acbruce
Well-Known Member
I am considering buying a second hand Fairline Traga 34 or 40. All quote engine hours but how many hours should I expect to get from an engine without major work?
Engine life
- Thread starter acbruce
- Start date
Wiggo
Well-Known Member
Depends on how they've been maintained, but in theory they should go a couple of thousand hours before needing any serious rebuilding. If they been mistreated, you'll be wanting deep pockets and an understanding bank manager.
LeytonC
Well-Known Member
What about oil analysis (even before a survey) - never used it myself - but i think people on here have, any comments???
Dave_Snelson
Well-Known Member
I agree with Wiggo, but we need more info. How many hours? Whats the service history? How old in years is the boat? Whats the overall condition - ie has it been cared for generally? Where has it been used? How many previous owners? Does it have a history of major repairs? And so on...
Before parting with your money, have a survey done, but before that, test your own intuition by asking the above questions.
Before parting with your money, have a survey done, but before that, test your own intuition by asking the above questions.
Nauti Fox
Well-Known Member
Like others have said, engine hours really don't indicate the condition of the engine, they can run for a long time with no problems or be knackered within a very short time if abused or allowed to repeatedly overheat etc.
I think the best way of checking is a good sustained run at high power settings on the sea trial and if it performs well and the owner isn't twitching with his eyes glued to the T's & P's it would probably be ok. Always worth a good look at the engine(s) after a good trial as well.
I think the best way of checking is a good sustained run at high power settings on the sea trial and if it performs well and the owner isn't twitching with his eyes glued to the T's & P's it would probably be ok. Always worth a good look at the engine(s) after a good trial as well.
D
Deleted User YDKXO
Guest
I've had an oil analysis done on the last 3 boats I wanted to buy and the first time it saved me from buying a dud and from an estimated £35k bill. But it is absolutely essential to know how many hours the engine has run since the last oil change for the analysis to be worthwile
In fact, I'm doing it now on an annual basis just to keep an eye on engine wear. If there is a marked deterioration, I'll know it's time to sell
In fact, I'm doing it now on an annual basis just to keep an eye on engine wear. If there is a marked deterioration, I'll know it's time to sell
rickp
Well-Known Member
Absolutely - oil analysis is best done regularly to keep track of things. Who are you using, out of interest?
Rick
Rick
thomshap
Well-Known Member
Besides the hours I'd check everything, if you can find someone with a similar boat to give you a hand even better. We bought a Targa 30 a couple of months ago and decided to buy with warantee from Peters, good job too as there is an engineer on the boat most weeks.
Problems have ranged from a faulty fridge to a crack in the domestic water tank and leaks in the engine bay that I'd rather not have, including diesel, power steering fluid, outdrive leg fluid and water! All pretty much fixed now, nothing too serious and very happy that we bought the boat we did.
Problems have ranged from a faulty fridge to a crack in the domestic water tank and leaks in the engine bay that I'd rather not have, including diesel, power steering fluid, outdrive leg fluid and water! All pretty much fixed now, nothing too serious and very happy that we bought the boat we did.
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Deleted User YDKXO
Guest
I use David Shaw at Ebbtide . He does'nt actually do the analysis, he sends the samples to a lab but he helps interpret the results
neale
Well-Known Member
A propely maintained and cared for marine engine should last around 5000 hours before any stripping down is required. Problem is on a second hand boat you have no idea how the maintenance has been done. Agree with others, ignore hours and get an oil analysis done. Could also pay a quality engineer to give them the once over, but only worth doing if they are a proper engineer, not just some fitter with a couple of spare hours.