Annual Maintenance $$

[infideltarget]

Re: Annual Maintenance $$

An annual service on a stern drive takes 4-6 hours if you do it right and the parts if not sierra are about 140 plus labor , sounds fair to me . I charge 650 normally and 500 special , Im sure there are other things not listed.

Well there ya' go. 4-6 hours billable. $75-80 / hr labor rate. I just checked with my boat dude back home, and he is charging me $75 / hr. and cost on parts. Soooo... $450 sounds ok I guess. Man, I gotta learn how to do all this stuff when I get home! That labor rate will seriously cut into the corndog and "beer" money!

 

[AZBoatDreamer]

Re: Annual Maintenance $$

sikboats assuming this your website maintenance page. Can you PM a quote.

http://cpmarineaz.com/boatService.html

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Annual Maintenance $$

If it includes pulling the drive, that price is a fair one. Up in Tahoe, the price is $600 for this service.

 

[AZBoatDreamer]

Re: Annual Maintenance $$

Thanks Bruce.

 

[infideltarget]

Re: Annual Maintenance $$

If it includes pulling the drive, that price is a fair one. Up in Tahoe, the price is $600 for the this service.

Vaseline not included / required.

 

[jonesg]

Re: Annual Maintenance $$

I guess you call me a type of boat owner that would rather have someone else do the maintenance so I spend more time on the Water.
David

My brother used to say that,
I said I am able to work less because I don't have to pay someone else to work on my boat.
He had to get out of boating.
And I couldn't own a boat if I had to pay others to do the simple chores.
The type of work listed is rarely done by the mechanic anyway.

 

[AZBoatDreamer]

Re: Annual Maintenance $$

Really Jones. Maybe I could do most of it but not the Impeller or pulling the Drive. No thanks.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Annual Maintenance $$

Not that I am trying to talk you into it or anything but the impeller and drive are really simple...but I can see why pulling the drive can be intimidating, I know I was when I looked into it, but after doing my research I was surprised at how simple the process really is, very well designed system I think the hardest part is managing the weight of the drive since its really heavy!. The Impeller depending on the manufacturer is also pretty simple, I have a 7.4l Merc motor and my impeller takes me about 20 minutes to change, mostly due to lack of space in the engine bay, changing the impeller is not over your head. But like I said before if its simply more productive and/or not your thing that's fine there's nothing wrong with that at all, the only reason I think it would be a good idea for you to at least do it once is because if it happens on the water you should know what to do to fix it, I think the most common mechanical problems that happen on the water are forgetting the plug and impeller goes bad, the crazy part is both of these are very simple fixes that can ruin your day on the water. I change my impeller every year, my old one becomes the new backup. Just something to think about

Love your location!!

 

[possum2082]

Re: Annual Maintenance $$

i think there is more to the have and have not theory. definitely not set in stone, but i see some truth.

I look at it this way. Yes I can do it myself, and I do as much as I can when I have time. But time is the issue, and as a Superintendent, I don't have much to spare.

if you're a superintendant, then you make crazy cash and can afford it!

my mechanic skills (on cars and motorcycles initially) stemmed from necessity (i.e. no money). i bought my first bike when i was 19. it broke down and i couldn't afford to fix it. i could afford the $20 haynes though.

i often wonder if i would be doing all my own work if i had the cash. i'm with you though on the time aspect.

 

[emilsr]

Re: Annual Maintenance $$

from the comments, it looks to me like there's the have's, and have not's. the folks that got the means take it to someone else to fix.

I'm sure there's some truth to that.

Back in "the day" I really couldn't afford a boat (even though I had one), and what I had was old and needed many, many repairs. I spent WAY more time working on the boat than I did actually using it. Honestly though, I'm not sure turning my own wrenches always saved me money. For example, on my first whaler I went through about 3 sets of lower unit seals before it stopped leaking because it was my first time and I didn't know what I was doing. Also fried an electric shift solenoid which was probably my fault. If I had taken it to a competent mechanic the end result would have been the same, but would have saved me 2 sets of seals, a solenoid and many hours of busted knuckles and cussing.

Fast forward to now, and I'm blessed enough to be able to factor repairs and maintenance into my boating budget so I leave all but the most simple and easy tasks to a pro. I spend WAY less money on maintenance these days, but I have a much newer boat now so it's not an apples to apples comparison. I also am a few years older, so the satisfaction of doing it myself is offset by the sore muscles the next day. My time is also more limited these days; so would rather spend time running the boat than working on it.

I think that you're more likely to DIY if money is tighter, but I'm not convinced it always saves money in the long run....at least for some of us.

 

[AZBoatDreamer]

Re: Annual Maintenance $$

Love your location!!

Yes the 20 Inches of Snow has melted and we will be pushing temp 90 this weekend. Terrible weather we have.;

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Annual Maintenance $$

I hope next year the economy will be better for me to take the wife and kids down there with the boat and show them where I learned so many horrible traits, I love Roosevelt lake its in my top 5 lakes of all time to this day, Apache Lake is too

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Annual Maintenance $$

I work on my own boat/car because it is such a hassle to bring it to someone and I feel I can do as good of a job if not better than someone else. Not everyone can or wants to do everything himself because of the risk of messing things up based on his/her experience. In some cases, it actually makes more economic sense to have someone else do things. I can consult on the side for $100/hr. Makes little sense for me to do work on my house anymore instead of hiring someone at $30/hr who can do a better job that I can.

 

[BTMCB]

Re: Annual Maintenance $$

As far as doing the 'work" myself, I do all the cleaning and detailing (after each trip) myself. It is part of the process and I find it enjoyable. And, every time I get a compliment on how great the boat looks, I get some personal satisfaction. On the other hand, when it comes to the engine maintenance, I use a "mobile" tech who comes to the house. I came across him right after I bought the boat (new) and needed minor warranty work. The dealer sent him to the house, so I did not have to trailer the boat to them, some 90 miles each way. I really liked him, he seemed knowledgeable and treated the boat like it was his even though I wasn't footing his bill. I watched him, he explained things, answered my stupid questions, etc. I really admired him for starting his own business and wanted to support such a good guy, so I have used him for all my routine engine / drive maintenance needs. He is a certified Mercury trained tech, does a great job and, as I recall, charges 90.00-100.00 per hour but does NOT charge any travel time to get to and from my driveway. While I could certainly learn to do it myself, I'd probably spend half my time cleaning up the oil I spilled, grease I dropped, blood from cutting myself on something and the next day recovering from all the muscle aches! There are certain things that I feel I should leave to the pros!

 

[AZBoatDreamer]

Re: Annual Maintenance $$

BTMCB your post hit home for me. I take pride in my boat by doing the cleaning and detailing myself. For engine and drive service at this point I will let the pro's do it.
Back to my original question. So if pulling the Drive and servicing it the $450 doens't seem so bad.

Thanks

 

[BTMCB]

Re: Annual Maintenance $$

BTMCB your post hit home for me. I take pride in my boat by doing the cleaning and detailing myself. For engine and drive service at this point I will let the pro's do it.
Back to my original question. So if pulling the Drive and servicing it the $450 doens't seem so bad.

Thanks

David,

Don't have the records in front of me, but as I recall. my tech charged me about 420.00 for the "complete" 20 hour service - changing oil, gear lube, filters, fuel / water separator filter, removing drive, checking shaft alinement, housing, re-greasing, throttle linkage, shift cable, ran engine test, and even serviced the trailer. I think parts were about 150.00 and labor was 3 hours @ 90.00/ hour. Then we did another lesser service (pretty much the same but without removing the drive) 50 hours later that came to just under 300.00. Hope this helps.

Brian

 

[jkust]

Re: Annual Maintenance $$

Just like there are regional differences in the price of boats there are huge regional differences in the price charged for service. What I consider normal, I know that many states consider outrageously insane. For me in Minnesota, that sounds about right but everything car/boat/service is oddly expensive here. It'd be a good amount less if the impeller wasn't being replaced. I just did my 200 hour service at the end of last season along with winterization even though I'm only at 100 hourse because the drive was leaking fluid and it was more cost effective to buy it as a package. I do know that if I went and had the same services done during the on season they will charge me more. The packages save you a bit plus they offer a 10% early bird discount for getting it done before October.

 

[AZBoatDreamer]

Re: Annual Maintenance $$

David,

Don't have the records in front of me, but as I recall. my tech charged me about 420.00 for the "complete" 20 hour service - changing oil, gear lube, filters, fuel / water separator filter, removing drive, checking shaft alinement, housing, re-greasing, throttle linkage, shift cable, ran engine test, and even serviced the trailer. I think parts were about 150.00 and labor was 3 hours @ 90.00/ hour. Then we did another lesser service (pretty much the same but without removing the drive) 50 hours later that came to just under 300.00. Hope this helps.

Brian

Yes that does help. I just don't have the know how to look at everything on my boat to determine what needs fixing and maintenance. I rather focus on being a safe boater and showing my family a good time.

 

[produceguy]

Re: Annual Maintenance $$

Yes that does help. I just don't have the know how to look at everything on my boat to determine what needs fixing and maintenance. I rather focus on being a safe boater and showing my family a good time.

Yes, spend the 450.

 

[AZBoatDreamer]

Re: Annual Maintenance $$

Thanks Produceguy