Thinking of Winterizing Service Business

Weave

Weave

New Member
Jun 1, 2007
1,410
Western, MA
Boat Info
200 Sundeck 2005
Engines
4.3 MPI Alpha I Gen II
Was thinking of doing some mobile service to some boats in the area and providing some winterizing.
I realize I am not certified as a Merc tech but I am very comfortable prepping a runabout for winter.
I am concerned about liabilities however
What do you guys think? Worthwhile? I am not looking to do 100 boats but some in the area would be great since there are not many marinas in the area.
Just thinking motor prep and not all the extra systems, etc. :smt100
 
Nothing wrong with the idea if you think there is a demand for the service go for it but I do wonder what services you want to provide. If Joe the boater wants his 340DA winterized you'll do the motors but not his water system? What you mean by motor prep...Oil, filters, fogging, fuel treatment, flushing, battery removal, sea water strainers, antifreeze? I would think if you offer boat winterizing you should be able to offer it on all systems, engine, water, head, ac, etc. If I was looking for winterizing service I wouldn't want to have to deal with multiple specialist just to get it done.
 
Weave...I think this is a great idea. My dad has a 18' cc he wants shrinkwrapped and winterized, (50 hp honda outboard) . He is in the spfld ma. area. I think it will take a couple years to build a client base. Ric
 
Weave,

Make sure to talk to a local commercial insurance agent (risk manager) to make sure you have proper coverages to protect youself. That may help in deciding if this is something you want to do.

Wesley
 
Thanks for the input guys....In my area there are not an abundant amount of cruisers, etc that I suspect would request services since we are inland.
I would basically do oil (if requested) gear lube, etc as a proper winterization ecompasses.
 
I've occasionally seen ads in our local papers for this type of thing. The comment above about what you're actually going to do is a good one. I would say just be specific in your ad so people know what to expect.

The mobile part is going to be the key - people won't have to trail their boat somewhere. But, you're still going to probably have to be less than an actual shop. You'll need some big jugs to carry that used motor oil around in (if you do that) until you can get to a recycler.

I'm not sure what to say about the insurance side of things - it's a good avenue to at least check into, though.

Good luck!
 
Hey, don't forget that there are some Marinas and Yatch clubs that don't let outside contractors work. You may want to check on this. JG
 
Thinking about the insurance thing: I suppose if I look at it from my point of view (let's say I was thinking of hiring you), I want some type of assurance that if something went wrong, you would be able to cover the repairs/fix the damage. For example, what if you didn't get all of the water out and the block cracked? I would expect, since I paid for a service, that you would remedy the problem.

Just something to think about, if you haven't already.
 
Good point Lazy....Thats what I was referring to regarding liability among other things.
Thanks for the info thus far guys.
There is one guy around here that does a ton of boats on the same premise and does a great job. If I could capture a small percentage of his business I would be happy.
Of course, not looking to make this a full time career
 
We have a guy out here that goes from camp to camp. I talked to him a few times. He says he makes good money at times. He pulls a 16ft cargo trailer with his tools/ oil / parts/ in it. Good luck if you do it. :smt001
 
Insurance insurance insurance! On the surface, you ha ve a great idea for some extra cash. However there are people out there that will try to screw you. IE they took there boat out of the water with a blown head gasket (not all blown head gaskets show up in the oil), and next season they are coming after you and saying it was your fault. Or an existing leak in the water system causes damage and they are coming after you. I could go on all day with these senarios. Some more plausible than others. One jerk could put you in the hole several thousand dollars. If you cant find reasonable insurance, dont do it. And not having a certification might rule out reasonable insurance. I would stick with undercuttting the competition with shrink wrapping. There is a large profit margine and you can do several in a weekend. I can do my 32 footer in a morning. savings of $600 dollars! IMHO
Phil
 
You may also want to have a lawyer draw up a contract for you stating what services you provide and what you are responsible for. In combination with the proper insurance you will have some protection. Personally, I'd make sure that this was set up as an LLC to further protect my family's assets.
 
If you have lots of time off and can do it, great. If you are just going to fill some evening or weekend time around your current job, it seems like a lot of hassle. Around here you have about 30 days to get everybody done. Sure, some want winterizing starting Labor Day weekend. Most will wait until October. I think some great points have been stated and I'd be very careful with my clientele. I'm sure someone will try to screw you somehow and I'm not sure how to screen those folks out. I know if I hire someone, I want them to do all my systems. If you have mostly smaller boats in your area, then that won't be a problem. How much money will you actually make per boat and will it offset the cost of setting up an LLC and the insurance for the small window you will be working? How about spring commissioning? I'd certainly want the guy that winterized the boat to commission it so that if there are any problems.......

Just my $.01 (I'm not even worth 2 cents!).
 
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