How many is too many hours on a boat?

[6Ball_Dan]

There is a 2014 Prostar on SIA with 2700 hours. The price is right (for me), but obviously the hours are a concern. At what point should a boat no longer be considered because it has too many hours? I was thinking that, worst case, I could buy a marine short block 350 and replace the engine if needed, but that wouldn't address the wear and tear on the seats, steering, hull, etc. 

[aupatking]

It really depends on what you don't mind doing. In instances like this, I think of it in airplane terms, total airframe hours. How many hours can the hull handle. Honestly with fiberglass, it's probably more hours than our lifespan. @MISkier I know you don't mind the little stuff, so I wouldn't be scared off, but would look at the other moving parts: rudder, steering cable (easy), and... well I'm not thinking of much. I do have a serious concern about the screen. I had to replace my screen in my 2014 in 2017. At that time they wanted $4K for it.

[MISkier]

@aupatking, check the id of the original poster.  It’s new and not me.  He’s got an underscore in his id.  When I saw it, I figured the confusion would ensue.

[6Ball_Dan]

@aupatking, thanks for sharing your thoughts. @miskier, sorry for the confusion, I'll see if I can change my user name 

[MISkier]

@MI_Skier, I appreciate that.  I’m sure @Horton can help, if there an issue.

 

[BlueSki]

@MISkier I was thinking the same thing. You have been a prolific contributor. @MI_Skier long time readers thank you. 

[aupatking]

awe man... I finally thought I had something useful to say and I say it to the wrong guy 🥲. If there is a good guy to have your name close to, @MISkier is your guy though

[6Ball_Dan]

1 hour ago, MISkier said:

@MI_Skier, I appreciate that.  I’m sure @Horton can help, if there an issue.

 

I sent Horton a message. I can always delete my account and create a new user name if we can't get it figured out by the end of the weekend. 

[Mastercrafter]

I wouldn’t let the hours worry me too much; the boat as a whole should still have plenty of usable life.  On the flip side,  here’s some things to consider that *could* eventually need replaced: 

350 reman longblock  $3500

New exhaust manifold $2700 ea

Interior replacement $3000

Transmission $2700

Touchscreen $4000

Fuel pump $850

Bimini windshield mounts $600

.. there’s a handful of big ticket items that can/will go bad eventually.  

Steering cables, shift cables, shaft seal, strut bearing.. hopefully they’ve been replaced as maintenance already but those are pretty low-cost  anyways.

I have a 1500hr 2017 and it’s a very solid, reliable boat. Fuel pump, starter, steering cables, bimini mounts, and a few other small items have been replaced, but nothing major. My 2015  needed a screen at 180 hours 🤷🏻‍♂️

 

 

 

[chaloux]

I was looking at that boat as well. It truly does seem like very little out there is selling, and prices are starting to come back to reality again. An 07 196 near me that I posted about previously dropped from 29k CAD to 19k over the last 8 months (also high hours and no trailer, so might sit for a while yet). There are a few others that are dropping as well after sitting. Conversely there's a beautiful 09 196 that has been listed for nearly a year, started at 48cad, and they bumped it up to 56k recently 🤣 I'm not sure about that strategy

That PS ad does say it has a leak at a muffler connection - I wonder about the specifics of that and whether it requires a whole muffler or manifold or just a connector as I'm not familiar with how they connect. I'm not scared of higher hours myself, but I would definitely keep some cash lying around for the repairs @Mastercrafter mentioned above. The long block I wouldn't be concerned about if well maintained, but there are so many associated wear items. For reference, my 5.3l 2018 Silverado had over 4000hr operating time and 200k km. Essentially 0 issues with it. But peripherals were starting to show wear signs of upcoming replacement. 

So if you were to put aside 10-15k for maintenance coming up, is there anything you could find with half the hours for 45-50k to be comparable? There are a few out there, a 50k 2018 I think on SIA and there's a 2014 for 65 CAD up here. 🤷🏻‍♂️ I don't know what to do either, lol

[jpwhit]

Another thing to keep in mind. The 2014 ProStars with the 5.7L engine were pretty slow out of the hole. They changed the transmission ratio to address that in 2015 and onwards. 

Personally, with the market being so soft, Id probably make some offers on boats with less hours before I actually bought this boat. Don't let asking prices drive your decision making, there can be big differences between asking prices and selling prices. Especially in a really soft market like it is now. 

[Jody_Seal]

many factors need to be considered on purchasing a exceptionally high hour boat.

1. how was the boat used?

2. how well was the boat serviced and documented?

3.overall condition/trailer?

chevy 350 vortec engines have the propensity to cross migrate between cylinders. not to mention the condition of the catalytic exhaust.

under water gear will need attention. cutlass bearing as well as rudder port could be slap wore out. steering cable as well as control cables may need replacing. fuel lines? 

transmission on its last leg normally with those kind of hours.

that great deal on a high hour boat may not be such a great deal in the real near future. $$$$$$$

Edited March 24 by Jody_Seal

[jpwhit]

For example, this boat can likely be had in the 40's.

https://www.ski-it-again.com/php/skiitagain.php?endless=summer&topic=Search&category=Boat_3Event&postid=68613

And probably won't need much of anything until 1500 hours or so. It may end up being a much better deal over the next 10 years of ownership. 

I'm someone that typically isn't that concerned with high hours. But at 2700 hours, that boat is almost certainly going to need fairly significant work pretty soon. I'm basing this on our ski club boats. We typically run them up to about 2500 hours. Pretty much after that, they really do need a complete refurb to be a boat you can count on. So in addition to what it'll cost, I think you need to think about how you'll feel if the boat breaks down a lot and ruins your boating outing. 

I think the right buyer for the original boat posted, is for someone that wants a project and will take it and immediately tear it all down and do a compete refurb. Otherwise, I think you'll end up with a boat that lets you down too frequently. 

Also it says trailer optional, so I bet 35k isn't including the trailer. And a nearly brand new tandem axle trailer isn't cheap. 

[chaloux]

1 hour ago, jpwhit said:

Another thing to keep in mind. The 2014 ProStars with the 5.7L engine were pretty slow out of the hole. They changed the transmission ratio to address that in 2015 and onwards. 

Personally, with the market being so soft, Id probably make some offers on boats with less hours before I actually bought this boat. Don't let asking prices drive your decision making, there can be big differences between asking prices and selling prices. Especially in a really soft market like it is now. 

Could this be addressed with a prop?  I didn't realize this. 

[jpwhit]

1 hour ago, chaloux said:

Could this be addressed with a prop?  I didn't realize this. 

I’m not sure, never heard of anyone commenting about that. I think the only thing you could try is the 3-blade jump prop. There really doesn’t seem to be a lot of prop selection right around the size of the standard ProStar prop.
 

I have a 19 ProStar with the 5.7L and I do wish it had a larger engine. The course at my lake house has a medium distance setup on one end, and my ProStar just gets to speed at 34mph right at the pre-gate balls. And 36 doesn’t lock in until halfway between the pre-gate and gates. We have a 5.7L 200 at the ski club, and it’s noticeably stronger than the 5.7 in the ProStar. I assume it’s because the PCM 5.7 is 343hp and the Ilmore is 320hp. Overall, I like the ProStar better than the 200, I just think it would be perfect with the 6 or 6.2L engine. 
 

People with long setups say the 2014 is fine, but I know it wouldn’t work for me. 
 

I bought the 3 blade jump prop to try on my 19 at the end of last season, but I never got around to trying it yet. I also actually picked up a virtually brand new Ilmore 6.0 for a steal, so that’ll probably end up in the ProStar. 

[6Ball_Dan]

12 hours ago, Mastercrafter said:

I wouldn’t let the hours worry me too much; the boat as a whole should still have plenty of usable life.  On the flip side,  here’s some things to consider that *could* eventually need replaced: 

350 reman longblock  $3500

New exhaust manifold $2700 ea

Interior replacement $3000

Transmission $2700

Touchscreen $4000

Fuel pump $850

Bimini windshield mounts $600

.. there’s a handful of big ticket items that can/will go bad eventually.  

Steering cables, shift cables, shaft seal, strut bearing.. hopefully they’ve been replaced as maintenance already but those are pretty low-cost  anyways.

I have a 1500hr 2017 and it’s a very solid, reliable boat. Fuel pump, starter, steering cables, bimini mounts, and a few other small items have been replaced, but nothing major. My 2015  needed a screen at 180 hours 🤷🏻‍♂️

 

 

 

@Mastercrafter, this is super helpful and I really appreciate it. Thank you! 

[kurt]

@chaloux when I had my 14 I did switch to a 3 blade from acme and it made a huge difference..

I called acme up as they are local in michigan and they designed one to work.  I still have it if anyone wants to buy it as I have a new mc now.

Also any lake longer than 2100 ft and you'll never know the difference

[03RLXi]

A possible answer is current hours plus one, because something might happen in that hour that dents your dream.

But most probable answer is its the current hours plus many many more hours of enjoyment, and the occassional expense. Mostly small expenses, some big expenses, but at the end of your life all boat related costs will have been absolutely justifiable 😁

[6Ball_Dan]

On 3/24/2024 at 9:45 AM, jpwhit said:

For example, this boat can likely be had in the 40's.

https://www.ski-it-again.com/php/skiitagain.php?endless=summer&topic=Search&category=Boat_3Event&postid=68613

And probably won't need much of anything until 1500 hours or so. It may end up being a much better deal over the next 10 years of ownership. 

I'm someone that typically isn't that concerned with high hours. But at 2700 hours, that boat is almost certainly going to need fairly significant work pretty soon. I'm basing this on our ski club boats. We typically run them up to about 2500 hours. Pretty much after that, they really do need a complete refurb to be a boat you can count on. So in addition to what it'll cost, I think you need to think about how you'll feel if the boat breaks down a lot and ruins your boating outing. 

I think the right buyer for the original boat posted, is for someone that wants a project and will take it and immediately tear it all down and do a compete refurb. Otherwise, I think you'll end up with a boat that lets you down too frequently. 

Also it says trailer optional, so I bet 35k isn't including the trailer. And a nearly brand new tandem axle trailer isn't cheap. 

Great points. The ski seasons in Michigan are much shorter than I'd like, so if a repair took me out for a month (or more), I'd be pretty disappointed. 

[6Ball_Dan]

A lot of great points. I appreciate the input! I ended up spending a bit more money for a very clean 2014 with only 400 hours on it. 

[chaloux]

9 minutes ago, 6Ball_Dan said:

A lot of great points. I appreciate the input! I ended up spending a bit more money for a very clean 2014 with only 400 hours on it. 

Nice! Was it on SIA or somewhere else? Pics required!!!

[6Ball_Dan]

@chaloux yeah it was on SIA. It was in the boat section titled "Boats-Show Ski" instead of the section titled "Boats-3 Event". I stumbled upon it by accident after searching SIA ever day for months lol. The post had been active since October of last year. Some pictures are below. I inspected the boat and took it for a test drive before agreeing to purchase it. Everything seems rock solid with the exception of a few minor scratches and some spider web cracking around the gas cap (which I see frequently on this model of PS). The guy had a stack of receipts showing the oil had been changed frequently and well maintained by a local dealer. Fingers crossed the boat is as solid as it seems and there aren't any major repairs in the near future. Thanks again for all the input. It was helpful to hear another perspective and estimate the cost and probability of upcoming repairs. 

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