If You're Gonna Be Stupid,

[seapower]

You'd better be tough. I believe that's how the old saying goes. This week has been a banner week for "do it yourselfer's". Look if your gonna do it yourself, have at it, but don't cry when you find out how much money you have cost yourself by doing surgery on yourself. When I had to finally have back surgery, I looked for the best surgon that I felt very comfortable with. Do yourself a favor and find "someone" that you trust to do repairs right and stick with him. I know I sound like a broken record here, but it's the truth. It's in his interest and yours to do the job right once. Yes it may cost more than "you" expected, but he want's your boat to run good and have you safe. Nothing travels faster in the boating world than crappy work. Us guy's in the marine repair business know that there isn't the amount of extra cash floating around that there was in the past. We all are looking for (or should be) repeat customers and referrals from our good customers.
Good work isn't cheap and cheap work isn't good. Take it for what it's worth. Frank

[gottaflylee]

Well said Frank, very well said!

[Avenger]

Now you just know there's a story behind this.....

Well,... Frank?

[seapower]

The sad truth is there are way too many of these stories to even be able to re-call. But it's alway's the same beginning, middle and end. I had one this week that will probably end up costing the guy approx $25,000.00, another 2 to 3 thousand and another just yesterday that will start at close to $2000.00, just to get the engine to run so I can find out if he actually has oil pressure or not. The worst part of my job is giving them bad news (I don't like it abit, cause it always costs big bucks), but the worst is when it was 100% preventable. Most of the time when an engine has a catastrophic failure, the owner/operator had a hand in it's demise. Frank

[Avenger]

I can't tell you how many things show up at my shop that "Just stopped". Rrrrriiiiigggghhhhttt. They didn't give any indication of a problem beforehand.

The mechanic at the place next door went to Florida to retrieve one of their vans that "just stopped". Knowing the kind of people that drive these vans I asked him if there was any indication of a problem. "No, the guy said it just stopped." I gave him the appropriate look. Sure enough, a few days later the engine is on the stand with a rod bearing in the pan and half the crank journal is 1/4" smaller than the other half.

It just stopped.




Oh well, at least there's some comfort in knowing we all deal with the same kind of customers.

[seapower]

I kinda like, it only ran "alittle" hot ! Frank