Perkins M30 Perama with 6000hrs!

snatchblock · #1 (**permalink**) 10-01-2006

Hi, I am looking at buying a a cat with perkins engine, both engines have 6000 hrs, does anyone have any idea of what I am going to have to do to bring the engines up to standard? Judging by the state of the rest of the boat, the previous owner has not been doing very much regular maintenance.

Thanks,

sailingdog · #2 (**permalink**) 10-01-2006

Did you get the boat surveyed? You could always also pay a good mechanic to do a once-over on the engines to get an idea of what shape they're in. If the surveyor or mechanic say they have problems, try to get a price adjustment on the boat to reflect the costs of repairing those problems. If the seller won't do that...run like hell.

camaraderie · #3 (**permalink**) 10-01-2006

Well...a well maintained Perkins might take you 15-20000 hours so the time on the engines is not a particular concern. What is a concern is that you indicate the maintenance on the boat is poor and if the engines have issues you could be looking at major overhauls and about an 8K $$ bill.
I would hire a good diesel guy to check 'em out even before a boat survey.
Finally...6k miles is not a lot for an engine but it does indicate hard use by an owner unless the boat is quite old. Has this boat been in charter and if so...make sure you know what the issues are via a good survey.

sailingdog · #4 (**permalink**) 10-01-2006

One thing I'd point out...an engine with low hours, but poor maintenance will often be in far worse shape than an engine that was used properly and properly maintained.