Steve's Marine Service Inc.

Review: Took Marlin Boat for engine rebuild 7/26/2010

8/9/2011 Engine running rough first time out on water from rebuild- engine stalls- returned to

7/23/2012 Took boat out for test drive exhaust manifold starting burning. Returned to [redacted].

10/9/2012 Did not get boat out on water so took it to local Boat Shop and had it winterized- Clarks

Marine.

6/7/2013 Took back to Clarks Marine to summerize. They also went through the trim system

and found an air leak in a fitting so they fixed that and re-filled the trim pump container and bled

system.

6/16/13. Launched the boat & discovered small water leak in the aft of the engine. Boat returned to

Clarks Marine on 6-17-13. Clarks Marine stated that the problem had to have come from when the

engine was installed, had nothing to do with their winterizing on or summerizing. They then tried

to get it to leak with a garden hose while I was there with no results and said it would have to be

placed into the water to locate the leak. We brought it home and as we parked it we noticed the out

drive was down and failed to come up when we tried. There was fluid draining out the drain hole.

We carefully took it back to Clarks Marine and told them to fix the out drive problem or give us back

our money.

After further review Clarks Marine stated an oil tilt line that went down and under the motor and

out the outdrive was too close to the manifold and had melted the line. To fix, the motor had to be

repulled as well as the lines that went thru the transom and into the outdrive tilt.

7/23/2013 Clarks Marine was given okay to fix. Costing an additional $1660.88.Desired Settlement: RESOLUTION:

Requesting [redacted] to reimburse for $1000.00 of the $1660.00 bill.

Business

Response:

November 14, 2013

RE: Revdex.com Complaint ID # [redacted]

Verification of Position / Response to the Revdex.com Complaint

Dear Revdex.com;

I am writing with regards to the above referenced complaint, filed by [redacted]

[redacted] trouble with his boat (a Marlin-Kokanee) arose prior to him coming into our office. On or about June 9, 2010, [redacted] took his boat to John’s Marine Service. A copy of the John's Marino Service invoice #[redacted] is attached to this response. See enclosure /. The problem addressed by John’s Marine Service was smoke coming out of the engine compartment. According to the invoice and our conversations with [redacted], other problems involved the exhaust boots and pump impeller. Additionally, the engine was missing water shutter valves.

The engine problems continued and [redacted] first came into our boat shop on July 26, 2010. A copy of our work order numbered #[redacted] is attached to this response. See enclosure 2. The boat's engine had overheated. We received [redacted]’s authorization to pull out the engine. Upon a further inspection, we determined that the engine had serious damage due to the fact that it had sat in salt water for most of its life. The salt water caused the exhaust manifolds and risers to mt. It also led to severe corrosion of the iron, to the point that it was flaking off in slabs and chunks. The problems also extended to the u-joints, gimbal bearing, gear lube, shill cable, and rotted lag bolts on the motor mounts. We ran the engine up on a hose, adjusted it, and checked it out, [redacted] did not have us install a new engine, Instead we installed a rebuilt engine.

Further inspection also led us to determine that the outdrive drifted down, While we advised [redacted] of the problem with the outdrive, he did not request and we did not address the outdrive or any part of the hydraulic system. [redacted] was already aware of this problem and planned on strapping it up for travel, as many customers do when they have similar problems. [redacted] left our shop without any complaints.

We did not see the customer, [redacted], tor roughly a year. He brought the boat back in on August 9, 2011. He had recently purchased an alternator, and we installed it for him. At the same time, we made some valve adjustments and got his 15hp kicker motor running. A copy of our work order number 6590 is attached to this response. See enclosure 3. [redacted] did not request that we look into any engine overheating problems.

As before, we did not see [redacted] for roughly a year, On July, 23, 2012, [redacted] returned with his boat. Once again, the problem was engine overheating. Upon our inspection, we determined that the intake manifold, thermostat, and two exhaust rubbers needed to be replaced. The problem was caused by the iron shale breaking loose from the inside and blocking water from the risers. After we replaced this piece, we ran it up and everything checked out okay. We charged [redacted] for the parts onJx, Wc did not charge him for our labor. This was quite a deal, since the problem was due to the bad shape of the engine; which [redacted] knew about back in July, 2010. 1 his work is evidenced by our attached work order #7224. See enclosure 4,

A year later in July of 2013,1 received a letter from [redacted] alleging additional problems with the boat. Mis letter also indicated that he would bring the boat back into us. 1 attempted to contact [redacted], via telephone, but received no response. This led me to believe that things were running well and there was no longer a need to work on the boat.

Towards the end of September, 2013, [redacted] came into the shop with a repair order from (Mark's Marine. The repair order was for hydraulic work. According to the repair order, the repaired problem involved the outdrive. A copy of the repair order is attached to this response. See enclosure 5. [redacted] Revdex.com complaint also states that the problem was that “the out drive was down and failed to come up.” [redacted] requested that we reimburse him for all or a part of the Clark’s Marine repair bill.

Since we did not perform hydraulic work on the boat, we determined that we did not cause problem. As previously discussed in this response, Steve's Marine Service, Inc, told [redacted] of a problem with his outdrive back in 2010. He acknowledged the problem and did nel request that we resolve it. Instead, [redacted] said that he would strap up the outdrive, for travel. Furthermore he did not request that we do any hydraulic work.

Eventually, [redacted] requested that we split the bill with him (requesting $833.44 of a $1,660.88 bill). However, he now requests $1,000, without providing an explanation as to why we are responsible tor any portion of the bill.

We believe that Clark's Marine charged 16 hrs, of labor, for a mutter that should have taken about 6 hrs, This ran up the bill, causing [redacted] to be disgruntled. However, the problem that Clark’s Marine repaired existed prior to [redacted] bringing his boat into us. It was a problem that [redacted] was aware of and knowingly chose not to have repaired. The damage complained of, by [redacted], is a combination of the natural effect of salt water and personal neglect. [redacted]’s boat will probably have continual problems, regardless of who works on it.

Therefore, we are not responsible for any of the alleged additional charges.

Sincerely,

Steve's Marine Service, Inc.

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

To clarify –between 6/2010 and 7/26/2010 boat was not used. That time was used to find a good boat service that dealt with [redacted] engines in