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Posts: 572
Location: Germantown, WI | Wondering what you guys think is an average amount of hours for an outboard to have per season..... i'm not talking about someone who is guiding everyday, but just an average recreational fisherman who gets out every other weekend or so. I always think on average a car should have about 15,000/year...... what is the equivalent figure for an outboard engine i guess is my question. | |
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Posts: 433
Location: Cedarburg, Wisconsin | Depends on where and how you fish.
The last time I was at a dealer getting a new motor I was told something new to me, that the average hours per season for everyone was less than 30. Don't know where this came from or if it's true but that's what I was told.
I ran about 40 last year on the big motor, and another 80+ on the kicker trolling walleyes and muskies. When I used to fish salmon/trout on the great lakes I trolled a lot of 12 hour days and then the hours rang up quick. I figured I used to put on 200 hours a year easily back in those days, maybe more. 30 years ago when we used to fish Lac Seul in spring, we had a half dozen 60 mile round trips sometimes with one 100 miler (50 HP tiller, 1 and 3/4 6 gallon tanks up and 1 and 3/4 tanks back with 1/2 tank to play around with) thrown in for good measure at a top speed of maybe 35 mph, plus trolling so that added up too.
If I just fished "smaller" waters here in WI for muskies, I doubt if I'd have over 12 hours on the big motor at the end of the season with maybe another 20 on the kicker. | |
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Posts: 1663
Location: Kodiak, AK | That's a tough question, and you'll have the gamut of answers. To answer your question on "average" I'd say 100 hrs, but that's just what I've heard mentioned before, and there's just so many factors to be precise; how large a body of water one fishes, how they fish (milk run vs camping out in a bay or spot waiting for a window), troller vs a caster, etc. This question was asked on BBC a while back, and the answers ran from 15 hrs to over 400 hrs.
If a guy fishes a big body of water they'll burn more hours just getting around the lake than a guy on a small lake where you can get from one side to the other in a few minutes. If a guy trolls alot he'll use more hours than a guy who only casts. If a guy moves every 30 minutes to the next spot on his milk run, he'll burn more than the guy who sits in one part of the lake and waits for a window.
Me, fishing big water, never ever trolling, and milk run/camping on a weed bed equal amounts, I put about 150 hrs on my motor last year, averaging 3-5 days a week on the water....and that was after losing more than a month last spring with a blown VMAX before my repower. I'm guessing I'll do 200 hrs this year. So pare that down to every other weekend like you mentioned, and that gives you what....20-40 hrs maybe, depending.... | |
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Posts: 572
Location: Germantown, WI | Good Info Guys, thanks. I was kind of figuring 30-40 hours was average myself. | |
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Posts: 1184
Location: Iowa Great Lakes | My walleye boat I'll easily put on 20-40 hours on trolling from ice out till late may. The muskie boats get almost daily use so they see 10-15 easily a week. | |
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Average Hours on an Engine per year