Boat hours Vs. Vehicle Mileage Conclusion

I have seen this posted quite a few times over the years, and it always seems to get alot of reponses on Wakeworld. With that said, I noticed that my 2005 GMC Sierra tracks Engine hours as well as the Mileage (pretty cool feature). At 25,000 miles on my truck, I am close to 1000 engine hours. Now everyone will say that a Boat motor works harder than any vehicle does. Lets assume the average rpms in a vehicle is 2000-2500. Even if you doubled that for a boat (which I think is a bit excessive), you would have to figure that 50,000 miles would equal 1000 hrs for a boat motor. So a boat with 2000 hours doesn't look all that bad (equally approx. 100,000 miles). People are always concerned with Engine hours on a boat. Of course it is how well you maintain your Boat and service the engine. Which brings me to my next thought. The recommendation for oil changes are 50 hours which I have always thought was a bit excessive. I normally change oil between 75-100 hours, mostly because I am not running my boat hard, and spend probably 30-40% of my hours creeping along, enjoying the scenery/Music/Beer/Company. These are not facts by any means, just observations to what I have noticed. Does anyone have a vastly different opinion about Hrs. on a boat motor in comparison?

Based on the way the average owner treats a boat, I have to wonder if the hours on the boat are an indirect way of judging the condition of the rest of the boat... 300 may not be a lot for the engine, but it can be a lot of wear on the interior. Just a thought.

It's all about the maintenance. People freak about a few hours on a boat. I'd rather have a well loved and taken care of boat with some hours on it than a low hours boat that has been neglected. Also, indoor storage is absolutely critical IMO.

BTW I have 36000 miles on my truck and less than 900 hours.

Take the number of hours, multipy by the average speed of the boat. Take that number and multiply by two (because a boat is running harder with ballast, towing, etc, never a downhill coast).

For me, 1,000 hours @ 15mph x 2 would equal about 30,000 miles for a car. Note that the average speed is key.

Don't forget to take into account that boat never overheats or gets over thermostate temp and very often a car/truck does. Boats have a very, very large radiator - the entire lake!

I think people stress too much over engine hours. My uncle owns a marina and says he has seen 350s go under water, get rebuild, and still get 3000 hours put on them.

The less hours I see on a 04,05,06,etc.....The more I steer away from it. I just hit 500hrs on my VLX and it runs like a champion! However, I don't really go out on the lake and drive it like some of the other weekend wakeboarding warriors with inboards.......Where they think power turns at 50mph is fun and always have to run it at WOT (wide open throttle) where ever they go.

I also have the dealer to thank for keeping my motor in great shape (Paradise Water Sports, you rock)....

I worked at a Resort and the 3 main MasterCrafts we ran had 1200, 1500, and 2700 engine hours (all on original engines). I agree with above posts, judge boats by upholstery, carpet, gelcoat, and routine maintenance, not engine hours. Now if a boat has 500 hours on it that hasn't had the scheduled maintenance that is a different story. My boat has 800 hours and looks brand new.

Chris - you are way off. Indmar, PCM, Mercruiser all suggest oil change at 25 hrs severe & 50 hrs normal. Look at your GMC again 1000 hr at 25,000 miles - I bet you changed your oil 5 times but in a boat it would be 20 times. Big difference!

I also agree you should change your oil every 50 hours, maybe higher if you run a full synthetic.

I have ben told by several people in the boat industry that every 100 hrs is equal to 10k miles. According to Chris Walker that is about rite.

"I have ben told by several people in the boat industry that every 100 hrs is equal to 10k miles. According to Chris Walker that is about rite."

I think that's not particularly accurate. in general, a car with 100,000 miles on it is way closer to being used up than a well maintained boat with a thousand hours on it. When it comes down to it there is no valid comparison between miles on a car and hours on a boat. There are so many variables that come into play when considering a boat's condition. How was it run? How was it weighted? Was all maintenance done on schedule? Where was it stored? How was the exterior treated? How was the interior treated? etc. etc. etc.