www.iFourWinns.com

Anyone have an opinion about how many engine hours would be reasonable for a 2005 288, 348 with a Volvo Penta 5.7 OSXi? Would 450 to 500 hours be reasonable? We've seen many boats in excellent exterior condition with a wide range of hours on the engines. Thanks for your thoughts on this.

Cody,
in New England your going to see that 60 - 65 hours is an "about average" season...we've done anything from 55 hours to 90 hours...mostly dependant on weather conditions...four seasons in Southern NE area and more than 400 hours sounds like a lot to me....we're at 215 hours on our 2006 318 and I would say that we are well above average in the length of season and the cruising we do....year 1 - 70hrs, year 2 - 90hrs, year 3 - 55hrs...this past seasons weather limited our cruising much more than gas prices...every weekend had the chance of bad t-storms....either way, I would be surprised if your could not find a 2005 288 or 348 with less than 250 hrs.

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Joe B.
Ruff'N It 4
2011 Regal 42 SC

Previous
2008 FW V358
2006 FW V318
2004 FW V288

Here on the Chesapeake I think the average is about 100 hours per season. I think we have just under 300 on our 2005 348 after 3 summers of use. This past season we put less than before because of the new baby. Otherwise I'm guessing we'd have about 350 on it by now. When shopping also check the hours on the genset. We hardly use ours, I think it's only got around 40 hours on it.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

IMHO, the hour meter only tells you how many hours the ignition was turned on, not what rpms or load motor has seen during that time.
It is good info, but you need more info to help substantiate hour meter info. Example: oil sample, compression test, visual checks, maint. records, ect...

Some people use there boat every weekend and never leave the slip, boat may not be in very good shape inside and have low hours, others may have high motor hours cruising around and rarely used the cabin.

Bottom line, boat needs to be surveyed, by yourself at a min. Or better yet hire a surveyor, take all info to make an educated decision.

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2000 248 5.7L DP
'92, '94 SXI 750, '08 STX 15F, '12 Ultra LX 300
Videos

Very good advice PC. In addition to what PC mentions above.

The Volvo software for a laptop will tell you all the details. My mechanic bought it a couple of years ago. I think he paid about $600 for the disc and cable to hook it up to the ECM.
It told, how many hours the engine was run at certain RPM. From that info you could tell if it was ran mostly at cruising speeds, idle, or somewhere in between. It will display 30 engine parameters at one time. It also records and graphs all EFI sensor data for future reference.

Hopefully your mechanic will have this. It WILL tell you what the engines' lifecycle has been , and it's current state of health.

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

I would rather have a boat that the motor has been used than one that has just puttered around or stayed in moorage. Not running an engine is harder on them than reasonable use.

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2000 268 Vista "Reely Nauti"
http://www.facebook.com/#!/rivercruiser

I wish you were around a few years ago when I tried to sell my 2000 298 Vista that had 790 hours on her. Unfortunately, your typical buyer does not think like you (or me) when it comes to engine hours (hence, why I still own the boat). I have been told that 1,000 hours on a boat engine is equivalent to 35,000 miles on a car engine. Don't know if that is true or not, but it makes sense.

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Current Boat: 2000 Four Winns 298 Vista
Previous Boat: 2000 Carver 406MY

A boat with low hours is one that hasn't had much attention paid to it. The owner didn't use it enough to discover the many things that might go wrong with a new boat. But I wouldn't go so far as to say that's any better or worse on the engine. I mean, not unless it's a 5 year old boat with less than 20 hours on it. That's of course going to be an engine with potential problems (like rust from condensation and lack of use).

There's no "fixed" set of rules when it comes to a used boat. But there is one guideline that's strongly recommended, pay to get a professional survey done on it.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

If you notice when you price a used boat on NADA, they never ask for engine hours. Neither will your lender. They know that hours on an engine is a worthless indication of it's condition.

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Current Boat: 2000 Four Winns 298 Vista
Previous Boat: 2000 Carver 406MY

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

That was the same look I got from everyone who looked at buying my 2000 Four Winns with 790 hours on her back in 2004. They were all looking for a boat with very few hours on her. They were all clueless IMO when it comes to boat hours.

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Current Boat: 2000 Four Winns 298 Vista
Previous Boat: 2000 Carver 406MY

Thanks for all the observations about engine hours, everyone! It looks like an average of 100 hours per season is not unusual, particularly the further south you go. And, I guess 450+ hours would not be unusual for a 2005 Four Winns in the south.