Why Such Low Engine Hours on Trawlers?

[Don L]

So I am considering changing from sailing to a "trawler". In the price range I am looking it is going to be probably a 1980-1995 boat.

When I read through the listings I am surprised by the low engine hours. I have seen 1985 boats with 600 hours and no mentions they are replacements. It seems the average engine hours of a 1985 boat is around 2000-3000 hours in listings. This seems VERY low to me as my 2001 sailboat engine has 3500 hours.

Are trawlers just not driven/used many miles

Are low hours a warning sign? Does in mean the engine was driven hard all the time? I know/understand that hours themselves aren't comparable because of the use it may have had. But not matter what the hours just seem too low to me.

Just looking thoughts.

 

[alormaria]

Trawlers get there sooner than a sailboat. We don't have to run the engine as long.

 

[SteveK]

There are many on here that do a long trip from A to B, but a small %.
Most boaters average 100 engine hours per year.
Your example of 26 hours ave. over 23 years sounds more like a dock queen.
I have a GB36 with 6700 engine hours which ave. at 129 hours per year.
Consider low hours normal, you are less likely in motion all day every day and more likely stay at destinations for 1-3 days without engine time.

 

[Each finger a marlinspike]

Sometimes they are legit rebuilds, sometimes it's a can of spray paint and a new hour meter. The only thing you can trust is what can be documented with receipts and log book, along with the actual condition of the engine when starting/running/observing.

I bring a healthy dose of skepticism whenever looking at hour meters with low numbers on engines over 20 years.

 

[SteveK]

Post 4 reminded me that one benefit with 2 engines is there are two hour meters. Add in log book info and you can deduce that engine meters are not original, they seem to break down often. Low hours, too low could be replaced meters with no records of replacement.

 

[slowgoesit]

Condition is more important than age or hours. Have a marine engine mechanic check out the engines during survey. Also pull oil samples as part of inspection. Note: If the engine/transmission was recently changed, that will skew the results. If recent change, and ANY abnormal contamination is noted, do more investigation, or walk IMHO.

 

[Don L]

There are many on here that do a long trip from A to B, but a small %.
Most boaters average 100 engine hours per year.

Really? Even at 20kn that is only 2000 mile in a year. I motor that far in a year plus the hours I sail.

I just wondered if such low use is common in trwalers. But I did see an old poll thread and like 30% only did the 100 hours.

 

[Simi 60]

Really? Even at 20kn that is only 2000 mile in a year. I motor that far in a year plus the hours I sail.

I just wondered if such low use is common in trwalers. But I did see an old poll thread and like 30% only did the 100 hours.

Most trawlers , even our 60fter don't go much faster than 8.5 knots
So think more 800 nm with the numbers provided
(We do more like 4500nm now but are full time)

Even though we have spare HP to achieve, maybe 12 knots on a good day there is no way she could ever achieve 20 knots as she has a full displacement, trawler, hull shape.
That hull shape also prohibits speed.
7.5 knots @ 15lph
8.5 knots @ 25lph
10 knots likely 50+ lph

But the load carrying capacity is immense.
We have been throwing weight at her for 7 years and even with full everything could still use a few more tonne.

 

[mvweebles]

Boaters give rosy projections. Sailors about percentage of time under sail vs motor. Power get rosy about fuel consumption and usage.

I think the 100 hour/year number is about right. Figure 3-4 hours of run time on the average day and you have 25-30 days per year. For a long weekend, could be 4 days/3-nights and 8-10 engine hours. For a working stiff with a job and kids, that's a fair amount. Some years you do more, some less. You get the idea.

But it varies widely. Several people on this forum do the snowbird thing from North to Florida. That can easily do 700-800 hours in a season.

I had a change in work and I went from about 200 hrs/year to zero for several years. No different than sail I suppose.

At any rate, I wouldn't get too hung up on engine hours. These are fairly large and heavily built diesels, typically more robust and better tended than sailboat diesels that live a pretty hard life. It's extremely rare for someone to actually wear out a diesel in a trawler. Typically, the die prematurely due to neglect long before there's any substantive wear. You'll see numbers like 10k hrs or even 20k hrs for lifespan. Truth is nobody knows for sure because these things just keep ticking over.

Majority of TF'ers are recovering sailors. Welcome.

Peter

 

[Don L]

It's extremely rare for someone to actually wear out a diesel in a trawler. Typically, the die prematurely due to neglect long before there's any substantive wear. You'll see numbers like 10k hrs or even 20k hrs for lifespan. Truth is nobody knows for sure because these things just keep ticking over.

But that is my point/question. I EXPECTED to see 1980s boats with engines that had 10,000 hours, not 2000-3000.

 

[SteveK]

1980 boats with that many hours would have seen many changes to hour meters, and a possible engine rebuild. Not sure of the practice, do people install new hour meters after a rebuild?

 

[O C Diver]

I wouldn't worry about 100 hours every year. The trick is determining that the boat didn't sit for 5 years before being put up fore sale. My boat is 20 years old and has about 100 hours a year on the generator. I swapped the engine in 2015 and it now has 5,000 hours on it. It will probably go 20,000 before needing an overhaul based on cruising style and maintenance. Bottom line as mentioned already, it's more about how it was run and maintained, than how many hours. If it's sat for a few years, it's a roll of the dice.

Ted

 

[Arc]

Perfect example of a low hour trawler. 45 years old and 300 hours.

 

[Pete Meisinger]

3,000 salt water hours are a lot different than 3,000 fresh water hours.

pete

 

[SteveK]

Perfect example of a low hour trawler. 45 years old and 300 hours.
View attachment 137042

View attachment 137043

That will buff out!

 

[rslifkin]

A lot of people just don't use their boats all that much.

 

[Iggy]

At the moment I am retired and my wife is not. So we are lucky if we do 120hr in a season. We do on small weekend trips. My wife takes 2 weeks off in the summer and we will do a 100 to 150 mile trip. At 8kn thats 4 days back and forth. There is 35 to 45 hours.

On top of that some family and friends are not into boating. So now we have to go to their functions. And yes, I tell them its boating season so don't expect us to come.

So yes, I can see why some engine hours are low.

 

[jleonard]

When I was working, I found it difficult to put 50 hours a season on the boat many times.
We went out every weekend that the weather allowed, but most of the times we went to an anchorage that was a little over an hour run away.
If it was a long weekend or vacation we would go farther.

I would say most boats in our marina did far less than 50 unless they fished.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. DL. Not really anything to worry about IMO. As already posted, many reasons for low hours. IF any boat has been well maintained the diesel engine will probably outlast you. Get a good engine survey, ask to see maintenance records and you're good to go.

 

[backinblue]

Another thing to consider is the boat's location. Maine has a bit shorter season than Florida not to mention a lot less UV exposure.

 

[mvweebles]

Greetings,
Mr. DL. Not really anything to worry about IMO. As already posted, many reasons for low hours. IF any boat has been well maintained the diesel engine will probably outlast you. Get a good engine survey, ask to see maintenance records and you're good to go.

After seeing his clarification (quoted below), the OP isn't worried about engine hours, he wonders why these boats see so little use. He's right- my sense is 3000 hours on a 30-40 year old boat is very common. That's not much. Why so little? Or is that actually a lot of use given competing nature of life priorities.

But that is my point/question. I EXPECTED to see 1980s boats with engines that had 10,000 hours, not 2000-3000.

You make a good observation. My longest delivery was from SoCal to Florida. 4500 nms. Just over 500 engine hours (Nordhavn 57, a fast boat) in 22 days. Most cruisers would take 2 years to make that run.

In 2006, I did the Baja Ha Ha on a friend's full displacement Willard 40, a 7.5 kt boat with an underbody not unlike a Westsail 32, about the same waterline as much of the 160 sailboat fleet. Yet we were one of the first 10% of the boats at each anchorage. Point being that even at similar S/L, maintain progress to destination adds up.

But mostly, I think boats - power and sail - see long periods of inactivity. While extreme, my boat sat virtually unused for 10 years - what I call my "Rip Van Winkle" period.

Frankly, I think it often a good sign when a boat has high hours because it obviously means it's been used, but sometimes that use comes in compressed periods. A relatively common story is a couple retires early, spends 2-3 years cruising, then sells the boat and moves on to next adventure.

I rarely see boats with more than about 6000-7000 hours, and even thats uncommon. Don't know why.

Peter

 

[Don L]

Guess I just "boat" more than most boat owners. Guess that falls in place as I have always thought people like owning a boat more than they like boating.

 

[O C Diver]

Guess I just "boat" more than most boat owners. Guess that falls in place as I have always thought people like owning a boat more than they like boating.

Think you are confusing boating with being underway. I would guess most people would associate boating with what you do while on your boat as opposed to driving the boat. If you anchor for a week in a scenic secluded bay in Alaska, aren't you still boating? If 15 minutes gets you to your favorite anchorage, did you boat for 30 minutes or a 3 day weekend?

Ted

 

[backinblue]

Great point OC. The place I anchor most often is just about an hour away. If I did that trip every weekend for the entire season, I'd put about on about 50 hours, and that's a lot of "boating".

 

[mvweebles]

Sailors tend to think of sailing as the payoff - destination is an excuse to go sailing. At least that's the dream. I understand the OPs question.

Maybe another way of looking at it is also looking at sails on sailboats. I've seen credible statements that sails get blown out by the time they have 3000-3500 hours on them. How many 20-30 year old sailboats still have their original sails?

Peter

 

[MacPhid]

I suspect a lot of reasons for 100 hours/ year being the average. in our case we are only the second owner of our 1989 38 Bayliner. 1st owner bought her new, records show first few years high hour usage, 250-300. That started to taper off each year as owners aged. Last few years less than 25 hours. When we bought it there were 1250 hours on her 9 years ago. We now have 2800 hours. I suspect a 34 year old boat with only 2 owners is unusual. Most people will put a reasonable number of hours (~100) first few years then less and less each year. If a boat turns over every 5 years that cycle repeats, if it's held onto for longer periods less so.

James

 

[backinblue]

Sailors tend to think of sailing as the payoff - destination is an excuse to go sailing. At least that's the dream. I understand the OPs question.

Maybe another way of looking at it is also looking at sails on sailboats. I've seen credible statements that sails get blown out by the time they have 3000-3500 hours on them. How many 20-30 year old sailboats still have their original sails?

Peter

Another way to put it is that when sailing, often the journey is the destination. When I sailed, more often than not, it was just to be out on the water going in the direction that was most fun. Most owners of power boats don't go out and motor around in circles just for the fun of it.

I also know of a couple that spends every weekend on their boat with grandkids, regardless of weather, and rarely leave the dock. Some may not consider that "boating".

 

[Don L]

Didn't mean to start an off topic battle. In thinking more I knew the answer to start with and it was simple and confirmed by what I have always observed, most boats rarely go anywhere.

 

[O C Diver]

Didn't mean to start an off topic battle. In thinking more I knew the answer to start with and it was simple and confirmed by what I have always observed, most boats rarely go anywhere.

How many continents have you circumnavigated? "Anywhere" is relative.

Ted

 

[Don L]

How many continents have you circumnavigated? "Anywhere" is relative.

Ted

You appear to just look for a battle as that is twice on this page.