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Old 10-24-2011, 08:43 PM   #7
Art
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City: SF Bay Area
Vessel Model: Tollycraft 34' Tri Cabin
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 12,569
RE: Diesel Engine Comparison Question

Quote:
Marin wrote:
Not many hours on an older boat's engine(s) does not automatically mean the boat has sat around too much without being used. It will depend on where the boat is and how it was used by its previous owners.

Our boat was 25 years old when we bought it and the engines had only 1200 hours on them. This could certainly be construed to mean the boat was not used much and had long periods of inactivity. But this was not true at all. The boat had five previous owners. All of them used the boat regularly. But the boat had spent its whole life in San Francisco Bay. In talking to boaters who have lived and had boats there, there aren't all that many places to go. Back and forth across the bay and up the rivers is about it. So you can use a boat a lot but not rack up very many hours, which was the case with our boat.

So before you write off an older boat you like but seems to have too few hours on the engine, it might be worth it to try to determine how the boat was used by its previous owners. If it was used a lot but for short trips, which was the case with our boat, having low hours on the engine(s) could be a wonderful thing. But if the boat truly did sit around for long periods of time between owners or uses, that could be a reason to have the engine(s) VERY thoroughly checked out.



-- Edited by Marin on Monday 24th of October 2011 09:26:29 PM
Thanks, Marin.* If I decide to purchase, I will of course get the engines fully checked by professional diesel mechanic.* If all things were equal regarding hours of use, maintenance records, and*general condition of the engines I'd like to learn if the 1999 Series 400 Turbo John Deer, or, the*1976 Model: 3208 Caterpillar would be the preferred choice... by those that have experience with both types of diesel, or at least have knowledge on both. - W.
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