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>100 for those that fish every weekend and sometimes during the weekavg number of hours are going up due to the electronics that are now on the market. more and more hours are being chalked up due to idling. avg hours are also greater on larger lakes. hours on an engine should not be used to base the condition of the boat or engine. engines have 1000s of hours of lifetime and some would never see that if they ran the same boat same engine all their life!
As a casual weekend angler, fishing only 1 tournament a month at most, I put about 35 to 40 hours a year on my Skeeter. I now have 35 hours on my Jag and have had it 6 months. These are just my observations. Talking with some guys as the SEBCOG, some of them put 100-200 a year.britt Phils post showed up while typing mine. I fall right inline with his numbers.
Much appreciated. Ill cut and paste Phils response for the future.
Phil, I am glad you have mentioned the electronics causing more hours. I am getting ready to put my 09 Puma on the for sale sight this week and I have over 200 hours after owning the boat 20 months. The side imaging capabilities are going to cause a marked increase in engine idle use for the hard core guys. Now if I could only get them to stay where I find them during practice. Boat will be listed later this week.
The group from BCB had that all busted out here once. Those older hour meters on the BP dashes allowed them to have a better handle on this than any other company. This was before your engines had a memory.
245 for me kelly. 09 ftd. Thats how it is if you use it.C.O.D. Jr. III
Hours on a motor can vary wildly depending on area they are from..Areas with smaller lakes or that have real winter and lakes get hard will be much lower than the ones from southeren big lake areas. With the lakes here in Indiana even thosed used often may only average around 50 hrs, per yr. Total running hours are not as critical as how they are run and how they are maintained/ taken care of during those hours/yrs.
We would not worry for a few more hours and save your jingle for a new rig in the mean time. About once a year have the shop you use run a compression check and log the pounds on each cylinder for comparison. Also make sure to pop in a water pump impeller annually as this rig ages. This is simple doityourself job.
As BCB says…………………..I too wouldnt worry about the hours. Seen a number of Optis with hours in the 2000 range. Its hard to recoup from a complete repower unless you plan on owning it another 5 – 10 years. Nice well cared for boat you have there is the photos are fairly current!
I would run it like you are currently doing. The only security getting a new power plant gives you is warranty. The new one do have their issues.. I would save my money for a raning day.. and if the #6 piston implodes.. like mine did on me 3 times.. which required a total powerhead replacement,, then you can measure your options at that time..I would keep banking, and properly maintaing.. it should last you for a LONG TIME…
Thanks Phil, The picture is only a couple of months old.I have since had new carpet installed that I purchased from BCB. There arent two many P3s out here in California.I have only ever come across one other.I will probably keep running it as is.The repower is quite expensive,and this one is still a strong performer. Thanks for the input guys.
If I buy a new motor, it had better have a new boat attached to it! Personal oppinion. The cost of a total repower wont be recouped. Maintain it, and run it.
Appreciate your post discussing hours on your engine. So many people do not understand how many hours these engines are capable of when taken care of properly. I know a couple of redfish and trout guides around Golden Meadow, LA that have over 2000 hours on these engines and these hours are done with excessive weights being pushed every day. I would say just keep truckin.
Hey BCB,Also make sure to pop in a water pump impeller annually as this rig ages. This is simple doityourself job. Do you know of any instructions posted on how to replace a water pump impeller for a 3L merc?Thanks,Kent
Hold the mode button down for about five to ten seconds and the documented hours on that dash will show in the window. These hours can not be cleared. The face hours and trip time can be zeroed, though that memory can never be erased.
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