Re: Need an hour meter?
Most of the newer boats with engines over 100 HP or so usually come with an hour meter. However, condition of a boat is MUCH more important than what an hour meter says. I personally don't pay a whole lot of attention to them. It's very easy to "accidently" unplug an hour meter so it doesn't run up any hours, or just swap in a new one with low hours (they're about $20). If it's a newer fuel injected boat, you can have the computer scanned for the hours on it. They're a lot more expensive than hour meters and much less likely to be swapped.
I put Smartcraft instruments in my boat 3 years ago when I bought it. The original factory tach/hour meter that I took out and has been in my garage still shows less than 90 hours. It would take me about 20 minutes to swap back into my boat. Or before I did I could hook it to a battery for a day or so and let it run up to whatever "low" hours I thought would be appropriate to my boat if I go to sell it.
Do a complete inspection of any boat you're interested in buying and don't pay any attention to what an hour meter says.
