I would like to state that as a practice marine repair shops do not verify that every boat they repair has the proper motor, nor do they check to see that the boat has the appropriate amount of life jackets, fire extinguishers, or other safety equipment unless we are askedThis is the boat owner's responsibility It is not fair to expect us to verify the appropriateness of the motor for a given boatI don't believe that any customer would wish to pay for the time to check all this informationIn this particular case, we did not become aware that the motor was not proper for the boat until we were nearly complete with the repairs to itHad we known up front, we would not have worked on the motor to begin with.I do understand customer's concernsAlthough his motor runs as could be expected, his boat is not safe to use as it isHe was advised at the time he brought the boat in for repair that we bill time and materialI told him on May in an email that we were a week and a half behindHe did not bring the boat in until May At that time we had more workload in front of him as a result of the Memorial Day holidayIn addition the best we can do is to give an approximate date as to when we could start on itIt so happened that we had some time consuming jobs ahead of his boat that took a great deal more time than we had initially anticipated.As he indicated in his complaint, he was informed at various stages during the repair processAdmittedly, communication was made a bit difficult since at different times the customer, his wife, and son would call and ask for updatesFrom the nature of the calls, it was apparent that they may not have been communicating among one another from the questions we receivedWe advised the customer and his son on June that we noticed on June that the Coast Guard capacity label stated the maximum capacity of his boat was 90hp, but the motor mounted on the boat was a 150hpI told him I was concerned for his family's safety and that his insurance company may refuse to pay any claim if something were to happenHis response was that it didn't make any difference to him one way or anotherHe wanted us to get the motor to run properlyI told him that we were trying to save him money on parts and time where we couldHe pulled a roll of money out of his pocket and stated that money was no object and he wanted the boat fixed at any cost by the weekendI told him we would do our bestI had an experienced mechanic scheduled the evening of the 25th for other work, but could put him on the job to follow through on the troubleshooting so that we could meet his timelineFollowing that conversation we spent another hours (billed for 6) troubleshooting and repairing the motor, not hours as he stated in his complaintI did not tell him that the boat would never runI told him that we fixed his motor and the motor ran fine; however, because of how his heavier higher horsepower motor was mounted so low on the stern of his boat, it would probably not operate properly without further modification.He approved the work as we went forwardAs was explained to the customer on an older motor such as his, we cannot simply plug a computer into the motor and have the diagnosis spit out It is a methodical process that takes time and is subject to delays in obtaining proper repair partsYou have to take it one step at a timeYou fix one issue so that you are in a position to go forward with the troubleshooting The initial check out was one hourWe told him the spark plug threads were stripped out of the motor's one cover plateWe gave him a price for replacing the cover plate and gasket, but found the cover plate was no longer available from Mercury due to the age of the motorWe then installed a helicoil with the customer's approval and replaced thermostats that were missing from the motorWe then advised the carburetors needed to be cleaned and overhauled which is not unusual for such an old motor and ethanol fuelThere was hours labor billed for this and associated water tests and troubleshootingAt that point of the customer's visit on June 25, the total was $1,including $parts, $labor, $shop fee and related sales taxAfter the customer told us on June that under no uncertain terms that he wanted the motor fixed at any cost by the weekend, we spent an additional hours adjusting timing settings, throttle stop settings, etcback to factory settings, pulling the fuel pump and checking for leaks, checking customer's fuel vsa controlled fuel mix, and pulling the customer's propeller to run to a Propeller repair facility to have the propeller checked and then remount on customer's boatWe ran the boat on a hose and were satisfied it was running as it shouldWe then water tested the boat and found that although the motor ran well, the boat would not handle properlyOur feeling is that it is a combination of the weight of the motor and the way it is mounted on the boat (See Note below)I stand by our invoice which is $1,including taxAlthough we told the customer up front we invoice time and material, we actually billed at least hours less than the time we had into the jobI would offer to help him find an appropriate used motor for his boat and help sell his 150hp motor if he wants us to.Note 1:From my research on the weights of the customer's motor vsthe boat's original maximum horsepower hp Force motor I determined the following:150hp Mercury Black Max motor on boat/90hp Force (as originally equipped) = 67% over rated hp capacityWeight of the 150hp Mercury Black Max motor vsthe original Force hp motor 380Ibs/2551bs= 49% more than original maximum intended motor weightFrom my research, this additional weight can have significant effect on the performance of the boat and can make it easier to flip on a turnThe original hp motor would represent 17% of the weight of the boat without the motor (12351bs)The hp motor would represent 31% of the weight of the boat without the motorThe 150hp motor on the customer's boat is mounted approximately in the same position as the lighter weight 90hp motor would have been mountedPerhaps if it was mounted higher it would not sit so deeply into the waterThis boat would have been manufactured with the maximum lb motor mounted in a certain way on the transomThe weight of the passengers, gear, and fuel would have been taken into consideration as well as how the weight would have been distributedHandling of the boat could be dramatically affected with significant changes to the way the weight and power is distributed
I would like to state that as a practice marine repair shops do not verify that every boat they repair has the proper motor, nor do they check to see that the boat has the appropriate amount of life jackets, fire extinguishers, or other safety equipment unless we are askedThis is the boat owner's responsibility It is not fair to expect us to verify the appropriateness of the motor for a given boatI don't believe that any customer would wish to pay for the time to check all this informationIn this particular case, we did not become aware that the motor was not proper for the boat until we were nearly complete with the repairs to itHad we known up front, we would not have worked on the motor to begin with.I do understand customer's concernsAlthough his motor runs as could be expected, his boat is not safe to use as it isHe was advised at the time he brought the boat in for repair that we bill time and materialI told him on May in an email that we were a week and a half behindHe did not bring the boat in until May At that time we had more workload in front of him as a result of the Memorial Day holidayIn addition the best we can do is to give an approximate date as to when we could start on itIt so happened that we had some time consuming jobs ahead of his boat that took a great deal more time than we had initially anticipated.As he indicated in his complaint, he was informed at various stages during the repair processAdmittedly, communication was made a bit difficult since at different times the customer, his wife, and son would call and ask for updatesFrom the nature of the calls, it was apparent that they may not have been communicating among one another from the questions we receivedWe advised the customer and his son on June that we noticed on June that the Coast Guard capacity label stated the maximum capacity of his boat was 90hp, but the motor mounted on the boat was a 150hpI told him I was concerned for his family's safety and that his insurance company may refuse to pay any claim if something were to happenHis response was that it didn't make any difference to him one way or anotherHe wanted us to get the motor to run properlyI told him that we were trying to save him money on parts and time where we couldHe pulled a roll of money out of his pocket and stated that money was no object and he wanted the boat fixed at any cost by the weekendI told him we would do our bestI had an experienced mechanic scheduled the evening of the 25th for other work, but could put him on the job to follow through on the troubleshooting so that we could meet his timelineFollowing that conversation we spent another hours (billed for 6) troubleshooting and repairing the motor, not hours as he stated in his complaintI did not tell him that the boat would never runI told him that we fixed his motor and the motor ran fine; however, because of how his heavier higher horsepower motor was mounted so low on the stern of his boat, it would probably not operate properly without further modification.He approved the work as we went forwardAs was explained to the customer on an older motor such as his, we cannot simply plug a computer into the motor and have the diagnosis spit out It is a methodical process that takes time and is subject to delays in obtaining proper repair partsYou have to take it one step at a timeYou fix one issue so that you are in a position to go forward with the troubleshooting The initial check out was one hourWe told him the spark plug threads were stripped out of the motor's one cover plateWe gave him a price for replacing the cover plate and gasket, but found the cover plate was no longer available from Mercury due to the age of the motorWe then installed a helicoil with the customer's approval and replaced thermostats that were missing from the motorWe then advised the carburetors needed to be cleaned and overhauled which is not unusual for such an old motor and ethanol fuelThere was hours labor billed for this and associated water tests and troubleshootingAt that point of the customer's visit on June 25, the total was $1,including $parts, $labor, $shop fee and related sales taxAfter the customer told us on June that under no uncertain terms that he wanted the motor fixed at any cost by the weekend, we spent an additional hours adjusting timing settings, throttle stop settings, etcback to factory settings, pulling the fuel pump and checking for leaks, checking customer's fuel vsa controlled fuel mix, and pulling the customer's propeller to run to a Propeller repair facility to have the propeller checked and then remount on customer's boatWe ran the boat on a hose and were satisfied it was running as it shouldWe then water tested the boat and found that although the motor ran well, the boat would not handle properlyOur feeling is that it is a combination of the weight of the motor and the way it is mounted on the boat (See Note below)I stand by our invoice which is $1,including taxAlthough we told the customer up front we invoice time and material, we actually billed at least hours less than the time we had into the jobI would offer to help him find an appropriate used motor for his boat and help sell his 150hp motor if he wants us to.Note 1:From my research on the weights of the customer's motor vsthe boat's original maximum horsepower hp Force motor I determined the following:150hp Mercury Black Max motor on boat/90hp Force (as originally equipped) = 67% over rated hp capacityWeight of the 150hp Mercury Black Max motor vsthe original Force hp motor 380Ibs/2551bs= 49% more than original maximum intended motor weightFrom my research, this additional weight can have significant effect on the performance of the boat and can make it easier to flip on a turnThe original hp motor would represent 17% of the weight of the boat without the motor (12351bs)The hp motor would represent 31% of the weight of the boat without the motorThe 150hp motor on the customer's boat is mounted approximately in the same position as the lighter weight 90hp motor would have been mountedPerhaps if it was mounted higher it would not sit so deeply into the waterThis boat would have been manufactured with the maximum lb motor mounted in a certain way on the transomThe weight of the passengers, gear, and fuel would have been taken into consideration as well as how the weight would have been distributedHandling of the boat could be dramatically affected with significant changes to the way the weight and power is distributed