Who works on your boat?

quote:
Originally posted by AbsoLoot

Bethel Harbor used to have a guy(I can't remember his name) that I thought was pretty good and fairly reasonable. He was married to the owner and has subsequently become divorced. I think he still operates on Bethel Island but out of a different location.
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The guy's name is Clay Collins. He is extremely knowledgeable and before he went independent, he was very very honest.

Now he has taken over his father's business, Collin's Marine, across from La Villa Restaurant. Unfortunately in effort to cover his business expenses, he cheats his customers.
He diagnosis problems which are not there and repairs more then what will fix a problem.

If you choose to use Clay, be sure to get a second opinion and get both in writing! It is a shame to see a guy go down the tubes like he has......

INHM
 
quote:
Originally posted by Waynepj4

Ive learned from experience that more expensive service does not equal better quality. I paid a boat load (pardon the pun) to Eagle Marine on my old boat to diagnose the problem with the boat and generate a quote that included total cost and time frame to repair.

They did not come anywhere near their time frame to repair and when they considered the job done and returned the boat back to me I took it out and the boat still had problems. So I paid them $4,000+ to still have a boat that was not running properly. It would have been worth it had they actually fixed the boat.

Now I avoid Eagle Marine as much as possible. Moreover, I have a full time job, commute, wife and a 2 year old. Plus I'm not a mechanic so I don't do the work myself. The goal is to find reasonable and reliable mechanic for repairs and preventative maintenance. I can only do what I can afford.

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Wayne, I understand being married, having a kid and working to pay for everything, really I do. I have also found that it is near impossible to get better service than I can provide myself. When doing small jobs I'd rather do them myself right and save time and money with proper planning and preparation. Your time is worth a lot and having to go back and forth to deal with yet another failed repair is costing way more than you think.

Fuel systems, especially gas are not hard to work on. With basic skills and tools you should be able to diagnose the problem and at least know if the fuel pump really was the problem through process of elimination. If you then determined that the carb had a stuck float, if you have carbs they are easy to remove and have rebuilt, sometimes a stuck float could cause the problem you are having and could be unstuck by using a small hammer to tap on the carb to free it up. If you need to learn pick up a book and read.

Having some basic skills and understanding may help you decide if you are getting ripped off, they could also save the day if you had a mechanical issue while under way. Being the skipper is a major responsibility while ensuring the safety of your passengers. AS Skipper you need to be sure that each time you depart that all your systems are functional and reliable. I do a visual on my engine and systems below deck just about every time I take my boats out for the weekend. I couldn't imagine paying someone to verify my systems each time I planned to go out. Having knowledge about how things work empowers you and allows for some self sufficiency and the satisfaction of doing right yourself! When you have the knowledge you know when to cut your losses and let a shop do the work.

If you have questions let me know and I'll get in touch with you. I have a vast mechanical background with experience in racing and restorations and high end vehicles and willing to help out another boater. I do not work on anyone's boat right now however.
 
I understand where Wayne is coming from. Speaking for myself, I work in IT, have a pretty high-pressure job that demands lot from me, and have no desire to work all weekend on my boat. I want to use my boat, not work on it. I expect people I hire to work like I work - fair pay for a good job. If they don't, I fire them and look for someone else. It's what would happen if I didn't do my job and I expect no less from the people I hire. I don't expect a mechanic to work on my computer, and I don't work on engines.

That said, I find that kind of work ethic rarely is present in the boating industry. Wayne, if you find someone good and reliable then please pass the name on - I'm sure there are others in the same situation.

By the way, I've gotten great results from Performance Marine, located in Lauritzen's Yacht harbor. I don't know how far they'll travel - I'm right next door - but I know they do good work and charge fair prices. They've done right by me.

I've also used a mechanic named Tu who is really pretty good, although some times it's a challenge to 'remind' him to show up. I think he's just really busy but his work is good and his prices are good too. PM me if you need his number and I'll send it to you.
 
I have went through John Curry at Stem to Stern when I have needed work done I didn't want to do myself. I have been very happy with the people I have worked with there. John has always followed up with me to make sure I was happy with the work. I have also found his rates to be very competitive. He is based out of Alameda but provides service all over the Bay Area. Good luck with your boat Wayne.

Kris
 
Like Wayne and Steve [manticore999], I do not work on my boat. As a typical female, I don't want to get my hands greasy! LOL However, unlike many females, I am familiar with the systems on my boat and can figure out if what a mechanic tells me makes sense or not. If it doesn't, I walk/run away. If what he says seems plausible, I'll then talk to my knowledgeable male friends and/or pose my questions on the engine forum of this website.

Based on the info I receive, I decide how to proceed. This method has saved me a ton of money, even if the mechanics fees are on the high side. And I have Vessel Assist for when I'm out on the water as well as AAA for my vehicles. That, along with regular maintenance, have made my boating relatively trouble-free over the 20+ years I've had my own boat.

One thing that is consistent: all repair guys take longer then they quoted and miss deadlines. Count on it!
 
There is a lot of truth in Flutterby's last statement. The nature of diagnosis and repair pretty much guarantees that that it will take more time to do any job than the original estimate. This has certainly been true with every dealing I've had with repairs on boats or cars. The time involved for maintenance service is a lot easier to estimate.

When it comes to my DIY jobs on the boat: whether it's installing a Purasan system, repairing a broken starter or doing a coat of varnish I always plan out how long the job will take, multiply that time by four if I'm actually doing the job on the boat, triple that time if I haven't done the job before and then double the time again for the "Delta Time" factor.

Delta Time is cosmological proof postulated by the late Hal Schell and is a corollary of Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity. A space/time warp present in the California Delta assures that any timekeeping device will run several times faster there than anywhere else.
 
the "Delta Time" factor.

Delta Time is cosmological proof postulated by the late Hal Schell and is a corollary of Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity. A space/time warp present in the California Delta assures that any timekeeping device will run several times faster there than anywhere else.
[/quote]

This was also proven by DOC on "Back To The Future III", but I think it was the Flux Gate Capacitor that usually caused their Space/Time Warp issues.
 
This is a great forum. My boating wouldnt be the same without it. Thanks for all of the advice. Its comforting knowing that Im not the only one who doesnt work on his own boat. The search for a good mechanic will commense and I will let you know how it goes.
 
I tried selling my boat later in the summer. Took it off the market back in October. Not a single bite. I won't give it away so looks like I'll have it for a while. I use Rob Rapp out of Oxbow Marina. Not sure how far he travels but I haven't heard any complaints. I also don't work on my boat. Will be scheduling a maintenance in the spring.
 
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