April 21st 06, 05:14 AM posted to rec.boats.cruising |
On 19-Apr-2006, 'Keith' wrote: American Diesel Well..I guess I will jump in. The advice of clean oil and clean air is dead on. As to the original poster's questions about engine life I would make the following observation. I have been watching Yacht World boat ads for years. I have NEVER seen a trawler (Private - not commercial) for sale with a Ford Lehman in it with 10,000+ hours. If you do a search with the following parameters of 32-50', diesel, and trawler you will get about 2,000 hits. Start digging through them and see if you find a 10,000+hr engine. I've got $20 that says no. I feel that since the trawlers I look at tend to be 30+ years old I would like to find one in the 2,000 to 3,000 hr range. That equates to 70-100 hrs a year. I would only buy a 5,000+hr boat if everything else was perfect and the price allowed me to replace an engine and still be able to sell the boat w/o the loss of $15,000. I get cranky when I lose money. Just one mans opinion. Good luck.dave |