Posted: November 20 2010 at 11:55 | IP Logged

I guess this is a really dumb question, but can anyone tell me what the pictured engine hour meters are reading? I am guessing the port meter is reading approximately 315 hours, 35 minutes, and the stbd meter approximately 349 hours, 45 minutes. If this is incorrect, please enlighten me as to what the correct readings would be and if possible some instruction on how to read them. I like to log in the engine hour readings whenever we run them or perform any work on them, but a review of my log shows I am recording lower hours in some of the more recent entries so I have misread the meters at one or more times. Since I purchased this boat second hand, I also wonder how one can get approximately 35 hours differance in the run time on two engines in the same boat??

Any assistance or advice gratefully received.

Posted: November 21 2010 at 12:20 | IP Logged

Hello Boatman66

Thanks for your assistance. Just for the record, I also have returned to port on only one engine several times, but not yet with this boat (knock,knock!). I did have an engine in this boat die on me in a lock which is more than a little exciting. You don't have enough room in a lock to get enough speed to let the rudders overcome the turning thrust from the running engine so the boat just turns in a circle. We finally got the engine running and I backed out of the lock.

Referring to the pictures, I have watched the meters run with the engines on and I can determine that the longest hand which happens to be blue moves the fastest of the three. The middle sized white hand moves slower, and the little green hand is the slowest of all. The innermost circle of numbers are green so I had assumed the little green hand should be reading them. That would make the port meter reading a little more than 300 somethings (minutes, hours,?) and the stbd meter reading a little less than 360 somethings. I guessed the middle sized white hand was indicating where in the 60 somethings spaces the green hand actually was. If this is the case and we assume the little green hand is reading hours, then I can assume that one or more of my previous readings were in error. I don't feel too bad about this as the sales organization that sold me the boat advertised the engine hours at around 675. I could not tell you how they arrived at that number, but one would think they would know what they were doing. I think I will try your suggestion and run the engine for 5 or 10 minutes; I should be able to tell if the biggest hand is reading minutes and that would give me a handle on what the other hands are trying to tell me. Do I pass, Teach??

Even if I don't (pass that is), Thanks.

1984 381 Catalina, twin 454's

Posted: November 22 2010 at 17:58 | IP Logged

Hi Boatman...mine is in the mix of boats Brian collected, it changes each time the page is refreshed.  I wonder if he is taking more...you sent me a good one of yours...

Posted: November 23 2010 at 01:48 | IP Logged

Hello Boatman, Nauti, & Brian

Boatman - Have not been back to boat yet to run hour meter test. Probably get back the week after Thanksgiving. I am going to have to start winterizing the thing pretty darn soon or I may get to play the repower game (many $$$). Will let you know results then.

Nauti Cat - neat boat! That picture does not look like NY though.

Brian - Sure wish I had a picture of my boat to send you. I have pictures of all my buds' boats and towboats and excursion boats, but none of my boat (actually wife's boat, I just have the maintenance contract). It is just kind of a mundane boat so it is probably just as well I don't. Anybody know where there is a mirror cliff that is accessable by water??

Posted: November 23 2010 at 08:29 | IP Logged

hahahaha TomC...that is actually a photo of Boatman's baby down in FL!  Mine hibernates on the hard for a few months every year...

Posted: April 30 2011 at 06:19 | IP Logged

Wanted to post my conclusions on this subject in case anyone else was interested in reading their engine hour meters; CC made a bunch of boats so I would guess there are more than just 2 of these meters out there. Anyway, finally got a chance to run engines for an hour and check meter function. This is how these particular meters actually read:

The white hand evidently moves to indicate the meter is working. If it is showing anything else, it is in less than 1 hour increments and of no value to me from a maintenance standpoint (maybe someone else would be interested in engine minutes or seconds, I don't know).

The longest blue hand is hours and reads directly off the outermost scale, ie. port meter is showing 36 hours.

The shortest green hand is counting in the blue hand revolutions in 60 hour increments and reads off the innermost scale, ie. the port meter is showing 300 plus hours, in this case 336 hours.

Since we believe the meters are in their 2nd 600 hour cycle (I hope they are not in their 3rd cycle), I need to add 600 hours for the first cycle so the actual engine hours on the port engine seem to be 936 hours.

I wonder if I can go back now and sue the previous owner and sales agent for advertising the engine hours as 675;alas, probably not; craveat emptor and all that stuff.

Thank you all for your assistance; hope everyone had a good winter.