Boat history info

Chrisvr6

Is there some way i can find out the history of my boat? Curious as to how many owners and if any engine changes took place etc. 

Black_Diamond

Rinker might be able to help with your hull number and the s/n's off the motor(s) and drive(s) and see if they match.  I'm not sure if you can get title history?

Chrisvr6

Thanks guys. I actually almost started another thread titled "how many hours on your engine". Mine 454mag has over 800 and runs so strong. Just wondering if it is even the original. 

Chrisvr6

How many hours does 150k miles translate too. 

Chrisvr6

Boathistoryreport.com is $35. No thanks. Not that curious. 

LaRea

The article by BoatUS didn't have anything positive to say about BoatHistoryReport.com.  In almost all relevant categories, the authors concluded "It is unlikely that BoatHistoryReport.com could provide complete or accurate data." 

<a href="http://my.boatus.com/consumer/historyhollow.asp">http://my.boatus.com/consumer/historyhollow.asp</a>

According to them, anybody wanting the equivalent of Carfax for boats will probably be disappointed by BoatHistoryReport.com.  I'm not saying BoatUS is gospel (or Carfax, for that matter), but the article is worth reading even though it's several years old.  

They also note that some information is available free to the public at the U.S. Coast Guard Web site, www.uscgboating.org.  

MarkB

If they are the original engines and if the owners registered the engines each time, the engine supplier would have a history. But those are big ifs. 

RWBLACK6

Chrisvr6;  According to AL [ Rinker answer man ] ,  1000 hrs. on a boat engine equals 100,000 miles on car engine, roughly. 

Chrisvr6

Import or domestic car engine? 

rasbury

98 hours...I have a long way to go I hope!

bigal6030

My 2008 Ford F250 - 5.7L engine has 6325 hours on it. Translates to 160,000 miles. My last boat had 850 hours on a 5.7L and the engine ran great.

Chrisvr6

According to bigal6030, how many miles is 800hrs equivalent to? 

LaRea

800 hours over how many years?

If the boat is 10 years old, it averaged 80 engine hours/year for 10 years.  That is solid, consistent use -- and probably solid, consistent maintenance.  My guess is that 80 hrs/yr on a boat is like 10k mi/yr on a car.  So a boat with 800 hours is like a car with 100k miles.  That engine has many years of service left in it.

However, if the boat is 20 years old, that could mean the boat spent most of her life sitting neglected in the slip.  All bets are off regarding engine life.  

TonyWalker

Here is a question.  The Salt Shaker is run at trawler speed a lot.  So is a trawler speed hour the same as an "on plane" hour or do I get some credit for light duty operation?

Black_Diamond

I think you get extra credit for the 'trawler speeds'..less engine stress.  

Michael T

x

LaRea

Don't the engine computers track engine hours vs. RPM?  I think it can read out how many hours above 3000 RPM, hours above 3500 RPM, etc.

A boat with 95% of the hours below 1500 RPM should be younger than one that's been run at WOT all the time.

Cableguy Greg

The computer does keep track of RPM and hours at that RPM. When I got my boat surveyed, the surveyor broke the hours down into 500 RPM increments, which was pretty cool.

LaRea

The article by BoatUS didn't have anything positive to say about BoatHistoryReport.com.  In almost all relevant categories, the authors concluded "It is unlikely that BoatHistoryReport.com could provide complete or accurate data." 

http://my.boatus.com/consumer/historyhollow.asp 

According to them, anybody wanting the equivalent of Carfax for boats will probably be disappointed by BoatHistoryReport.com.  I'm not saying BoatUS is gospel (or Carfax, for that matter), but the article is worth reading.  

They also note that some information is available free to the public at the U.S. Coast Guard Web site, www.uscgboating.org.