Our boat mechanic stole the joy of owning our Sea Ray 340...!

S

SWF340

New Member
Dec 26, 2013
129
Florida
Boat Info
340 Sundancer 2005
Engines
Horizon 8.1S
Here's the story.

We live most of the time in the midwest. Our boat is slipped in SWF. We travel there about every 2 months for some sun and relaxation, always looking forward to some cruising on our 340 and maybe an overnite aboard. When the boat was new to us we hired a mechanic (certified tech) and established a working relationship. At first, he was prompt, returned calls, did his work on time etc. I always paid him his full amount in cash, and included a generous bonus.

Typically, I'd ask him to service the boat two weeks prior to our arrival so anything wrong could be fixed before we arrived. As time went on, we'd arrive and an engine wouldn't start, or a sensor would sound, or the generator wouldn't pump water, or the air conditioning wasn't peeing, or...or...or....you get it.

Now this is my 5th boat, my fourth in a saltwater environment. I'm well aware that a boat can run fine today and have problems tomorrow. Been there, experienced that. At some point however, it becomes very difficult to believe that a certified technician has been aboard my boat two weeks ago and said all is well...only to have something fairly significant wrong when I get there....time and time again.

Also, along the way, I asked for some projects to be accomplished. Please change the oil and filters, please install these flush valves, please flush the air conditioning....always saying 'if you can't get it done, I'll get someone else, I know you're busy.' I always gave him the request at least 4 weeks prior to our arrival with the instructions that I want the task completed a week before just in case there were problems. Inevitably the task was being completed the day before we arrived, or the morning of...accompanied with some excuse why.

The final straw occurred when I asked for the flush valves to be installed, sent them to him 6 weeks in advance, and made him promise to complete the task and service the boat one week prior to our arrival. He agreed. One week prior he said all was well. I had told him we were coming on a later flight the day of our arrival, but in truth it was a morning flight. When we drove to the slip...there he was...doing the work. When he saw us walking down the dock I swear I could see the wheels in his head turning as he tried to think of an excuse. I didn't let him even get started, instead I gave him 5 minutes to gather his tools and leave. Once aboard, we found the generator didn't, and the AC wasn't.

Each time one of these things occurred, it ruined our plans. It got so bad that we didn't even want to come down, or we didn't plan on using the boat because 'we knew' something would be wrong. Almost two months ago we decided to sell the boat because it had become such a pain. A boat we had truly enjoyed early on had become such a mental burden that all we wanted to do was get rid of it. It was during the listing process that my wife and I sat together one evening and discussed the timeline of events with our Sea Ray. We realized that the boat itself had not been the problem. Nothing on the boat that required maintenance or repair was extraordinary or unexpected. We realized that because our mechanic had been so unreliable he had literally stolen the joy of our boat from us.

So now we have a new guy. While I'm still leery, already he has proven himself to be worthy. Our next trip down is the end of this month. We pray that he is and remains honorable and reliable. The Sea Ray 340 is such a great boat. It's really difficult for us to find a boat that feels significantly better until we get to a 44'. At that point, the Aquila 44 owns me. That's the same brand MarineMax uses in its charter program.
 
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I couldn't even begin to think about doing what you do distance wise....no way...not enough control over things for me. Hope things get better for ya.
 
Well written post. Sorry to have it on such a sore subject. Truth is though that you have a full time BS artist whose part time job is working on boats. I don't care how good he was or how many certifications he possessed, seems to me he took advantage of you being a long distance owner. You gave him longer than I would have as I'm betting that in that area of the country you have more choices/options than most. I hope your next guy values your business.
 
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most techs are honest and conscientious
appearantly not THAT one.
Glad you stayed mad at him and NOT the boat.
Great post :thumbsup:
 
The lack of work ethic and honesty in the boating industry is simply amazing to me. The mark ups and labor costs are already high enough. Is it really necessary to cheat a few extra dollars out along the way as well?

Around me, the established mechanics charge rates that are unbelievable to me and they're still booked solid. There's obviously money to be made while providing a quality service. No need to cut corners.

Sorry for your troubles. Maybe a half up front, half upon inspection payment arrangement would be more motivational?
 
magstang1 said:
The lack of work ethic and honesty in the boating industry is simply amazing to me. The mark ups and labor costs are already high enough. Is it really necessary to cheat a few extra dollars out along the way as well?

Around me, the established mechanics charge rates that are unbelievable to me and they're still booked solid. There's obviously money to be made while providing a quality service. No need to cut corners.

Sorry for your troubles. Maybe a half up front, half upon inspection payment arrangement would be more motivational?
Click to expand...
Unfortunately it's that way in any RV industry
they charge what they want and do it when they want ...they think they have us by the balls.
Little do they know they really don't.
After a horrible experience hiring work done on my 240 I swore no one would ever touch my boat again
since then it happened 1 time...to replace a bilge pump float my 6'6" frame could not possible get to and return from.
 
I've done what you are doing for 25 years......with a gas 390EC and a diesel 450DA. I spend the last day in Florida on the boat cleaning and doing routine maintenance and am able to leave the boat for 4-5 weeks without any help from anyone. However, I am in a full service marina with 24 hour security and full time excellent mechanics if I need help when I'm away. It isn't free, but I don't have the issues you suffer with.

Perhaps you need to look for a full service marina.
 
Thats quite a story and a bad one at that. Don’t let that bad person, he’s not a professional mechanic, spoil this joy for you. I hope your new tech is reliable and good to you.

Matt
 
fwebster said:
I've done what you are doing for 25 years......with a gas 390EC and a diesel 450DA. I spend the last day in Florida on the boat cleaning and doing routine maintenance and am able to leave the boat for 4-5 weeks without any help from anyone. However, I am in a full service marina with 24 hour security and full time excellent mechanics if I need help when I'm away. It isn't free, but I don't have the issues you suffer with.

Perhaps you need to look for a full service marina.
Click to expand...

As I was typing my first response, Frank was busy too. He gives GREAT advise and I agree with him on this one.

Matt
 
Sorry to hear of your bad experience, it really sucks but I am not surprised. There are numerous bad businesses of many types in FL. You have to be really careful with whom you do business down here. Especially, careful in the boating world, we know from personal experience too! Pleased you found someone who may work out for you. Good, honest, independent mechanics are VERY hard to find, full service is sometimes the only option but in our area some are VERY expensive. Good luck.
 
First sorry to hear your issues with the mechanic and his lack of professionalism. I think we have all been through it and just when you think you may have found a good one they become like all the others.
We are not a full service marina so we have to look for someone or look to one another for advice on what to do. I prefer to do the work myself but lack some or all of the skill sets. So, two years ago the port engine was completely rebuilt. Last year the trans on the port side and this year the port again. All the while waiting week after week to get the boat so I could use it. No, not the same mechanic on the engine.
They are not reliable at all. Don't show up but will take the job. This past summer was the worst. They had my boat for 9 weeks. Nine weeks to pull an engine, send it out for rebuild and put it back in and then figure out why it wouldn't idle. Nine weeks. In nine weeks they called me three times. I would call almost every day for an update. I went there almost every night b/c they would leave the cabin open, canvas off, windows open, power not plugged in and so on. More than once or twice or three times I had to remind them to take care of my boat. The week before Labor Day, Friday night I went to check on my boat since they hadn't called me with an update. They told me it was ready and I could pick it up on Sat afteroon b/c they wanted to clean it before I picked it up. Now the one guy said make it Sunday morning b/c of the low tide. So I went Sunday morning.
Sunday morning I am there at 8am and finish cleaning my boat around 2pm. That's right they didn't clean it. Grease on everything. Foot prints all over the transom and cockpit area. I finally leave only to have the port engine still surging. Back to the slip I go. Now I do pick it up a week later (Labor Day weekend) spend another two hours cleaning before leaving and she does run good - finally.
Tuesday comes and they call me three times about the rest of the bill. Remember they only called me three times in 9 weeks. Nine weeks and $9,000.

Finding a good mechanic isn't easy. However, I have decided that in the future if I can't fix it myself and need one of them it will be on my terms. I have decide to tell them that with each gate they miss, leave the boat a mess, whatever else I can come up with over the winter - comes off the price.
Then ask - do you still want the business.
 
Quite honestly it's stories like this that keep my loyal to my SR dealer. And while I've considered other boat makers, it keeps coming back to peace of mind knowing I have a good maintenance team to turn to.

We may pay a bit more, but they always make it happen when I call.
 
Searaybio270 said:
First sorry to hear your issues with the mechanic and his lack of professionalism. I think we have all been through it and just when you think you may have found a good one they become like all the others.
We are not a full service marina so we have to look for someone or look to one another for advice on what to do. I prefer to do the work myself but lack some or all of the skill sets. So, two years ago the port engine was completely rebuilt. Last year the trans on the port side and this year the port again. All the while waiting week after week to get the boat so I could use it. No, not the same mechanic on the engine.
They are not reliable at all. Don't show up but will take the job. This past summer was the worst. They had my boat for 9 weeks. Nine weeks to pull an engine, send it out for rebuild and put it back in and then figure out why it wouldn't idle. Nine weeks. In nine weeks they called me three times. I would call almost every day for an update. I went there almost every night b/c they would leave the cabin open, canvas off, windows open, power not plugged in and so on. More than once or twice or three times I had to remind them to take care of my boat. The week before Labor Day, Friday night I went to check on my boat since they hadn't called me with an update. They told me it was ready and I could pick it up on Sat afteroon b/c they wanted to clean it before I picked it up. Now the one guy said make it Sunday morning b/c of the low tide. So I went Sunday morning.
Sunday morning I am there at 8am and finish cleaning my boat around 2pm. That's right they didn't clean it. Grease on everything. Foot prints all over the transom and cockpit area. I finally leave only to have the port engine still surging. Back to the slip I go. Now I do pick it up a week later (Labor Day weekend) spend another two hours cleaning before leaving and she does run good - finally.
Tuesday comes and they call me three times about the rest of the bill. Remember they only called me three times in 9 weeks. Nine weeks and $9,000.

Finding a good mechanic isn't easy. However, I have decided that in the future if I can't fix it myself and need one of them it will be on my terms. I have decide to tell them that with each gate they miss, leave the boat a mess, whatever else I can come up with over the winter - comes off the price.
Then ask - do you still want the business.
Click to expand...
I sense a pattern forming... :lol:
 
I hate reading stories like these and Brenda has told me in the past of how things seem to work down in FL. First and formost I agree with Frank. If I have to leave the boat for long periods of time like that, I'd want to be in a full service marina.

now we clean boats for folks, it's kinda an add on for my cleaning company. From water spots on glass to carpet and teak. I don't take a dime before the owner inspects the work done. I ask them to sign saying everything is as they wish and only then take payment.

as for mechanics there's only one group I trust with the work I haven't learned to do Hampton Marine Services and when the boat heads to market she will be listed with with them or SeaRay of Richmond
 
Thank you all very, very much for your encouragement and support, and for sharing your experiences and advice. Every one of your posts helped in some way and I sincerely appreciate that you took the time to respond.

It's a beautiful Saturday morning here, chilly but warming. Gorgeous autumn weather and scenery. I hope all of you have a great weekend, and thanks again!
 
Same here, only use the SeaRay dealer from whom I purchased the boat. Like SWF340, we don't live in FL full time and when we do come down, I usually have the SR dealer perform some maintenance before we arrive. Sometimes on the lift, sometimes in the marina. I know we pay more for the service from the dealer, but thus far, its been worth it as the boat has always had the work done promptly and never failed to start and run well. I'm sure there are bad dealers, but the big advantage we all have using dealer service is that ownership wants you to be happy so you'll trade up to another boat from them. That is an incentive to keep the service honest.
 
SWF, I read through your initial post and the responses a couple of days ago, and it has popped into my mind several times since then.

I can hear your frustration and disappointment with the treatment you've received, but there's one thing that has bothered me about this thread, and that's your title. This may sound trivial, but let me suggest to you that NOBODY can "steal your joy". Just like nobody can make you angry, nobody can make you sad, happy, etc. Those are all emotional responses to situations you've been exposed to, and, while you may not have any control over the situations, you have absolute control over your emotional responses to them.

May I suggest that you take a step back, regroup, and look at this from a different angle. That angle would be that NOBODY can steal your joy about owning a beautiful boat. Others can present situations that you either like or don't like, but it's YOUR choice on how you respond to those. You can choose to let someone steal your joy, or you can say "FUGGUM", I'm not going to let ANYBODY diminish my pleasure in owning a great boat.

It's your choice, and the choice you make can have a big effect on your future with this boat.

Good luck, my friend. Choose wisely, then proceed along that path.
 
Maybe you should read his 1st post again. Great boats run when you want them to run, unlike his. Yup they stole his joy.
 
I had lots of restoration work done on my boat this winter. The plan was to do it all over a 3 month timeframe...instead my boat sat out in the parking lot for 10 weeks with zero progress followed by 2 weeks of scramble to get it done. Missed the deadline, lots of bugs to work out, dirty as hell when I went to inspect it...it took 3 months to get the dash oil pressure gauge working...

Here's the pattern. A good mechanic starts his business hungry. He quickly makes a name for himself. He soon has all the work he ever wanted. He gets in over his head...and begins to suck at what he started out doing well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
scofflaw, I read his post a couple of times. Running or not, I still think the 340 is a great boat and if he lets this get the better of him he'll probably never be able to enjoy it.

The cure? Find a new mechanic, get the boat fixed then go have fun. It ain't the end of the world. This too shall pass and how he reacts to it will determine how long it takes him to really enjoy the boat.
 
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