Speaking to a few enoying Boat brokers....they seem to think 3000 to 4000 hours on the mains are quite reasonable. What do you guys think I'm looking at 500 to 1000 am I getting to fussy?
what hours would be total for a main engine?
Southace,
are you talking engine life or time between major service.
Remember they are diesel engines and looked after will go forever.
Select to expand quoteRiffRaff said..
Southace,
are you talking engine life or time between major service.
Remember they are diesel engines and looked after will go forever.
Well they only go forever if they are not worn out. Im not talking service. Most engine replacement seem to happen around 4000hours.... I don't actually no any small diesels that have much more than that.
My last boat yes it was a 35 year old diesel but it only had 1500-2000 hours. So yes a may make another 35 years at that rate!
The 3 cylinder Kubota generator engine in my fishing vessel had done 16,500 hours when I sold the vessel. Occasional drip from the rear seal but still fine. Replaced a waterpump and a starter motor and salt water pump. Changed the oil every 200 hours which was about once a fortnight. 30 grade mono oil.
An engine should be replaced or rebuilt when it no longer performs the functions of an engine, not when it reaches a certain number of hours. It it leaks oil faster than you can pour it in, or blows so much smoke the EPA follows you around, or rattles like you just dropped a draw of cuttlery then do something about.
If it aint broke don't fix it.
commercial diesels 10.000 hours is coming close to a rebuild some go further .
It depends a lot to do with use idling polishes the bores .( may cause extra oil consumption)
If they have been looked after servicing also how easy it starts
In another life I used to sell boats and work in a marina.
Regarding usage, we used to expect an "average" owner to do about 50 hours a year.
A heavy user, that was out at least weekly, sometimes more, could go up to a 100 hours/year.
It used to average out pretty well over the years and ages of boats.
Of course this would not apply to live aboards, or boats coming back from cruising/circumnavigation etc.
My 30 yr old twin flywheels done 4404 just looking at it now. So thats 400 hours since i bought it 6 months ago... definitely all parts on it needs periodic manhandling like unseizing bolts, rubbing off surface rust and flicking off the salt buildup (pun happens) as well as filters and crap goes a long way for it to see 10k hours..
Most yacht engines die from lack of proper maintenance and under usage rather than high engine hours.
Driving a car at 100 kmh for 1000 hours puts 100,000 klms on the vehicle so therefore 1,000 hours on a yacht engine could be compared to 100,000 klms on a road vehicle.
But we are talking diesel engines which are good for at least twice the usage of a petrol engine plus the hour meter on a yacht engine counts the hours it has the engine panel switched on no matter the revs it is running at or if it is running at all.
I would be more concerned about a low hour declared engine with no maintenance log than a high hour engine with a documented maintenance history.
With a marine diesel engine 10,000 hours of running is nought to be concerned about. The service log is what you should be concerned about.
Select to expand quotesouthace said..
Speaking to a few enoying Boat brokers....they seem to think 3000 to 4000 hours on the mains are quite reasonable. What do you guys think I'm looking at 500 to 1000 am I getting to fussy?
what hours would be total for a main engine?
Jeez mate. You are an MED III aren't you and have been involved with yachts since you were a nipper haven't you??
I would expect better from a 30 years professional sailor.
I have owned two yachts both with diesel motors, both have given me grief at times. I have worked many years in boat yards and seen many Diesels getting replaced with new. I have spent the past two years on driving a loading barge with new Yanmars and two years driving a sports boat also with a new Yanmar. why wouldn't I ask the question? Just cause they teach you at marine collage diesels should run for ever the fact seems to me they do wear out and need replacing over time. its such a old school way of thinking.
Select to expand quotesouthace said..
I have owned two yachts both with diesel motors, both have given me grief at times. I have worked many years in boat yards and seen many Diesels getting replaced with new. I have spent the past two years on driving a loading barge with new Yanmars and two years driving a sports boat also with a new Yanmar. why wouldn't I ask the question? Just cause they teach you at marine collage diesels should run for ever the fact seems to me they do wear out and need replacing over time. its such a old school way of thinking.
please just remind us again why your old diesel is not running at the moment and why your not out sailing? Perhaps repairs? Haha
Select to expand quotesouthace said..
please just remind us again why your old diesel is not running at the moment and why your not out sailing? Perhaps repairs? Haha
It is not running because I am doing the correct maintenance on it that the previous owner failed to do.
Some of it is "Planned maintenance" which may be a concept foreign to you or what you might call "Old school thinking".
One of the things that separates man from the animals is the ability to think of the future.
I just wanna go sailing too but my sailing WILL be trouble free because of my forward thinking and the actions I do today.
