Boat mechanics

Pirate Lady

Pirate Lady

Well-Known Member
Jun 2, 2020
7,544
Chesapeake Bay, Middle River
Boat Info
Sundancer 250 ‘91
Engines
7.4 Bravo 1
First 2 years with this boat I had a guy, old guy, good but eventually couldn’t count on him showing up.
So I got a different guy, was great, fixed my overheating problem (yall remember that) and last year fixed my outdrive problem.
Now, I cant get a call back or text. Hes a ghost. I want to launch in a month, i need some work done. His shop at the marina where I winter store. No where to be found.
This kinda sht is the reason I sold last boat and stayed out of boats for 10 years. I am this close to fark it, sell it, again.
Am i the only one deals with this?
 
When you’re dealing a guy, that is to be expected. You could go with a group like my guys, but they think they are lawyers. :)
 
There is always another side to the story. We had a great mechanic (Pat) at Fort Washington Marina who had a trailer on property and had been there for 30 years. The property went from the Park Service to the State of Maryland back to the Park Service because people got shot and killed there and Maryland didn't have the money to keep it up and secure it.

The Park Service instituted a new set of Rules and after 30 years.....his trailer wasn't welcome there anymore. So Pat....threw in the towel and retired.

All of the marinas on the North Part of the Potomac River require mechanics (and anyone paid to work on a boat) to carry $2M worth of insurance with the marinas named as the beneficiary.

It has just gotten to the point that finding someone competent to do the work and show up is getting more difficult.....everywhere.

Once we got away from vocational training in high school....the clock started ticking and now electricians, plumbers and boat mechanics are $1,000 a day ....if you can find one.
 
I have a guy that has been working on my boat for 14 years. He always returns my calls. He was with MM and when they closed he stayed and hung out his shingle. He now has himself and 3 employees. But he is the one who works on my boat if it's anything but routine.
 
I have had great service from Chip Harbin at Harbin marine. PWM is good but they only work on boats they sold. Paul at PWM tried to sell me a repower when my motor ran fine so I was frustrated with that but everything else PWM has done for me was top notch work.
 
I finally found a guy. He comes to me. Reliable and competent but not cheap.

Nobody’s perfect.
 
I’m pretty lucky that our marina has a good shop with multiple mechanics and apprentices. It’s a pretty large marina with about 480 slips so they can support having a large staff. And because I have been there over 20 years I can get good service. Relying on one guy is tough. I did that years ago and it was like rolling the dice every spring.
 
Good full service marinas in West Michigan. Also good independent mechanics service boats in Spring Lake/Grand Haven. Not seen an issue that could not be fixed in a reasonable time period.
 
Creekwood said:
I’m pretty lucky that our marina has a good shop with multiple mechanics and apprentices. It’s a pretty large marina with about 480 slips so they can support having a large staff. And because I have been there over 20 years I can get good service. Relying on one guy is tough. I did that years ago and it was like rolling the dice every spring.
Click to expand...
Few marinas around here are ‘full service’. There are a few but they are the expensive ones owned by Safe Harbor or Oasis. Mostly dependent on mobile/independent mechanics.
I called the owner of my winter storage marina yesterday. Told her my issue. Within 5 minutes the mechanic called me. Asked me to send him email with work required. What happened to the work order I gave him 2 months ago? Does he still have the replacement parts I gave him or did those vaporize?
Anyway hopefully we are back on track.
 
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