Boat Hours

So I am looking for a boat and it looks like its gonna have to be a used one. Options are newer V210, older SANTE or older X-star/X-2. Personally I'm leaning towards the SANTE or X-star. The SANTE I want is little pricey and the X-Star might have too many hours. So heres my question. Are 600 hrs too many for a 2001 X-Star? What kind of problems are expected at that many hours on a boat? I want to get a boat that will last, I don't have enough money to get a different boat every 3-5 years. I Don't want to hate myself later for making a mistake. So any help would be great guys! Thanks.

I have 821 hours on my 2003 MB SPORTS 190 Plus. Actually a marine engine should last a long time, approx. 2500 hrs +/- and sometimes the low low hour boats will actually give you more problems since the engine seals, rings, gaskets tend to go bad from lack of usage over time. Check for hull stress cracks very carefuly on an older boat. Check in poor lighting conditions with a great big flashlight and you should be able to see the edge of ever crack in the gel very easily. Do a compression and leakdown on the engine. The leakdown is the most important!

Whats leakdown? The boat is at a dealership, would they have done that already?

A leakdown test gives a complete picture of cylinder wear.

Check these out:
http://www.geocities.com/dsmgrrrl/FAQs/leakdown.htm

http://www.xs11.com/tips/misc/misc3.shtml

http://www.vclassics.com/archive/leakdown.htm

many dealerships don't want to do a leakdown test. Some don't even know what a leakdown test is. Read the websites and you will know what I am talking about.

Another thing about hours, with a boat that has 600+ hours on it should be pretty obvious if the current owner took care of the boat or not.

As long as the boat was taken care of 600hrs is nothing. Sold my 92 Sanger with 590hrs on it and still ran great. No oil burn and started every time out. I did do oil changes every 75 to 100 hrs.

Also have to agree with Ryan, boats that sit will give more problems than ones that are used more.

just to give you a idea my truck has a hour meter on it with 625 hours on it now I have 26652 miles on it. That comes out to about 42 miles per hour, most wakeboard boats cruise at about 20 to 30 mph so do the math hope this helps

Mastercraft sucks, go for the super air...i'm sure this will start a war...but my friend had a 2001 x star and we had all kinds of problems. It had a big stress crack problem. My nautique gets more weight put in it than that boat did and looks good as new. I rode behind the x for 2 years and then bought my boat. wouldn't trade it for a x in a million years

Jeremy's quote in his profile.....
What is the best boat for wakeboarding?: 210 Super Air Nautique...and if anyone wants to question that I would love to talk to you about it.

BUHAHAHAHAHAHA.......You are a CLOWN!

Todd, thats a very good equasion, also the boat sits at idle for long periods of time to so the miles would be even less.

Well I didn't want any bashing...just facts from boat owners about hours. I know there will always be a reason to why someone left one boat for another, but I want to know about what problems to expect at 600Hrs from any boat?

heres a good question---

does anybody know how boat hours equate to miles..

12000 miles equals how many boat hours etc.

J-steezy, I have a 01 super air with about 650. There is nothing wrong with it and also looks like the day I bought it. Nor have I had any problems with it. I have also seen X-stars in just as good shape. Both are good boats it all depends how they were taken care of. The wakes are very close when weighted correct.

Kenny,

The general boat oil change interval that I’ve heard is 100 hours. If you assume highway mileage for an over the road vehicle at 60 MPH then 100 hours is 6,000 miles. The oil change interval for most cars and trucks if 3,000 to 7,500 miles, so I think you could make a case for 100 hours is about 3,000 to 7,500 miles, lets’s take 6,000 miles to equal 100 hours. Taking the 6,000 miles per 100 hour figure, then 100,000 miles might be equivalent to 1,670 hours, your mileage may vary. One positive note on your water sports tow boat, brakes never need changing. Using this analysis I’d equate 600 hours to 36,000 miles on a car or truck.

There are significant differences in motor operation over the road compared to over the water. On the highway in your road vehicle your engine probably operates at 15% to 20% max RPMs. If you’re cruising fast in your boat your throttle might be anywhere from 50% to 100% (I never run 100% for long). While towing boarders, your water sports tow boat probably runs 30% to 40% RPMs. Your starts in your road vehicle are probably gentler than when you pull a skier or boarder up out of the water. That’s probably 30% to 40% full throttle in your road vehicle compared to 80% to 100% in your boat.

A well cared for engine will far outlast one that that is not. How often the oil is changed and how hard the motor is driven should make a big difference. That’s why I bought my teenage son a (beater) car of his own, I don’t want the abuse on my vehicles. I keep my road vehicles for over 100,00 miles and 7 to 9 years, others trade in every 2 to 3 years, the why is a mater of taste and dollars.

These aren’t facts, just my analysis and opinion. I’m sure there are differing variations on the subject.

I have an 01 XStar and have never had a problem with it. Nautiques suck go for MC.

I put 175 hours on my Mastercraft in 5 months this year. Here is my take on it...

I think a well designed engine, based on the GM powerplant that I have will easily last for 2,000 hours.

In 2,000 hours, man my boat will be pretty beat up. I will at the VERY least need new skins. New skins will probably run me $1,500.00.

A new block will probably run me about the same. After putting 2,000 hours on the boat, if I need a new shortblock or rebuild for a grand that's nothing. Heck, in 2,000 hours I will have probably spent 4 grand just in boards, ropes, and handles.

Would I not buy a boat with 600 hours knowing that in 1400 more hours that I will need to replace the skins....no.

Even if you put 100 hours a year on the boat, as long as you maintain it right you should get another 14 years plus out of it.

Thats a long time...heck by then the chances of still using our current gasoline engines are VERY slim. One could argue that its a waste of money to buy a "new" gasoline engine if in ten years its worth switching to something else.

Just another point of view, that's all.

Personally, I would rather buy a used boat with 600 hours that was well maintained, never had additional ballast in it, no cracks, etc.....than the same model and year boat with 100 hours on it that gets slammed with weight every hour of its life with 9 guys in it constantly being pulled at a high RPM due to the changed prop.

Just my opinion.

So whatever happened? Did you buy the boat or what? Did you get the leakdown done? Robert has a good opinion and point BTW.

780 hours in the OG X-Star and still running beautifully

I change my oil every 20hrs-25hrs due to how much weight I put in it.It has over 200hrs on it and I changed the oil 9 times.

I believe that a boat that is not being used enough and sits around is the boat that's gonna have more problems then the one that is being ran all the time.

It's all about maintenance,I feel more comfortable and feel my engine runs better then any brand new engine.It has been broken in properly and the maintenance was flawless till now.

Paul,I know you were kiddin but please don't give an impression that we are like some CC owners.