G Q wrote:

I'm looking at a boat purchase. The boat has two large 200 KW 1400rpm
(cruising speed) diesels with 3000 hours on each. The problem I see is
that they have not been used at all for almost three years.

That may or may not be a problem.

The owner
claims the engines were turned manually, that he looked after them and
that they are just fine.

OK, that's all to the good... but do you suspect that owner/seller may
tell a tiny fib just to get his hands on your money (and it seems likely
to be a large sum)?


The boat has been out of the water for about
half the time of engine disuse. What I've heard (but I'm no
professional) is that you need to run diesels for at least a number of
hours per week to keep them in good shape. So, is it still even worth
the expense of sending over an engine professional to check out these
engines, or should I forget about it? Your advice/insight is
appreciated!

The first step would be to see if the engines can be turned over, with
appropriate intermediate steps, and check how well they run. If the boat
is still out of the water, that could present some difficulty too.

If the engines can be turned over, then the next step short of getting an
engine survey is to get an oil analysis. Don't forget the transmissions
too.

But if you're proceeding seriously towards purchase, then YES get an
engine survey, ti is very much worth the money.

Fair Skies
Doug King