They all want to spin between 5500 to 6000 so not hard to calculate.

Im a baby boomer pleasure boater and I never run around with my throttles to the console all day long.I boat with a lot of people who are the same way.We take care of our boats like we do our vehicles.We want them to last as long as possible with out having to rebuild them every 50 hours.Who has the money in this economy to blow it out the exhaust at W.O.T?I think marine engines are overpriced also!Thats why the marine business is in the shape its in.If a engine shop like the gentllemen on here has could build a marine set up that could run 5200 to 5400 rpms and produce around 600 h.p.on 87-89 octane gas with a year warranty and be priced reasonably I think it would be worth looking at .Mercury only offers a 90 day warranty on there engines and look what you have to pay for them,Ouch!!!A boat is a bottomless pit that you sink money in to and only use about 4 months a year on the weekends and what ever time you can take for a vacation, that is for must of us hard working people with kids in college ,etc!.Just my 2 cents worth.Good luck in what ever direction you decide to go...

that thing must haul A$$!

It's interesting that a lot of you guys are saying the business is bad but I priced out an engine to put a proposal together for the owners and most of the venders I talked with are saying that they are selling more parts for the marine market than anything else right now.
I recommened that the owners go to the boat show this weekend as they are in Daytona for the races. Hopefully they'll go and give me some feedback when they get back.

Thanks for all the feedback.
Jim

I think if i pulled a 14,000 lb trailer anywhere with my Denali the engine would be the last thing that would blow up. Denali's are rated at 8,000 lbs for towing from the factory. I'd guess the brakes and drivetrain would be the first to go.

What marine engine can run WOT for 12 hrs?

Yea it moves pretty fast for a 6,000 lb + SUV. Its run a 12.01 in the 1/4 mile and runs 0-60 in the high 3's.

Ok, I exaggerated. But you get the idea... A 7500 lb boat with 1500 HP doesn't excelerate like a 7500 lb vehicle (truck) with 1500 HP. The marine engine works much, much harder to maintain any rpm compared to a street vehicle engine.

if they all had a 1:1 drive ratio i would agree with you,,yes they work hard but not as hard as you think with the proper drive ratio..

i have takin regular car engines in the past and put them in boats just for grins and they are still running this day..thease are coming from a stock turn key engines no hi perf stuff..

This is what I was taught by high performance marine engine builders. They all told me that a typical car engine simply will not last, hence, the cost of marine engines.

Notice that Summit Racing catalog shows lots of performance engines for sell and each one says : "Not for marine use"! They are not built for the rigors of the marine environment.

Wish this wasn't the case... $60,000 new 1000 HP motors are outrageous!

Rick

For the most part, i think if you took your car put it in first gear and sat at 4000rpms for 15 minutes you'd be smelling burnt oil. It'd be tough to argue boat motors do not take more of beating than car motors. Just because its been done does not make it equivilant. It makes it possible.