." It would not surprise me to learn that while they will run many, many thousands of hours when treated and maintained well, they will not deliver that degree of longevity and reliability when consistently run near their maximum output." No engine in the world will . If the engine was selected properly so it wont die from the light loads in most displacement boats , its just a fuel burner, . In other words an engine that will live a certain time burning 3 gal an hour will only last 1/10 of that time when run at 30gph. For example many older gensets have 71 series power and 10,000 hours is EX with the wrong (car) oil & antifreeze , 20,000 common in non dusty areas and much more in special clean areas , like hospital basements. All are putting out under 20 hp per cylinder & burning less than a gal an hour per cylinder. Install the same engine in a sport fish , run it at 400+ hp level , and owners would be DELIGHTED to get 1000 hours. FAST FRED ________________________________________________________________ The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today!