Learning The Hard Way

C

C-Sick

New member
I took my 2003 C-Dory in for its first tune up since I purchased it with 50 hours on it. The reality of owning a boat struck me between the eyes when the total came to $425. Complete oil change upper / lower, new plugs & tune / new zincs/filter replaced/ fuel stablizer / grease / usual adjustments and a gel coat repair of where the anchor took created a one inch nick.

I am not complaining I am just trying to catch my breath knowing it will be the first of many.

I gotta feeling I had better learn how to change the oil and filters sooner than later.

I don't mind paying top dollar when the work is done well. My dad taught me a long time ago everybody needs a chance to make a living.
 
Wow, $425 seems excessive to me...I think our first service at the C-Dory factory was more like $300 (could be wrong of course, Patty is the Chancellor or the Exchequer) and THAT seemed like a lot.


C-Sick":29ueelux said:
I took my 2003 C-Dory in for its first tune up since I purchased it with 50 hours on it. The reality of owning a boat struck me between the eyes when the total came to $425. Complete oil change upper / lower, new plugs & tune / new zincs/filter replaced/ fuel stablizer / grease / usual adjustments and a gel coat repair of where the anchor took created a one inch nick.
Click to expand...
 
C-Sick,
Your dismay at the bill is understandable. Your experience encourages me to learn more about doing my own work. Those kind of surprises can take the fun out of boating. Changing plugs, changing oil and greasing fittings on a boat cannot be much diferent than a car. Time to roll up my sleeves and bust a few knuckles! Thanks for the heads up.
Levity's Michael
 
I had a similar shock! Took Captain's Choice in for winterizing and an oil change, told them that I had a cooling problem on the port Honda 45 and asked them to fix it. Had already done the lower units but didn't have filters to do the oil change. Got a bill for $1200! They did it all, including repacking the trailer bearings.... Did both water pumps, not just the bad one (I had done both the previous season) did zincs, cleaned both gas tanks (there was some sludge and I probably would have told them to do it if I had known). Also did both Racor fuel filters (I had elements and could have done it if it had needed doing) and a bunch of other stuff.

Bottom line, told them that we'd come to some agreement or we'd go to small claims court for them doing work that I didn't authorize. Most of the work, if not all of it needed to be done but I really would have liked to had the go-no go decision in my hands.

Reached an agreement at half of the bill. We'll see how the 45's fire up in a week or two.
 
C-Sick,

I'm curious, can you tell us how much of the bill was for the fiberglass repair, and how much for the tune and service?

Thanks,
 
Larry,

The Gel coat repair was 1.5 hours for $120.00 and $25.00 for the Gel Coat. The remain amount $305.00 was for the engine service.

I don't believe this is out of line. It is the going rate. It is simply sobering. I would love to learn how to do some of this work on my own.
 
I have always been of the sort who does his own labor, that is, if I like that kind of work. Fiberglas repair is not my cup of tea, so I would be willing to pay someone to do that. However, mechanicing is something I've done all my life, so an oil change on my Hondas was not that big of a deal. Other work I will do in the future, but I highly recommend before changeing a water pump impeller or repairing a lower unit that we obtain manuals that have procedures and torque values.
 
I paid a Honda certified dealer in North Carolina $99.64 (parts and tax incl) for the 20 hour inspection/service, and $84.87 for the 100 hour. The 20 hour had a little charge for looking at the tach, which I finally had to pull, and ship to the dealer for replacement. Didn't replace plugs (which is a "clean and replace if necessary" item with a first 20 and every subsequent 200 hour/or annual inspection frequency), and didn't replace zinc (mine looks brand new, but don't know what use yours had, and what condition they were in). I know that the West Coast has higher prices, but suggest anyone who's getting hit with really high charges start making a few phone calls. This dealer is a long way from where I live, but I manage to schedule service for when on my way to a launch area, and wait while the work is being done. I recently bought a shop manual, and am doing some of my own work only because I enjoy doing so.
 
Naw, that $305 isn't too far out of line, I guess. The similar service on my Honda 130 and Honda 15 was $305.67 (actually $328.08 because those WA guys just couldn't bear to deduct the sales tax for this OR guy). I got the same service, minus the zincs but with a thermostat replacement. I have a great deal of trust in the shop that did my work, so yours seems fair.

I had the work done at a Honda shop because there were some warranty/recall items they also took care of. Plus, I had just bought the boat and wanted some trained eyes looking the motors over. I plan to do the routine maintenance myself. Oil, filter, plugs, and water pump impellers are a lot less complicated than they might at first appear. If all that mechanical stuff was spread out under the hood of your car instead of crammed into that relatively small weedeater housing, you wouldn't bat an eye about tackling it.

Besides all that, you should count your blessings. Most boat stuff costs a thousand bucks!
 
Guys, I too do most of my mechanic work on the mercury 90 outboard. Winterizing is easy, providing you do not have to go into the lower or upper units. To winterize I put gasoline stabilizer in the tank just before I take it out of the water. That gives it time to pass through the tank and throughout the motor. I top off the oil injection tank and gas tank on the way home. This pretty much prevents water vapor condensing in the tanks. The gas stabilizer does a wonderful job of preventing varnish build-up in the three carbs.
At home I run the engine till it gets up to operating temp with the water muffs attached. Once warmed up I spray "lots" of fogging fluid into the carbs almost shutting down the engine. Takes about 3 minutes and one can of fogger. Then I disconnect the gas line from the motor and continue spraying fogger as the gas runs out and the motor dies (it takes another can of fogger for this). Next I pull the plugs and spray WD-40 in each cylinder and hand crank the motor and replace with new plugs. I change the lower unit oil checking the lower plug (Magnetic) for metal filings. A little can be expected, but not much. That would indicate a potential problem with the gears or bearings. Don't for get to replace the fiber gaskets on the plugs with new ones. I grease all the grease fitting with a water resistent lithium based grease. I spray a coating of lithium based lubricant on all the motor liknages, kiss the motor good night in prep for the winter hybernation, and replace the cover. Lower the unit to the verticle position and begin to dream about next season. In my next email I will give you a horror story when I needed work done in the summer and I did not have the time to do it myself and still make the July 4 fun. Its almost 70 degrees here and I hear my boat motor calling me! Later Guys (and Gals) , Butch
 
Me again. Last summer the motor was ran as good as it did when I bought it in 98'. One evening after work (I pass my slip on the way home from work.... so I guess that explains why I am frequently late for dinner... can't tell the wife of 35 yrs :oops:) I stopped to see if I could coax a couple of Rockfish into the boat and it would not start. I checked the gas flow through the carbs and it was fine. I checked for fire at the plugs and I was getting spark at all three plugs. Long story short... I was one week from the long july 4th. weekend and no clue what was wrong, so I took it to a local Merc dealer (Boatyard) towed by a fellow "boat nut". I did this the following evening as not being able to use the boat in mid summer was a depressing thought. The service manager said it would be 3 weeks before he could look at it... much less fix it. So in a moment of panic (and without checking with the "keeper of the check book :amgry .... my wife" I blurtted out, I'll give the mechanic a $100.00 tip if I get it back in two days... fixed and ready to putt along as usual. That was on a Tuesday evening after 5 PM. I got a call at the office on Wednesday around 2PM, he had it done and sitting at his dock for me, which by coincidence was on my way home.... go figure right.
The problem was the ignition coil under the flywheel. It was putting out a current but not enough to fire the plugs. He replaced the, calibrated the carb linkages, and put a new water pump impeller and diffuser in the lower unit. I did the water pump and diffuser a year earlier and it really did not need it... I said ok what the heck I have my "other woman" back. No more psychological withdrawal.
The tab.... without the tip was over $950.00 :crook. Needless to say I was very pleased to get the boat back, however, I figured my enthusiasm would be short lived seeing as how my wife was going to "put a hurt'in on me that would end all hurt'in's after pulling this stunt.
lesson learned (until the next time of course) take the time to do your own work and above all invest in a manufacture's service manual for your specific power unit. My costs for all the parts, including the manual, would have been less than $375.00. I do not mind paying someone to do the work for me providing I get a good job at a fair price. But, I thought the price was high even though I got a great job.
As good as my word I paid the bill and gave the mechanic the $100.00 tip for staying late and getting my boat out on his time.

By the way... it was a wonderful 4th. of July on the water the following weekend!

From now on, armed with service manuals, electrical meters, flywheel pullers, hand tools, and the drive to get it done economically to escape the wrath of "we all know who", I will take a vacation day from work to repair my boat. Oh well.... Butch
 
C-Sick,

I pulled Chivita's 50 hour service receipt from the factory in Kent, we had them do the work in July of 2003. Total bill for us was $194.75. According to the pre-printed work order, for a 50/100/200 hour motor service they charge $100, plus parts. Combination tune-up was $130. Additional shop labor is quoted at $70 an hour.

In our case they did the following "Change motor oil & filters, gearoils, tiebar, check valve, spark plugs, power tilt oils, cables, battery connections, run motors, pumped, cooled, shifted & idled good." The parts total came to $49.00 and included the following "Oil filters $14.50 ea, 2 $29.00, 4 qts motor oil $8.50, 2 ea gear oils $12.00, 1 ea Honda tie bar - N/C"

We did not have zincs changed as ours are in like-new condition since we store Chivita on dry land. My impression after looking over the work they perfomed was that it was well done with no loose ends left over for me to fix. Having owned several old Volkswagens I am quite used to rebuilding engines, trannies and such, so I'm afraid that's the last time Chivita will be getting serviced by such a clean bunch of professionals. From now on it's grease monkey time, just have to get a manual!

One positive of doing your own work is that you get a much better understanding of how the thing works which helps if you have issues out on the water. It's a lot more fun being the tow-er instead of the tow-ee!

Now if you REALLY want a shock, talk to someone with an inboard/outboard, I really feel for them when it's service time!!!

Chivita Dave
 
Funny you'd say that about ask someone with an I/O for cost. My neighbor today decided to give his Mercruiser 6 cylinder a minor tune up. Listen to this, one spark plug was hards to get to and he ended up breaking off the white insulator. He called a mechanic 'friend' to help him extract the plug. In the meantime he started to replace the distributor cap and rotor. Sounds easy enough... right?????
Nope! Big time wrong! The rotor button was difficult to pull off so he got a pry bar and a bigger hammer. The button came off after a couple good wacks with the hammer, only one problem.... so did the cast aluminum housing of the distributor. When the mechanic arrived my neighbor was crying the blues and he really went off when the mechanic told him how much it was going to be to fix the mess he made. Almost $1600.00 and change. He has to pull the intake because the drive gear on the bottom of the distributor was in pieces because he could turn the distributor shaft with his fingers while it was still attached to the intake on the motor. He was told it would be about $1500.00 more if the can't find all the pieces to the little gear and the whole motor will have to be pulled. I just want to be near when he tells his wife tonight... She's a pistol and does not care much for his 23' Trophy. Things can always get worse.... Butch
 
When it came time for my twin Hondas 50 hr inspection, I did the oil changes here at home, took the boat to a Honda dealer for them to check on the rest of the adjustments, timing, etc. 159 dollars for that part of it, here in Kenai AK. Needed to make sure that the Honda warranty was not nullified by not checking on such stuff with a Honda dealer, don't you know. 200 hour is coming up in few more outings, you know who will be doing the inspections and oil changes. Now, guess I'll browse Amazon.com for a service manual.
 
hi all,
had twin 40's (hondas) winterized on Rascal and impellers and seals checked(one impeller replaced)....and plugs pulled and cylinders oiled, lower unit grease changed,and fuel stabilized at local honda dealer for 160 bucks in Wisconsin
ras
 
Just looked over the receipt for our 20 hour service (75 Honda) by West Coast Marine Services here in Bellingham (Sept 2003) and he charged us $108 for 1.5 hrs labor, $38.76 for parts/material & $12.03 tx (Total $158.79). Just went down to the storage and looked her over today and she's beautiful!!!! Actually we pulled her out into the sunshine and had a dry cruise in the parking lot. It's the best we could do this weekend. If we didn't have to go to work tomorrow, our R-Matey would be out on the water in the morning.

Joe & Ruth
R-Matey
 
What should I expect from my marina for annual maintenance? Last season the fuel line inside the cowl burst while we were underway. I had pointed out a year earlier that my external line and primer bulb were looking bad.
 
Well, we're here in Bellingham, finally, and the kicker will not start. Took it to a Honda dealer, the same one as Joe and Ruth I think, to have the carburetor cleaned. The estimate was $125 and I left it. Borrowed a motor from really, really good friends, and came back a week later. The bill was twice the estimate ($250), and no discussion. Noticed that I got charged 1 1/2 hrs of shop time at $99/hr, so Joe, you got the local discount. Got charged for an exhaust gasket (no, not inlet,) and the inlet fuel filter, which looked good to me when I checked. Told that there was algae in the carb and the carb was complicated, and the oil level was high. Both were new to me. I passed on the new propeller, zincs, etc, etc.

Before any dealer jumps in, let me note that it's all my mistake in not starting the motor JUST before we left San Diego. Doing it yourself is certainly cheaper, and reading the manual can save a couple of $100 bills. The servicing is straight forward, and you're making $100/hr. and the parts are cheaper.

And the guy in front of me paid $1000 for the 3 year service on his ETEC. No kiss.

DO YOUR OWN SERVICE. And if you can, your own repair. And drain you carbs when you're out of the water. I thought I had.

Boris
 
Mikey, I'm not sure what you expect from YOUR marina, but I've never had a marina (I would say boat yard) that was responsible for maintaining my boat. I may learn different from following posts, but any boat yards) I'm used to need definite instructions. All the marinas I've been in just provided dockage, not maintenance.

Just my experience.

Boris
 
It is a riot looking at the prices from 2004 for an annual outboard service! It has gone up a bit! But I still value the expertise at West Coast Marine, and must say we get value for what we pay (a bit more than the $300 it was in 2004, but it depends on what needs doing according to their records and the Honda test computer!).
 
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