Help me read this hour meter

[Ajax]

Well, if he kept his boat close to the starting line, it probably got very little use.
My boat was about 5 miles away, so...

[alcodiesel]

As a matter of fact the starting line was just outside where he kept it. The guy I bought it from had it for 10 years or so. I know nothing before that. This boat has a detective work aspect that is kind of fun.

[Ajax]

As a matter of fact the starting line was just outside where he kept it. The guy I bought it from had it for 10 years or so. I know nothing before that. All boats have a detective work aspect that is kind of fun.

Fixed it for you.

Well, if the boat lived at the starting line and was rarely sailed except on race days, it could have very low hours.

That also means that important maintenance may have been neglected.
Probably due for an acid flush and pressure flush and check the exhaust.

[sastanley]

I am a little bit lucky..there are gaps, but I know my boat's history from its inception, since I bought it from my father and I was 6 when it was new.

When you are a kid there are misconceptions about life, but it felt like we were on the boat almost every weekend for YEARS...I am OK with that..I was lucky!

My parents got divorced, and I grew up and I remember seeing my Dad take the boat out of the harbor a few times a summer over the last 20 years.

In the early days of the boat being new, (first 8 years or so) I am sure we were putting a hundred hours a year or more on the motor..including a Dismal Swamp Canal run when I was 11 or so. We probably did 100 hours in that two weeks.

After that (when I was a teenager and raced with other boats), I bet my Dad put 20 hours or less on the boat for the next 20 years. When I was age 35, he moved to Florida and sold me the boat.

Some years I get 40 hours on it, some years I get 60 hours on it (I put an hour meter on it 4 years ago, and that average of 50 hours holds true, as I am at 205 hours presently I think.)

So, you never know how it goes. I am guessing the motor in my boat based on the history is about 1,900 hours, but I don't keep a detailed log, which I probably should start doing.


As Ajax notes, lots of short hours don't necessarily mean good maintenance practices. As much as I feel blessed with my vessel, i am sure my Dad simply changed the oil once a year, whether it was 20 hours or 200 hours.

Anyway, I am just throwing out my own experience.

[alcodiesel]

That is so cool Shawn. You kind of grew up with the boat.

[sastanley]

I definitely grew up with the boat..which was great and I am grateful and I love the sea. That ~20 years (from when I was 17-35) where I was out of touch with the boat is the unknown...and I have been rebuilding her from that 20 year neglect ever since my Dad sold me the boat in 2008..and I am still grateful. I now get to take my wife to all the cool places on the Chesapeake where I enjoyed growing up.

That history should explain most of the meaning behind the boat name, "Twice Around". (My wife and I are both on our second...and last...marriage, so that is the 2nd meaning behind the boat name when we re-christened her.)

None of this helps you at all with your hour meter, but sometimes, I waver and get off-topic...

[alcodiesel]

Yes, but a wonderful waver nonetheless!

[alcodiesel]

The answer

Ta daa! I showed the tach/hour meter to a guy in a nearby slip. He said he has one just like it and it's 397 hours. !

[lat 64]

...
but sometimes, I waver and get off-topic...

But that's why we like you



Bill,
Good oil pressure? and good cylinder compression?—go sailing!