Boatyard charges

D

Doryman

New member
The Ranger Tug folks started discussing boatyard charges but I wanted to get the topic out for broader visibility. Here is my contribution:

North Island Boat Company (Skyline Marina, Anacortes)

20 hour service on 2 Yamaha 150s. Drained oil from both engines. Changed lower unit oil. Changed oil filters and added new oil. Checked the plugs.

Labor $423
2 ea Yamaha oil filters 79.40
11 qt Quicksilver oil $66.99
1.5 qt Chevron RPM Synthetic gear lube $12.17
2 ea filter disposal $3
Materials total $161.56
Total $584.56

Comments?

Warren
 
A really good reason to do your own service! Even using the engine maker's oils and filters, you bill would be a fraction of what it is. Many marinas, shops, bill out a $95+ an hour and they go by a manual, rather than actualy time used. A couple of 5 gallon buckets (3 would be fine), If you want the pump, filter wrench and a large screw driver are all of the tools needed. It is also a good ideal to get on of the manuals for the engines. I have the Seloc manuals for my 115 Yahama, the 130 Honda and 150 Suzuki's. You can dispose of the oil at your local auto parts store or Wally world. I generally use one of the premium oils--but often for the first change or two, I will use the manufactuer's oil--they are made by one of the usual refinary's.
 
thataway":enippg0q said:
A really good reason to do your own service!
Click to expand...

This was a real wakeup call. I can't believe how much more the boatyard charges than a typical automotive service center for what I am sure is essentially the same service.

How much would you expect to pay to repair a chip in your gelcoat (I know you would do it yourself, but I am going to have the boatyard give me a price first, after seeing what their charges are for mechanical services.

I just went to the Seloc website. They don't have manuals for Yamaha engines past 2004, and mine are 2006. Any idea why, and where to find the correct manuals?

Warren
 
A friend tried to change the oil in his outdrive. Sadly, he poured it in
from the top instead of pumping it in from the bottom. Result: destroyed
drive. My point is read the manual...

Mike
 
11 qt Quicksilver oil $66.99
Click to expand...

That's Mercury branded . . . chances are your filters say "Quicksilver" too. Here's what I'd do: get the filter numbers find what it would cost you to buy (their parts dept., Mercury, another dealer, West Marine, whatever). You'll need them anyway sooner or later. If you go back to the same place, at least you won't get hosed on filters. I'm with Bob -- if at all possible, do your own stuff. Your oil drain is probably easy to get to on the port side of the engine, and checking the fuel filter is the only other thing the do (if they do it). Demo of that on "Intracoastal 7 Caloosahatchee River" - they're all very similar.

On edit: oops - the Orange River volume has oil/gas/etc:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEHqqZirdLc
 
mikeporterinmd":3fk59v2c said:
A friend tried to change the oil in his outdrive. Sadly, he poured it in
from the top instead of pumping it in from the bottom. Result: destroyed
drive. My point is read the manual...
Mike
Click to expand...

Agreed! You NEED to have, and READ the manual if you're gonna do this stuph yourself...and you should do this stuph yourself in my opinion.
It's not rocket science, and a good manual tells every step. The REASON to do this yourself is because you never know what idiot any service center may assign the task of a simple oil change and lower unit service. Chances are that the top guys are busy with power heads and carb rebuilding.
I'm no mechanic, but after near tragedy on my motorcycles due to some fool in the service department....I do ALL of the work on my bikes, boats, and cars....as long as it's within my capabilities.
 
We just recently hit the 20 hour mark too. We hauled the boat ourselves and delivered it to the boat yard, had them change the oil and put the boat back in the water (which they said would cost $3 per foot, but the bill indicates they charged $4.50).

Here's the itemization that arrived in the mail today (this is for 2 Suzuki 40 HPs):

FILTER, OIL DF25, 2 at $8.89, $17.78
SUZ 10W40 QUART, $4.19
SML FLTR REPLAC $20.95
1 LB. RAGS, $2.45
HP GR LUBE 30-50 (17 oz) 2 at $7.95, $15.90
OIL DISP-RECYCLE FEE/GAL, 1.50 at $2.75, $4.13
1GL 10W40-EA, $23.08
Parts subtotal $88.48
Mechanical Labor, 2 hrs. at $85.00, $170
Shop supplies, $40.35
Sales tax, $4.22
Labor total (includes launch), $269.99
Grand total, $402.05

Yikes.

One pound of rags?? I could have given them some!

I'd better learn how to do this myself :roll: .
 
I have always done my own service on all my equipment and will continue to do so except my autos and truck.

With Jiffy Lube and other outlets being real competitive in the oil change/service it is not worth the time for me to do it. Now the new car service centers are being competitive in their prices.

Even if a shop did not charge an arm and a leg, I would still do my own service on my outboards. By the time I hook up the boat and drag it to the shop, then go back to pick it up and drag it back home, I could have done the service myself.

The two charges above, seem to be high to me.
________
Dave dlt.gif
 
Roscoe,
Wonder how long it took to launch the boat? The labor at $85 an hour would indicate that they took 3 hours to launch. Then there is the "shop supplies" after they charged you for each item. (one thing they didn't charge for is the new washer for the drain plugs which you should use when changing oil--by the 10 pack they are about 50 cents.) It takes me less than two hours to do the oil, lube, lower unit on the two Suzuki's on the Tom Cat, and that is with the boat on the lift and I have to go under the boat with a skiff.

The rags were to pick up all of the oil they spilled...

I generally use the brand specific filters on the outboards, but not on the inboards and diesels.

Also is is good to know how to change the fuel filters (usually an inline plus the filter on the engine). I always keep a couple of extra fuel filters on the boat.
 
Warren,
The word that comes to mind is Apalling. Those charges are outrageous! The labor indicates they spent around 5 hours doing the job. Hard to justify when an amateur like me can do the same job in 2 hours in my driveway. $40 for an oil filter! Unbelievable!
 
Reading this thread makes me glad I elected to do all the engine maintenance myself. I invested $120 in the Honda shop manual and a few bucks for lower drive oil pump and grease gun. Takes about about two hours (at puttering speed) to change both oils, and hit all the lub points.

And don't forget to take into account the piece of mind in knowing the job was done right. Last week when my boat was on the wash rack my friend noticed white foam dripping from the 150 Yamaha on the boat next to us. Turns out the owner had just had his engine serviced and apparently the drain plug on the lower unit had vibrated out- bet money the drive was toast.

One thing puzzling to me on the prior posts is changing the oil filter for the 20 hr service. My Honda 135 manual states this is an annual or 200hr service. Is this different on Yamahas and Suzukis?
 
I am going to talk to the boatyard manager on Monday and suggest that he review the labor charges on the invoice. His response may be revealing about how they do business (this is my first experience with them.) I am also going to ask Master Marine and EQ what they charge for the same services.

Also, it looks like no manuals are available from third parties. The only manuals available from the Yamaha website are the owner's manuals. Looks like I am going to have to buy a shop manual from the dealer parts department, for megabucks. :evil: Anyone have any other suggestions for a source for the manual?

Thanks,
Warren
 
Hi Warren!

I had the same folks work on my Osprey when I bought it. During the sea trial I noticed that the voltage wasn't where it should be, and it turned out the alternator belt had broken. There was a spare set of belts onboard, so I asked them to replace the belts. They called me to tell me that the oil and water were low, and asked if I wanted them topped off. I said OK.

Total bill: $280 (and remember, I supplied the belts).
 
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