Which is better---a car with 50K miles that are all city (and alot of hours), or one with 50K highway miles (and not as many hours). Hours are a better indicator of type of usage on a boat.
Hours or miles really doesn't matter! It is the care with which it had. You can find one with low hours or miles on it, but if the maintenence wasn't preformed correctly it could be a very poor choice. EB
Newer motors can be hooked to a computer and give ya a printout of how many hours and a breakdown of hours at certain rpm's. Personally, I am more leary of a boat that is very low on hours. The worse thing for an outboard is for it to sit in the garage and never get used.
Thanks for the replies guys but what I'm really trying to find out is what is considered alot of hours for a boat motor?? Is 250hrs. average use and maybe comparable to say 50,000 miles on a car, is 400hrs. considered high use? I know that how a motor is taken care of makes all the difference in the world but if you're buying used and don't know the person then his word and the hours on the motor is all you have to go on.
That is what a compression check is for. My motor has high hours for its age since I fish every other day or more, but has been maintained properly. A motor that has very low hours and sits for months without being used, is less desirable in my opinion. Boats aren't cars, it's like comparing apples to oranges.
I had a mechanic tell me one time that 1 thousand hrs is like a 100,000 miles on a car.
I do not think reasonable hours are an issue, I think proper care and operation of an outboard will make all the difference. I see guys drop off their boat, start it up and pedal to they metal wide open in 2 seconds and never let up. I idle out for a good 5 min then wide open then back off to about 80% once on plane. I burn a little more oil than 100 to 1 after all that is all the oil a 2 stroke gets. 22 year old motor and compression is still 125 and 125. Just me thoughts.