Old engines little used

[Pugcat]

Thanks for the further advice, all much appreciated. I agree that the 50 hrs does seem a little suspicious but I can only take him at his word until I can get there to look at the boat myself.
I will certainly approach with caution and a tame diesel mechanic. My previous boats have had a Volvo Md2b and a Perkins 4.236, both old school and tough as nails but I have no familiarity with Yanmars or more modern diesels in general so your advice of turning over by hand etc is a big help.

[captlloyd]

Originally Posted by RexSnr

My comment is that the sellers story sounds suss. The boat is 25 years old but the engines have only done about 50 hours?? 2 hours per year? Drop off 3 years on the hard and we go to 2.27 hours per year!! A 25 year old cat is likely to be fairly heavy since composites were not really used then. So, you would assume you would at least motor in and out of the marina on every outing. He must have been an awesome sailor, who sailed away from his mooring on every trip. Ditto on the return. He must also have always had solar panels to recharge his batteries while he sailed and consumed on board power. Also, a heavier boat cannot sail in light winds so steaming is often enough a necessity. Why did a person keep a boat 25 years if he only used it so little?
It seems to me not to be a believable story. Could the engines be poor and he is trying to point you away from them? History says that 25 year old diesels are NOT likely to be in good condition. I don't know anything about those models but are they heat exchanger cooled? 22 years of salt water would not be kind to them. You have already pointed out the cost of new diesels would probably write off the boat. He probably knows that, so has to really talk up the condition of the engines, but I think he might have gone too far and will get caught. The old engines are his problem. I would not take the risk of making them mine.
If I had to travel to see it, I would plan for new engines on this one and if it still stacked up, I would go see it. If it didn't. I'd move on. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. There are plenty of boats out there.

You have won the “Skepticism Award”.

[skipperpete]

I just read an engine ad where the seller said he only did 50 hrs per year and later mentioned the engine had 2,000 hrs....that’s 40 years......, there exists a conflict, the engine is late year 2000.

[Rumrace]

Good point. 50 hours makes it sound like it had new engines replacing old at some point. There should be an hour meter on each motor somewhere near the ignition. Easy to tell the fuel system is different.

[RaymondR]

3GM30s have valve lifters and with them all in the up position should turn over by hand very easy.

[Pugcat]

Hmm, decompression levers like on the Md2b, maybe the Yanmars aren’t as modern and high tech as I thought, brilliant!