Like your car, the lifespan of your outboard motor can seem to be a bit of a mystery. It often seems like too many factors go into the life and upkeep of any motor to pin down a specific timeline. Despite the apparent confusion, there are some general guidelines for knowing how long your outboard engine should last. A typical two-stroke or four-stroke outboard engine should provide 1, hours of run time. Based on the average use of hours per year, this will last years.
However, changing your oil every 50 hours of operation and regularly flushing the engine can see your outboard engine last 10 to 20 years. Some of the problems that cause outboard motors to die prematurely include how it is used and how meticulous you are about oil changes and maintenance.
These things directly affect how long you can expect your motor to last. Want to know which outboard is best for saltwater use? Learn more. A typical estimate from the industry is that an outboards motor last around 1, hours of operation. Assuming the average owner uses their boat hours a year, this would mean that the motor would last between seven and eight years. That sounds about right in my experience.
There are plenty of 20 to year-old two-stroke motors still in service all over the world. Two-stroke engines are more vulnerable to wear and tear, however, they are also easier to maintain. Two-stroke motors must have the proper fuel to oil mixture. This is controlled by the operator every time the boat is fueled up, with a few oil-injected engines being the exception. Improper mixing of the gas and oil is a significant cause of wear for two-stroke motors. If the engine requires a mix, putting anything more or anything less in the tank will result in more wear and tear.
Owners must know what mixture their engine requires and have a method of accurately mixing it at hand. Running in saltwater is not the death knell for an outboard motor that some would have you believe. What operating in seawater means is that you will have to spend a little more time caring for your outboard. Several great products on the market can help you clean your motor and keep it corrosion-free.
Specifically, there are corrosion prevention sprays that you can coat the engine with that prevent corrosion from starting in the first place. One of the hardest things for any engine to survive is long periods of not being run. The longer that the oil sits in the pan not circulating, the longer there is for corrosion to set in.
Bearings, piston rings, and all the other internal components of the motor require the oil to move around for lubrication and cleaning. Unfortunately, outboard motors are notoriously underused. Many boats are used only a few hours a year. If you live in a climate that requires you to lay up for a season, your usage will be even lower.
The more often you can run your boat the longer its motor will last. There is always two sides to every story. As with everything, context always plays a big part. Just to clarify — I am not talking about new boats here. Sure, a boat less than 3 years old with low hours generally will be a good sign. But lets take a look at a year old boat with hours. Hours on a boat is not the same comparison as kilometres on a car. Unfortunately, most boats live at a marina, on a mooring, or on a trailer.
These environments make boats subject to long days in the sun, rain, salt and sometimes even hail. Depending on where in the waterway the boat lives usually closer to the outlet the more growth it will accumulate , the boat would have been growing barnacles on the bottom and being cleaned each year. This equates to trips, between hours each, every year.
With that being said, most people will be all excited when they first buy the boat. They might do or so hours in the first year, then it starts to sit. In its later years, it may be doing 15 hours or less a year.
What does that mean in regards to the condition of the boat? Most manufacturers recommend an hourly schedule of maintenance OR time, for example: hours or every year. The owner will probably continue to drive it for the small amount of time each year hours as usual, with saltwater splashing around everywhere. From my experience, a boat with higher hours is often a little more loved and looked after.
This is usually because the owner has been onboard using it. They will notice when the horn fails, the bilge pump stops working, or perhaps when the engine springs a leak. However, due to having fewer moving parts than other engine types, jet engines tend to be less demanding in terms of repairs. In spite of this, maintenance is still key and will largely dictate how long the engine lasts. Although most engines have an average life expectancy of about hours before major overhauls are needed.
Good maintenance practices are key to ensuring that your engine lasts the course or even further. Other factors affect the life expectancy of an engine as well, including brand and type. Some high quality brand motors are more likely to be more durable, although this is not always the case. Also, diesel engines are known to, on average, last for about times more hours than gas engines. Industry experts place the average usage for a boat around hours a year.
However, several factors determine whether this average will apply to you or not. Some of these factors include the purpose of the usage as well as the climate and the location where the boat is being used.
The number of usage hours, however, is significantly higher for boats that are used for some form of business like fishing. The location of the boat owner and the climate can also affect the average usage of the boat.
Some places have longer boating seasons than others, which usually translates into more boating hours. Shorter boating seasons will also often mean fewer usage hours in a year.
The truth about boat hours, however, is much more complex and depends on so many other decisive factors. For instance, a high hour boat that has been well cared for will be a much better option than a low hour boat which has been largely neglected. V-Drive boats. Settling non-use will usually cause more problems over time than overuse. Making a decision based on the number of hours alone is not the best. Rather, the number of hours for each boat is best judged in the context of the following conditions:.
The quality of a boat is probably the first thing to consider when looking at the hours. In that scenario, hours of usage is not a deal-breaker at all. The history of the boat in question is also essential when considering the number of hours.
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