Makes ya wonder why......

[Don S]

Just looked at the top 4 topics on this group, below is a picture of them.<br />What strikes me as funny is all those people that do nothing to their boats before putting them in the water for the first time of the year.<br />No winterizing that gets new fuel and oil filters, and new oil in the drive, do drive pulls to make sure there is no water in the bellows (or worse). Then in the spring, no tuneups, no system checks, no new impellers that are very old, old dead batteries, with corroded cables that are loose, rusted engines.................etc.<br />No manuals, no maintenance, no checkouts and ya wonder why they don't work.<br /><br />

 

[waterone1@aol.com]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

I think some of it is education. My better half just bought a new car this year. The salesman took us back to the service dept., introduced us to the service manager, pulled out the owners manual and went through all of the scheduled maint. and even set up the first service appointment. Contrast this to a friend buying his first boat (he asked me to go with him). He bought a new Glastron with a VP 5.7 L. Thoughout all three trips to the dealer, they tried to sell him every accessory and even on the shakedown cruise did not even discuss service, other than not to run it at consistant high rpm's for the first 20 hours. The V.P. owners manual was not even included with the rest of the manuals for the boat. They gave him a captains hat, a cheap bottle of champaign and a pic of him in the boat from the shore.....not a single mention of maint. or winterization (we're in OH).

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

Human nature Don, wait until it breaks down and then seek help, you and others here offer that help so people will come here and ask the questions in the hope of getting their pride and joy back on the water with a minimum of fuss and dollars.<br /><br />You live and breath boat repairs and you know that most of it can be avoided. It is obviously frustrating for you but Don, your changing the way people do maintenance, it's only one boat at a time but you (and others) do make a difference.<br /><br />How's that for a pep talk? <br /><br />What time is it there by the way?<br /><br />Aldo

 

[QC]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

This is all true, but people DO come to this site for precisely this reason. A place to have a discussion before and after they/we screw up. <br /><br />Also, a lot of these boats are bought used with no manuals. Yes, they can be bought, but out of sight out of mind during the off-season.<br /><br />When you think about it, modern cars have lulled some new boaters to sleep too. They start and run everyday, take it to Jiffy lube once in a while, get tires and brakes when you can see or hear they're bad and that's about it.

 

[Scaaty]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

Don, its simple. Some are, some aren't. I grew up with a kid that couldn't ride a bike, but I don't think today you would like to look up at him when he's in his robe up on the "bench". Or take my cousin. I'm not too good at his job either, but then again, I don't want to be a Mortician.<br /> But cutting to the chase, I think people are getting a touch "brainless" as I get older, and that's about as mildly as I can put it.

 

[cc lancer]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

Well Don, let me take this opportunity to say "Thank You". And to all the other professional marine technicians who come on this forum and tell people whats wrong with their boats.<br /><br />What urinates me off is after you tell them what wrong, saves them money, they don't come back and at least say thanks.<br /><br />But I don't get it,...... boats are a monetary investment, and people let them go to crap. They sit through the winter not covered filled with ice, or snow, or water and wonder why the floor rotted out, or the foam is soaked, or the seats split. And a 10 years kid could learn to drain the engine.

 

[olbuddyjack]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

I think waterone hit it, education.<br />I don't think any one intends to screw up thier boat, most just don't know any better. <br />This forum spells things out in a way no owners manual could, real life experience, from a techs view. I would never think its important to grease the prop splines on a Volvo DP, but I do now.<br />I can relate to Dons position, going back to the days I worked on land yachts, just a little mainanence...<br />Hey, if wasn't for this stuff what would we have to talk about, women?

 

[keelhauled]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

but if I run my engine on muffs in the driveway I run the risk of my automotive starter and alternator igniting fuel from my automotive carburetor and catching my clear plastic fuel filter on fire!<br /><br />Might burn down my house!<br /><br />

 

[RubberFrog]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

I appreciate the help from this forum. However, I think it was a bit presumptuous to include my post in the list. My boat was winterized at the end of the season. Prior to taking it out I changed the oil, put in a new battery, charged the old one, checked the belts and hoses, etc. <br />The tone of this thread seems to imply that the only way a boat can break down is if it is neglected. Boats do get old, and things do break.<br />Again, thanks for all the help.<br />George

 

[KaGee]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

Posted this on another thread... seemed appropriate here.<br /><br />Don S @ work... "Hmmmm the answer is... brown colored liquid on the spark plugs"...<br /><br />

<br /><br /> <br /><br />Don, i appreciate your passion for what you do and your willingness to share your hard earned knowledge with us down here in the lower 48.

 

[KaGee]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

Originally posted by RubberFrog:<br /> I appreciate the help from this forum. However, I think it was a bit presumptuous to include my post in the list. George

George...<br /><br />Welcome to Iboats!<br />Don't take it personal. You were just a victim of timing... same post another day would have got a different response.<br /><br />Stick around a while, read some of the threads that pop up here and you will observe why some of the cynical remarks get made.

 

[RubberFrog]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

Originally posted by KaGee:<br />Welcome to Iboats!<br />Don't take it personal. You were just a victim of timing... same post another day would have got a different response.<br /><br />Stick around a while, read some of the threads that pop up here and you will observe why some of the cynical remarks get made.

Yeah, you're right. I didn't mean to make it sound like I was taking it personal. I just wanted to make sure my post was taken seriously...<br />I am active in a beer brewing forum and we get morons in there all the time- "I made my beer with toilet water and it takes like urine,what's wrong with it?"<br />Peace, George

 

[tommays]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

a big part of the problem is that boat makers seam to care much less about who sells there product than car makers GM would never allow a dealer to run without a proper service deparment<br /><br />i see so many storefront boat dealers on long island that do not have the abilty to service the product that they sell and find the boat makers could care less<br /><br />i have found that most boat sellers avoide going into the amount of care and dollars a boat needs to keep running at all costs<br /><br />when i went bought my current boat 10 years ago from one of long island BIGGEST DEALERS it was shocking how bad the service was and how pot luck the work i paid to have done <br /><br />and the worst part was that the boat builder and the engine maker really did not seam to care at all<br /> <br /><br />tommays

 

[Don S]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

Originally posted by RubberFrog:<br /> I think it was a bit presumptuous to include my post in the list.

Nothing personal George, it wasn't so much the content of the posts as the titles and all 4 being in a line.

 

[BigPoppaG]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

Here is an idea. If you don't want to help with the problems.....don't answer them. <br />I came here looking for advice on a problem I had and got some smart remarks (you know who you are)and some helpful ones(Once again thanks for your Help). Needless to say, my boat is now working because of those guys and this forum. <br /><br />As for ASSUMING people just let their boats go to hell over the winter is just crazy. I took great care of my boat. Winterized it, changed oil, The works. Checked it several times during the winter to make sure is was fine. Pulled it out for this spring and the first thing that happened is it wouldn't start. Seems a fuse was blown. Wasn't that way when I put it away. Sometimes things just happen when a boat gets older. <br /><br />Starting a post to cry about other boaters needing help on a forum titles "Repair and Maintenance" makes no sense to me. I thought that is what it was about?

 

[KaGee]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

Tommays...<br /><br />It's no different here in Ohio, at least around here.

 

[blackz3]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

Don.you and others on here held my hand and walked me through my outdrive problems. i had a manual and you sent me all kinda of pics.and i did say thanx..Now the only reason i tackled this job was because i knew i could come here for advise GOOD advice..if not for you and others on this forum i woulda just bought a new one.So what im trying to say is like poppa said<br />thats is the title. and if everyone had there act together it would be one boring a$$ msg board<br />oh and byw iv never seen you post a thanx to any of us dip****s for makeing you smile or down right ROTFLYAO. <br />so thanx DON. ill try to keep ya laughing

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

hahaahah I like the blackz3 attitude. yes me and DonS are human. sometimes after a long day fighting customer issues its difficult not to be amused or a bit sarcastic sometimes. most all the threads start out with"well it would not run right but we went out anyway" type of begining.<br /> same as rubberfrogs. he knew it was not right but launched anyway.<br /> I tow them in all the time, you should hear those with no towing insurance wind up. 80K boat and cant pay a 500 dollar tow charge or afford a 110 dollar a year seatow or boat us insurance. the local seatow has 3 boats and the tow boat US has 2 22 shamrocks and 1 40 ft ex coatgaurd boat. all require daily,weekly and monthly maint whether they move or not. when we need the boat we cant stop to fix it. I have seen both capts out in fog and 30 knot winds and 6 ft seas in the rain and thunderstorms. 90% of tow jobs are done on boats that had oil changes and nothing else. most the threads about broken down boats always say the oil was changed. if I had a choice of a seawater pump change or an oil change ill take the cooling system maint everytime. I have never seen a failure due to lack of oil changes. I do see thousands of failures each year due to bad cables,batteries battery switches and cooling system failures. dont wait till the manifolds and risers rust through. change them regularly. dont wait till the engine is overheated to replace the seawater pumpo. maintain it. if you will look at the service intravel you will see its hours or calender whichever occurs first. quite a bit of the maint needed is not actually listed. it becomes the job of the technician to find,repair and educate the consumer before a failure. some techs and dealerships have a mentality of if its not broke dont fix it. this mentality will save a customer some bucks in the first years and cost him a motor,drive or coupler in the last years. your basic chevy will get groceriews for over 100K miles with noting. your basic foumular 1 racer gets a bit extra. your boat needs the same level as the foumula 1 not the basic chevy. thats why so many auto tech thoughouly hose up marine maint. most are not used to dealing with precision high performance machines that are run at or near the rated horsepower for extended periods then laid up for extended periods. and operated in the harshest conditions known to mechanical devices. I am very selective in my customers and have learned when its time to politly tell them I cannot help them and please remove the boat from my work center.<br /> I have an 18 ft invader there now. workorder stated no problems but do a tuneup. I pulled the workorder, popped the engine cover, assesed the genera condition of the engine closed the covers and handed the workorder back to the service manager with a written notation that the boat was not worth fixing and will need about 2K worth of work to repair. mind you I did not even bother with a compression test. this was based on experience. another tech got the work order. so far about 400 dollars worth of work has been done. boat still wont run and still needs another 1500 dollars sunk in it. the rig is worth maybe 1000 dollars if it ran well. now we have a mad whining customer that lied when he dropped the boat off. we have a tech that has several hours and some parts in it. we have a dealer that is not happy with anything. and the root cause was a total lack of maint ,other than oil changes, on the customers side coupled with a dealer that cannot tell an owner no.me I have no qualms telling someone their rig is junk and nothing I can do will salvage it. they may be miffed for a bit but when they spend 1500 with someone else and still have junk they are no longer miffed at me.thats a downside to my job. nothing they can break and bring me I cannot fix. its the cost verses return that I have to decide on and decide accurately and rapidly.

 

[rogerwa]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

Such is life.. This is not a condition that only manifests itself in the boating arena. the good news is that Don and Rodbolt make a good living at it.<br /><br />If people want to throw their money at something and not care for it, then who are we to judge. I am gussing that many who come here looking for help are truly trying to learn and wiil learn from their mistakes. In the case of some of the posts listed it isn't a case of neglect at all but of trying to find answers.<br /><br />Granted some people are clueless about their boats as they are not tuned in to such things. My wife could leave the garage with 4 broken shocks, 2 cylinders not firing, a Check engine light lit, and the garage door stuck in the tail gate and she probably woudln't notice unless it stopped 'going'. Not everyone is interested in being a marine tech or even about the innner working of the boat itself.<br /><br />For those of you who get lectured by the dentist for not flossing, do you like or would you rather have them just do their job?? You know you didn't floss..

 

[RubberFrog]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

Originally posted by rodbolt:<br /> <br /> same as rubberfrogs. he knew it was not right but launched anyway.

That's not right rodbolt. I took it out and the battery died (I thought). I replaced the alternator and got a new battery. I took it out again and the same thing happened. Why does that make me an idiot? Why are you presuming that I am some neglectful moron? It's funny, computer techs act the same way they fix a computer.<br />Do you know everything to know about my job? Maybe when customers like you show up I'll just treat them like a jerk for not knowing everything about my profession.<br />I appreciate you guys helping out, but I don't want to be ridiculed and insulted for it.<br />I understand why Don included my post on the list due to the way they were all structured. Why did you have to pipe in with "same as rubberfrog?" Maybe you just didn't follow through my original post or read what I wrote on here. Sorry I'm not as smart as you.<br />George