What kind of hours do you rack-up?

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family affair

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I would consider my boat use for this neck of the woods higher than average. I usually get out 20-30 times a season, yet I'm only putting on a out 30 hours a year on engines. Since I trailer, I don't generally need to make long runs. Typically 20 miles or less round trip. Occasionally 50. Getting out of no wake zones rarely takes more than 15 minutes per trip. Even years where I trolled a lot, alternating engines, I wouldn't have that many more hours. It got me thinking, aside from the guys who run way off shore, how are so many people racking up 1000+ hours in 5-10 years? Are the hours due to extensive low speed operation, or do you all typically run greater distances often?
 
WOW - I would love to get out 20 - 30 times a year! You are lucky! This year I did not get out much at all, mostly due to travel and family engagements. I got out maybe 6 times this past year... Usually, in a 'normal' year I get out 10 -15 times, In those years I'll put 50 - 7o hours on my motor.
 
Sdfish said:
WOW - I would love to get out 20 - 30 times a year! You are lucky! This year I did not get out much at all, mostly due to travel and family engagements. I got out maybe 6 times this past year... Usually, in a 'normal' year I get out 10 -15 times, In those years I'll put 50 - 7o hours on my motor.
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So how are you racking up 2x the hours only going out ½ as much as I do?
 
If my math is correct, I went out around 15 times this season just for fishing. With crabbing and cruising, it's probably slightly more than that at around 20 total. I'm similar though in that I don't have to make long runs or anything like that as I've got a mooring buoy out in front of our cabin. I can row out there in our dinghy or my kayak, climb on board, unhook the boat from the buoy and literally start trolling for salmon as soon as we get off the buoy. Several times this season we went out for less than a couple hours a day, as well as when the peak of the season hit, there were times where we'd have multiple fish in the boat within only a couple of minutes of unhooking from the buoy. The outboard was replaced on my boat before I purchased it, of which it had like 991 hours at the time I purchased it, which was just over 4 years ago now. I used it once in the late late fall/early winter of 2021 and then didn't use it again until the next summer of 2022. I can't say for certain, but I imagine I'm similar in that I likely don't put more than maybe 30-40 hours on my outboard per season. Which is nice to be able to keep the hours on the outboard lower than not, and am definitely not like some of the guys on here that have to motor 40-50+ miles each way to go fishing, thankfully. I'm also admittedly more of a fair-weather fisherman, to where if the winds are over 15-20 mph, I'll likely stay home for the morning. Same with the fishing reports or conditions, to where if I'm out there fishing for 3-4+ hours and it's either really slow or I haven't limited out yet, I'll likely come back in and try another day instead. My buddy though, he's the complete opposite in that he could be out in his boat fishing for 8-10+ hours and keep doing so even without any bites at all. As much as I love fishing, if it's really slow or the conditions are really bad, I'm starting to think in my head that breakfast, coffee and a nap are sounding quite good...
 
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Mustang65fbk said:
As much as I love fishing, if it's really slow or the conditions are really bad, I'm starting to think in my head that breakfast, coffee and a nap are sounding quite good...
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I had a lot of that this year! Normal I fish cruise 50/50. This year was 100% cruise because I didn't want to get out of bed. Thought it was age. Turns out it was medically related. Hopefully next year will be different.
 
October 2007 purchased with 50 hours on new motors. Today 2,500 hours. So 18 years. About 138 hours per year. Boat is only used in FL for two months +/-. Haven't put in the water in NJ for years - just work on it! In FL runs are short few mile runs but the motors are my generator to keep pumps and electronics going so they are never turned off. Even when bottom fishing or drift fishing kites/live bait. My mechanic tells me its not the hours that kills the motors - it's the years.
 
I usually put around 150 hours per year, but some of them were idling when bottom fishing.
The new Honda BF350 have now around 140 hours on the clock, reason is that i need much less idling to charge the house + stbd battery after i changed my battery wiring to 1+1+1 and installed a 140Ah LiFePo house battery what last forever.
Hours depend mostly on how one use the boat, hours on the water but with engines off can be substantial higher.
Chris
 
100 hrs is typical the past few years, sometimes a tad less. I find the long days on the sand bar these days really has cut it back.
 
family affair said:
I would consider my boat use for this neck of the woods higher than average. I usually get out 20-30 times a season, yet I'm only putting on a out 30 hours a year on engines. Since I trailer, I don't generally need to make long runs. Typically 20 miles or less round trip. Occasionally 50. Getting out of no wake zones rarely takes more than 15 minutes per trip. Even years where I trolled a lot, alternating engines, I wouldn't have that many more hours. It got me thinking, aside from the guys who run way off shore, how are so many people racking up 1000+ hours in 5-10 years? Are the hours due to extensive low speed operation, or do you all typically run greater distances often?
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i think you have exceptionally low hours per trip.

i got out 10 or 11 times this year and probably put on the same number of hours as you. we dont run off shore at all (yet), just cruise around with the family, stop at a restaurant, or anchor and play in the water.
 
Ekea said:
i think you have exceptionally low hours per trip.

i got out 10 or 11 times this year and probably put on the same number of hours as you. we dont run off shore at all (yet), just cruise around with the family, stop at a restaurant, or anchor and play in the water.
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There are plenty of days where we only head out to behind the break wall or go to a cove. 30-40 minutes round trip.
Even with fishing trips, I rarely have to go more than 5 miles off shore.
I guess I'm spoiled. Lots of good spots close to home.
 
I generally clock 60 - 100 hours per year - lot depends on the weather. This past summer May and June were close to a wind/washout so we had close to 60.
 
I appreciate the total numbers, but I'm wondering things like:
- long cruise runs
- long no wake/idle zones
- extended trolling
- some have mentioned engine idling for charging
This year I probably had more cruise hours between 25-38 mph than in years past. I think my moving average this year was around 15 mph.
 
This year has been a tough year for us due mostly offshore winds, only 60 hours. However we usually put between 100-150 engine run time. In the 18 years we have had our Marlin, we averaged 135 hours.
 
Wow, you guys don"t get out much, do you?

I've been averaging 150 to 200 hours a year DESPITE the fact that I'm up in NJ and my boat is in Flada all summer, AND the fact that I've had my boat on the hard for months at a time over the past several Winter seasons, due to a blown powerhead, collision repairs to the hull when I stuck a semi-submerged beam, blown fuel injector repairs, trim motor replacement, etc.....

Finest Kind came with twin 200 carbed Johnsons when new in 88, and over the years I repowered her with 175 Fichts, then 200 Evinrude G1's, then the current 200 G2's.

Got over 1200 hours on my 2017 Etec G2's right now and expect to get over 2000 before considering maybe repowering again?...(with Zukes this time).
 
Finest Kind said:
Wow, you guys don"t get out much, do you?
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As i wrote, engine hours and time on the boat (lets call it boating hours) can be total different numbers as it depends on how the boat is used.
My guess is that i have at least 300 boating hours on the water as most time engines are off when drift fishing.

The usual bottom fishing trip is 12-15 nautical miles to the spot and then 8-10 hours fishing with engines on only to move back to start point or moving to another spot. Fast trolling for pelacigs was exceptional slow this year and i dropped it and did mostly deep deep dropping as after 4 full days trolling for 70 nm without any bite nor seeing any fish or birds on the surface.
When trolling then i put a lot of hours on the clock, the same amount as boating hours.
Same for people who need to do long trips on the ICW and/or No Wake zones or fish 50nm+ off shore.

I did about 30 days of fishing plus one day driving her 40 miles north and then back for the first service at 20 hours.
And we had rather snotty conditions and i could not go fishing for at least another 15 days.
I only fish, no cruising, no sandbar, just fishing.

Chris
 
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