Engine hours

[Kevin Stapley]

Morning all 

I am in negotiations to buy a boat the boat was built in 2004 the engine is a Beta Maria 43hp according to the owner the engine has done 3.600 hours, now I am a novice with marine engines and lots to learn methinks do those that know think that 3.600 hours is reasonable for a boat of that age. Apparently, it was serviced in 2017 but has not been used since due to ill health. Your valid thoughts will be very much appreciated.

Kevin.

[Ian F B]

This works out at 276 hours per year,which at a rough guess means it travelled 800 miles per year,that sounds like a well used boat!Not being an engine expert,I personally don't see a problem,though I would get it serviced if it has not been used for 12 months of more.??

[Quaysider]

It's nothing - my canaline 42 is just 2 years old and we've already got 1850 hours on the clock... it's HOW it's been maintained that's important... regular oil/filter changes and they plod on forever.

 

[john6767]

Probably average, but certainly not high usage at all, and no cause for concern as long as it has been serviced.

[Kevin Stapley]

What a brilliant response thanks to you all it is then as I thought but to have experienced boaters offering positive feedback has made my day.

 

Cheers to you all.

 

kevin.

[mrsmelly]

42 minutes ago, Kevin Stapley said:

Morning all 

I am in negotiations to buy a boat the boat was built in 2004 the engine is a Beta Maria 43hp according to the owner the engine has done 3.600 hours, now I am a novice with marine engines and lots to learn methinks do those that know think that 3.600 hours is reasonable for a boat of that age. Apparently, it was serviced in 2017 but has not been used since due to ill health. Your valid thoughts will be very much appreciated.

Kevin.

Virtualy unused. Many hire fleets take these units to fifteen thousand hours with zero problems. I skippered a boat with twin fords that had done 36,000 hours when I left the company and the heads had never been off. Remember these units are japanese based engines built for plant and industrial use and withstand many thousands of hours of use as standard. Changing the oil and filter is more important than hours.

Edited November 21, 2018 by mrsmelly
numpty

[Mike Hurley]

The service history is more important than the hours used.

[Sea Dog]

The Kubota based Beta 43 is considered by many to be the best modern canal boat engine.  Received wisdom is that these motors will easily do 10000 hours plus without intervention if looked after - which is not at all arduous.  There was an update in 2007 to strengthen the power take off at the front, so it's worth checking all is well there I guess.  Oil change intervals are 250 hours or manually, whichever comes first. If mated to a PRM150 gearbox, as many are, change this oil at the same interval using the same oil as the engine. Should you buy the boat, do it straight away so you have confidence all is as it should be.

[Kevin Stapley]

Morning to you and thanks for your feedback the engine is coupled to a PRM150 gearbox so if I buy the boat which I am positive that I will I follow your advice

 

Thanks again,

 

Kevin

1 hour ago, Mike Hurley said:

The service history is more important than the hours used.

Yes a valid point thanks.

1 hour ago, mrsmelly said:

Virtualy unused. Many hire fleets take these units to fifteen thousand hours with zero problems. I skippered a boat with twin fords that had done 36,000 hours when I left the company and the heads had never been off. Remember these units are japanese based engines built for plant and industrial use and withstand many thousands of hours of use as standard. Changing the oil and filter is more important than hours.

OK, thanks for your feedback.

[dmr]

Many people believe that most engine wear occurs at startup so the number of cold starts is probably more important than the number of hours.  General consensus is that a correctly maintained boat diesel should do at least10,000 hours without any significant attention, though alternators should be regarded as semi-consumable items.

 

A "proper" and enthusiastic continuous cruiser might do about 1000 hours per year so this engine should be good for at least another 6 years. For typical leisure boat use the engine will likely outlive you.

 

..............Dave

[Kevin Stapley]

2 minutes ago, dmr said:

Many people believe that most engine wear occurs at startup so the number of cold starts is probably more important than the number of hours.  General consensus is that a correctly maintained boat diesel should do at least10,000 hours without any significant attention, though alternators should be regarded as semi-consumable items.

 

A "proper" and enthusiastic continuous cruiser might do about 1000 hours per year so this engine should be good for at least another 6 years. For typical leisure boat use the engine will likely outlive you.

 

..............Dave

Thanks, Dave I am getting on a bit and did  hope to outlive the engine Lol but yes I agree that regular maintenance is key to long-life 

[alan_fincher]

2 hours ago, Ian F B said:

This works out at 276 hours per year,which at a rough guess means it travelled 800 miles per year,that sounds like a well used boat!??

Only if they average about 3mph all the time they are boating, which would presumably mean not very many locks in those 800 miles, and not spending large amounts of time passing moored boats either.

My gut feel is that if they did do typical numbers of locks as well as the miles, and were not boy racers, it represent more like 500 to 600 miles a year.

In fact looking at our numbers since we are doing less boating whilst trying to get on with also refitting the boat, our engine hours are around that sort of average number, and our mileage in a year is indeed in the 500 to 600 mile range.

That is not a particularly heavily used boat.

Assuming the engine has been properly serviced with oil and filter changes at the required intervals, I'd have no worries about it at all.

[Robbo]

2 hours ago, Kevin Stapley said:

Morning all 

I am in negotiations to buy a boat the boat was built in 2004 the engine is a Beta Maria 43hp according to the owner the engine has done 3.600 hours, now I am a novice with marine engines and lots to learn methinks do those that know think that 3.600 hours is reasonable for a boat of that age. Apparently, it was serviced in 2017 but has not been used since due to ill health. Your valid thoughts will be very much appreciated.

Kevin.

There's no reasonable hours for a boat.   A boat could be sat in a marina with electric and only cruise every weekend and have that many hours, or a boat could sit in a marina without electric not cruise and have 3 times more hours on the clock due to generating electric, or a boat could be sat in a marina and be used leisurely and only have around 600hrs on the clock.

[cuthound]

5 hours ago, Kevin Stapley said:

Morning all 

I am in negotiations to buy a boat the boat was built in 2004 the engine is a Beta Maria 43hp according to the owner the engine has done 3.600 hours, now I am a novice with marine engines and lots to learn methinks do those that know think that 3.600 hours is reasonable for a boat of that age. Apparently, it was serviced in 2017 but has not been used since due to ill health. Your valid thoughts will be very much appreciated.

Kevin.

 

My last few cars have had trip computers on board,  and with a mixture of motorway and town driving,  have averaged about 30  mph over the time I have owned them.

 

Extrapolating that to your boat, means you engine has done the equivalent of 108000 miles, or about 7700 miles per year.

 

My last boat had a BMC 1.8 engine, which is not rated as highly as the Beta 43, and that got replaced by as Beta 43 at over 13,000 hours.

 

I have seen plant equipment (which works harder than boat engines and are routinely mistreated) powered by the 2.0 Kubota engine (which is the base engine for the Beta 43) with over 25000 hours on them,  so your engine is barely run in.

 

 I would change the engine oil and filter and also the gearbox oil ASAP and then every 250 hours or annually (whichever comes first) enjoy your boat.

Edited November 21, 2018 by cuthound
Numpty errors

[Tony Brooks]

I don't understand this  preoccupation with engine hours on its own. As far as I am concerned if it starts easily from cold, has good hot oil pressure, makes no undue noises when hot and makes little exhaust smoke it will normally be in good order. For BMCs I would add the rider to the smoke thing "within a few minutes of start up".

[Robbo]

15 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

I don't understand this  preoccupation with engine hours on its own. As far as I am concerned if it starts easily from cold, has good hot oil pressure, makes no undue noises when hot and makes little exhaust smoke it will normally be in good order. For BMCs I would add the rider to the smoke thing "within a few minutes of start up".

Most of users don't under stand all those checks, but understand a counter with more numbers means more likely to have more issues (whether true or not)

Edited November 21, 2018 by Robbo

[Tony Brooks]

12 minutes ago, Robbo said:

Most of users don't under stand all those checks, but understand a counter with more numbers means more likely to have more issues (whether true or not)

I agree but in the case of boats I think it leaves them far more exposed to buying poorly that is they did understand. At least cars should have a service book that should show how well its been looked after service wise and the mielometer plus age will give an idea if its  a  get the pension at the local post office once a week job or if it has done some reasonable work.

 

In this case I would have concerns if the majority of those hours had bee spent on tick over charging batteries but a purchaser has little way of knowing that.

[bizzard]

When buying anything with a diesel engine in it, make a surprise attack  on the engines vendor at dawn on the coldest winters day of the year, before the vendor has had time to start it and warm it up.  If it starts easily plus the other things Tony Brooks mentioned its good to go.

[dmr]

2 minutes ago, bizzard said:

When buying anything with a diesel engine in it, make a surprise attack  on the engines vendor at dawn on the coldest winters day of the year, before the vendor has had time to start it and warm it up.  If it starts easily plus the other things Tony Brooks mentioned its good to go.

How do you know its the coldest day though? ?

 

............Dave

[Stilllearning]

Our last BMC 1.8 started and ran beautifully from cold or hot. It’s only slightly bad habit was occasionally blowing white smoke rings every two or three seconds as it warmed up. It was rather nice to look at, and when it stopped doing it on starting (and I have no idea why it stopped) I sort of missed it. The engine was at least 10 years old when I bought the boat, and still in it when sold 7 years later. Noisier than the Betas but easier to work on, and cheaper parts.

[Boater Sam]

Consider that a new engine if ever you need one is a small part of the cost of an average good boat.

At 3000 odd hours it may be just run in by now, try 22000 hours on a 3 cylinder Beta in a day boat, that's still running!

[Bee]

I've no idea when the fuel filter should be changed but boat fuel can be pretty horrible sometimes so mine gets changed once or sometimes twice a year. I use Kubota oil and fuel filters from the local agricultural place.

[jam]

13,500 hours on my 2005 Isuzu 42 engine and it still runs as sweet as a nut, oil & filter changed every 250 hours or so, fuel filters whenever.

[MtB]

5 minutes ago, jam said:

13,500 hours on my 2005 Isuzu 42 engine and it still runs as sweet as a nut, oil & filter changed every 250 hours or so, fuel filters whenever.

 

That's 54 oil changes.

 

You must be wellgood at them by now...!!!!

 

[jam]

34 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

That's 54 oil changes.

 

You must be wellgood at them by now...!!!!

 

I would add that not all my oil changes, I am the second owner. Having said that they do get a tad easier?