There needs to be a device that measures fuel consumption and hours....300 hours at 3000 rpm is alot easier than 300 hours at WOT .... The ratio of hours to fuel consumptiom would give you a true indication of how the boat was run and cared for ......

Bigwavs....Have my eye on a 32' Active Thunder from here on the board. Yes, I'll be at the Shootout. You're not gonna make that one without me. Thanks for the compliments too.

Engine and drive are serviced every 20 hrs. Mobil 1 15-50. Did a compression check last fall. All cylinders checked out at 148-150 psi. Merc manual says specs are 150.

To me this is average or low hours. I don't understand why people think that these have to be tore down at 500 hrs or so. Just don't understand why one shouldn't see in excess of 1,500 or more hours out of a stock engine.

Buck

Are we talking about small blocks or big blocks? I just sold my '83 Nova 2 which had 1220 hours on the original twin small block chevy 260HP engines. That boat NEVER let me down, ran great, and didn't use a drop of oil between changes. It all depends on the care the boat is given.

I agree 100%.

I'm not quite sure why anyone would call a 400 hour boat or stock engine a high hour boat/engine regardless of the year if well cared for. What are all of you basing 'high time' on? An hour meter? I wouldn't hesitate to look at a boat with 1000 hours or more if well cared for (depends on the mfg as well)

In comparison, the average aircraft piston engine (non-turbo or supecharged) is overhauled at 2000 hours, the huffed-up ones at 1750. An airframe with 2-3000 hours is considered to be VERY low, regardless of year. Turbine engines are hot-sectioned at 1500- 3000 hours depending on mfg and model, and the overhaul schedule is 4200-6000 TBO.
I have a client that puts 600 hours a year average on his jet- averages 460 knots, so you do the math in mileage...........
His aircraft is 23 years old, looks like the day it was built, and has just shy of 10,000 flight hours. It's worth is probably the fleet leader for model.

It's all in the maintenance, folks!

Buck,

As far as teardown work, I only meant checking things like compression,valve spring strength, and guide wear. The number of hours has so many variables, almost too hard to figure out sometimes. I think it is best to just take excellent care of everything and when it shows signs of weakening, then you go in and check it out.