Bass Boat Hours / Major Repairs

So I've been keeping my eye out for a used bass boat for quite some time now. I'm not new to owning boats. I have had one pretty much since I graduated college in 2000. Other than my first boat, which had a 2 stroke Yamaha on it, I have had a center console with a 4 stroke Yamaha OR Suzuki on it. I have put up to 900 hrs on a 4 stroke Yamaha with absolutely no major issues. However, seems like every bass boat I look at has had a new power head put in it. Many around 200-300 hrs or less. I've always considered this to be pretty low hours on a motor. I'm curious if I'm looking at alot of motors that have been poorly maintained or if this is standard? What is alot of hours for these Mercury and Yamaha motors they use on bass boats? Specifically the Yamaha V Max and the Mercury Pro XS. Seems like you should get way more than 300hrs out of a $20,000+ motor before having to make a major repair. Thanks for any input.

I think number of hours is a very overrated thing people ask about when buying a new boat. It's FAR more important to know how the boat was maintained than how many hours it has. It's also critical to know how the boat was used. I'm especially wary of a boat that was owned or mostly run by a young kid as they tend to be boats up more. Same can go for some guides. Some guides, I'd buy their boat any time but others I wouldn't.

I have no idea why so many have those issues you mentioned. My last Pro XS had about 300 hours on it when I sold it and never had a single issue. I had it serviced every year at Sartin Marine.

Keep in mind Yamaha replaced a lot of SHO powerheads that had zero issues. They offered it to owners at no cost.

I have a 2005 Ranger Z20 with a Mercury Verado 225. It has 628 hours and the compression test show 2 lbs difference between the high and low. The comment my mechanic made, was he not surprise how well the engine runs because regular maintenance. I would goes with another four stroke on the next boat. Take care of your stuff and keep up with your maintenance and your motor will Run and Run.

I have a 2005 Ranger 521VX paired with a 2005 Yamaha 250 HPDI with over 940 hours. Motor has had no major issues. I believe that the way it is driven has the most effect on life of the motor. Too many "fishermen" drive it hammer down ALL THE TIME, while also not allowing the motor time to warm up or cool down after such torture. Take care of it and it will take care of you. I seldom go much over 40-50 mph unless there is a good reason to get somewhere fast.

My mercury proxs has 300 hrs with no issues

Having grew up Bass fishing then jumping to saltwater and back to a bass boat now I would say the 3 worst things for a boat engine are:
Idling around graphing.
Running wide open everywhere you go.
Letting boats sit for months at a time.

My dads last bass boat we ran from 1989 until 2012, it was a charger bass boat with a Johnson GT 150. I'm sure it had well over 1000 hours, if you ran wide open it would make you go broke on fuel, so we usually ran 4500-4800 rpms. No mechanical issues. My bay boat was a 24' blazer Bay with Yamaha HPDI 250, most hours were cruising around 5000 rpms never any mechanical issues until I let it sit up and the ethanol fuel coroded fuel system, had around 600 hours on it. Now I run a Nitro Z19 with 150 proXS, I have fished 30 plus days this year on Sam Rayburn and usually run around 4800 rpms. Every so often I will open her up just to blow out the cob webs no mechanical issues as of yet.

If you look at the saltwater crowd its fairly normal to see motors go 2-3000 hours, sometimes even 4000 hours yet it seems bass boat guys think 3-400 hours is a lot. Why, because too many only know two speeds, idle on and off the trailer or WFO.

I bought a 2003 Cobra off a guy, with a 225 Yamaha vmax hpdi. Boat had 780hrs when I bought it. I fished it for 5 more years before I totaled it when I hit a tree. Motor had close to 1100 hrs on it and I never had a single problem with it. Maintenance done every year was the key.

My 1996 175 EFI probably has 1500+ hours and the only thing that's been replaced is the voltage regulators. I replace the water pump when the pressure starts running low. If I'm using the boat regularly a water pump may last 5 years unless I suck up too much mud. Change the lower unit oil every other season. Been running bassboats 40+ years and never had an engine failure or major mechanical issue. I always let it warm up before hammering on it, seldom run WOT for any period of time, usually allow it to cool down a bit before shutting it down. Never have understood all the blown powerheads???? Also...I do 100% of my own maintenance, as a matter of fact I've never had and engine back to a dealer after the initial purchase.

Edit: I run nothing but Walmart TCW3 in any of my engines

I had some major expenses with my boat @ 42 hours(15yr old boat). Of course it had to have sat, unused, for 10 years.

I spent $800 on all new filters ( five of them counting the oil ...all Yamaha brand), $320 for four new injectors, and $1,100 on four new Optima batteries and Dual Pro chargers. And just recently started spending money on the trailer and "normal" wear stuff. All new switches and gauges, new bungee cords for the rod straps, etc.

It adds up pretty quick.

I'd suggest planning money into the budget for unexpected maintenance stuff, even if you buy one with low hours.

Fished with a Captain out of a 29' Contender CC with twin Yamaha 225 four strokes. He had 3,400 hours on both of them with no issues. I asked him about his maintenance schedule and he told me all he did was change the lower unit grease, filters, and water pump impellers every year.
We were on the water about 9 hours that day. He never shut them down once. We would hook a fish and he would put them into neutral.

Thanks guys. Like I said. I've owned boats my whole life. I know how to maintain one and all the little expenses that add up, and I have a really good feel for what a 4 stroke outboard will do. I put 200+ hrs a year on the water between my center console and my offshore rig. My real question was on these 2 stroke engines that are basically on every used bass boat you look at. I just don't have that much experience with them. I've always owned 4 stroke engines on purpose. Pretty much the rest of the boating world that utilizes outboards has gone to 4 stroke engines. Bass boats are finally heading that way now to, but finding a used bass boat with a 4 stroke is not easy. I get the reasons tournament guys like the 2 stroke. Not trying to start a debate about that. It just greatly concerned me that many of the bass boats I looked at have had major engine issues at low hrs (both Mercs and Yamaha). Moral to the story I guess is that lots of bass guys use these boats hard and run them balls to the wall all the time. Makes it pretty scary buying a used one, even with all of the computer diagnostics these engines have today.

Excellent advice!!! We put $250 into a "slush fund" every month for unexpected miscellaneous home and boat expenses( fiberglass fender replacement, fuel system filters etc)
Soften the'Out The Door" price shock!!

x2. I've put 320 hours on my Pro XS since October. Most of it is idle time, but it gets ALL new filters, fluids and impeller every 40 hours no matter what. Every tank of fuel burned is treated. Boat runs cleaner and faster than last years model that I had, with twice the hours.

If I was buying a boat, one of my first questions would be how the fuel system was cared for. With the EFI/DFI systems out now, that can get just as expensive as neglecting an oil change or general maintenance.