I really try not to leave negative reviews for small businesses, but this experience was…read morefrustrating enough that I felt it was worth sharing.
We initially hauled our boat out at this yard for a survey. They offer a program where, if you return within 30 days to have the quoted work completed, the original haul-out charge is credited toward the work.
During that first haul-out, the yard had the opportunity to see and inspect the entire bottom of the boat. We then received a quote to have the bottom prepared and repainted.
Approximately three weeks later, we returned based on that quote and had the boat hauled out again to have the work completed. Once the boat was already out of the water and on their property, we were told there were more barnacles than expected and that the price would need to increase.
This is where I had an issue.
I completely understand that estimates for boat work can change. Boats are complicated, and sometimes a shop starts taking something apart or opens up an area and discovers corrosion, damage, or additional work that could not reasonably have been seen beforehand. In that situation, I would absolutely understand an additional charge.
That was not what happened here.
The additional charge was for barnacles on the bottom of the boat. The bottom had been fully visible to the yard during the first haul-out just a few weeks earlier. Nothing had to be opened, disassembled, or investigated to discover them. They were right there on the hull when the original estimate was prepared.
The additional work involved removing the barnacles and preparing the surface before sanding and painting. I was genuinely surprised that this was suddenly being treated as an unexpected condition after the yard had already seen the bottom and quoted the job.
When I questioned why this had not been included in the original estimate, I was met with a defensive response along the lines of, "What do you want us to do, the work for free?"
No. I wasn't asking anyone to work for free. I was asking them to honor, or at least reasonably stand behind, a quote they provided after already inspecting the exact area in question.
The most frustrating part was the timing. Once a boat is hauled out and sitting in a yard, the boat owner has very little practical leverage. Moving the boat somewhere else means launching it again, potentially transporting it, arranging another haul-out, and incurring substantial additional expense. I did not appreciate having the price renegotiated after the boat was already back out of the water.
I had actually been warned about this yard by the previous boat owner when I purchased the boat. I chose to give them a chance anyway because they were one of the available yards in Long Beach at the time.
To be fair, they were accommodating with scheduling and worked within my timeframe for hauling the boat out, which I appreciated. I also thought the quality of the finished bottom work was good.
For additional context, I was quoted $180 per hour for labor, including work that appeared to be primarily manual labor rather than specialized technical work.
My negative experience is therefore not about the quality of the finished work, nor do I expect a boatyard to guarantee that every estimate can never change. My issue is much narrower: the condition that supposedly justified the price increase was fully visible when the original quote was prepared, yet the additional charge was raised only after the boat had already been hauled out for the second time and was sitting in their yard.
Had they identified the barnacle removal and additional preparation during the first haul-out and included it in the original estimate, I would have had no problem paying for it. It was the way the price changed after the boat was already committed to the yard that left me very dissatisfied with the experience.
