3500 hours .... is that considered excessive for a 12 year old motorboat?

[jrudge]

It is still down to price and condition !

That is the cheapest one on the market ( I did one search only) but not by much.

Offer £100 k and see what happens.

 

[MedMilo]

In a planning boat do you think someone ( buyers engineer ) might scrutinise the hrs and fuel burn together and realise it’s not spent as much time as it should of done at P speed .
The low fuel burn does not tally with the high hrs run ? .
Then start a conversation ( if the engineer s worth his salt ) with the buyer about low EGT ,s and agglomeration and the effect on engine health .

Well let's hope that when I come to sell the boat a buyer / surveyor / engineer will understand the relevance of the relatively low amount. of fuel that's been through the engine. But who knows?! Anyhow, as you said, no point buying a boat and then either not using it or not using it as you want to - much better to be having fun and building memories! The S65 has been amazing for us in every respect and I can't see us flogging it anytime soon and tbh with the hours building up as they are the 'market value vs value to us' equation is only going one way!

 

[Momac]

Is this the boat you are taking about .. I come across it other day . Nice boat but hours put me off in the end
http://www.solentmotoryachts.com/boat/smy1_1635/Sealine-F42-5

Yes that's the boat I had seen advertised.
All looked good until seeing the hours.

 

[petem]

Could that be the Cameron House (Loch Lomond) boat (I know that was a Sealine but can't remember the model)?

 

[volvopaul]

Is this the boat you are taking about .. I come across it other day . Nice boat but hours put me off in the end
http://www.solentmotoryachts.com/boat/smy1_1635/Sealine-F42-5

Ah that will be the one owned and operated by Marine Matters at Warsash.

 

[Bbroomlea]

I think service history and maintenance records are as if not more important than hours.

My S34 has 1500hrs on its D4's. It has a pretty good history, mostly river hours with a few sharp sea blasts so fuel consumption will be low. I know of another S34 with D4s that have had one engine replaced at 400 hrs due to lack of servicing of the fuel system. The remaining engine was not serviced very often, spent a lot of time ticking over or thrashed around. I doubt the new owners know about any of that but they have a 500 hr boat and probably a clean survey.

I do agree with a previous comment on other wear though. My clutch cones are a little tired, needed new steering rams, drive cables, actuators etc. All factored into the offered and accepted purchase price so cant complain too much. And I know that side of things is worry free for a while now.

 

[ari]

I know of another S34 with D4s that have had one engine replaced at 400 hrs due to lack of servicing of the fuel system.

What is it on the fuel system that should be serviced, and if it isn't will write off the engine?

 

[ari]

Is 3500 hours considered excessive for a 2007 boat with D6 engines on shafts ?

To answer the original question, I wouldn't call 3,500 hours excessive, I've known commercial boats with Volvo Pentas clock up over 20,000 hours with no sign of any maintenance beyond regular servicing.

Your big problem is that it is comparatively high hours, leading people to believe that it is excessive hours - as per many of the posts above, which is going to cause you a problem on resale.

 

[Bbroomlea]

What is it on the fuel system that should be serviced, and if it isn't will write off the engine?

Water in fuel. Fuel filters not changed for years eventually leading to injector failure and a nice hole in the piston crown.

If the filters had been changed then the water would have been detected, traced and fixed

Ultimately a well looked after and serviced engine will run for a long time and poorly maintained one will not.

 

[Momac]

Water in fuel. Fuel filters not changed for years eventually leading to injector failure and a nice hole in the piston crown.
.

That story very much emphasizes the cost benefit of changing fuel filters annually regardless of hours.
I know someone who has not changed his fuel filters in nearly 5 years so perhaps I will remind him

 

[Bbroomlea]

I always change all fuel filters, oil filters and change oil every 12m. For the cost of doing it against everything else boats cost its false economy not to. £20K for new D4 so a couple of hundred quid for new filters every year is a small price to pay

 

[Rocksteadee]

Ah that will be the one owned and operated by Marine Matters at Warsash.

I wondered why the company name had been taken off.

 

[Rickard]

Water in fuel. Fuel filters not changed for years eventually leading to injector failure and a nice hole in the piston crown.

If the filters had been changed then the water would have been detected, traced and fixed

Ultimately a well looked after and serviced engine will run for a long time and poorly maintained one will not.

That failure happens to some D4-300 even if they are serviced correct and low hours etc

 

[gordmac]

Interesting, there is a commercially used BT for sale with 6000 hours. Do engines nowadays, with proper maintenance, ever wear out?

 

[Momac]

Interesting, there is a commercially used BT for sale with 6000 hours. Do engines nowadays, with proper maintenance, ever wear out?

Possibly not but the ancillary components may wear out?

 

[jrudge]

Interesting, there is a commercially used BT for sale with 6000 hours. Do engines nowadays, with proper maintenance, ever wear out?

There are plenty of Onan generators with daft hours.

I suppose like your 6000 hour boat

- it is probably not operating under stress
- it will not have continual stop start cycles
- compared to others it has had comparatively little time to rot / rust
- all the moving bit move regularly so won't seize up

It is still wearing. Would I buy it. No. Does it have life in it - probably - you just don't know how long. Will you be able to sell it? At the right price you can sell anything!

 

[petem]

There's a Syndicate Sq52 in Alcudia that's well over 6000 hours and going strong I believe. It's not too much use that kills engines, it's too little.

 

[Switch]

Interesting discussion. The boat in question is a 2007 model (a fairly late model for that type). Having a quick look on the internet this boat looks to be the cheapest on the market (I know someone will find a cheaper one but I've only had a quick look) but it's probably the cheapest 2007 model by some margin. I'm just raising the point that the age of the boat has been largely ignored because of the high engine hours. Age has to play some part in the correlation, newer boats are more expensive than older ones of the same model. To my mind at least, the asking price does not seem so unreasonable compared to similar aged F42/5's with much lower engine hours but it does look expensive compared to older boats with lower engine hours. So, a potential buyer has to decide on an older boat with fewer hours or a newer boat with high hours. I don't know the answer to that in this case.

 

[Momac]

It's not too much use that kills engines, it's too little.

I have experienced evidence of that first hand. Turbo rebuilt at 300hrs from new.
First 200 hrs spread over 11 years with the first owner.

 

[Portofino]

To answer the original question, I wouldn't call 3,500 hours excessive, I've known commercial boats with Volvo Pentas clock up over 20,000 hours with no sign of any maintenance beyond regular servicing.

Your big problem is that it is comparatively high hours, leading people to believe that it is excessive hours - as per many of the posts above, which is going to cause you a problem on resale.

The big issue being glossed over here is this ...... can it be re sleeved or / and a next number piston set be readily available for a rebuild ?
Your know a wet liner type of engine .
The D6 and D 4 can’t they are literally throw away blocks .
Where as earlier VP stuff was wet liner with replaceable liners .Hence the Zillion hrs in fact if you think about it ( with parts available) eternity.

In the real world it’s nice to know in “ replaceable wet liner land “ that if there’s gonna be a problem primary due to high hrs it feels more economical to do a rebuild over a whole short block .