Can't understand how he is still in business. Bought a used boat and took it in for a check up. Said to tune it up, give it the once over before taking it out on the river. He wrote it down on a little notepad he kept in his shirt pocket. Three weeks later a few hundred dollars less I took it out on the river. Got away from the launch, jammed the throttle and nearly got tossed out of the boat as it veered sharply to the right. Damaged steering cable, highly corroded in easy sight. I had him replace the cable with one I'd found at a boat salvage yard and after a few hundred more to have Dennis install it, the boat finally turned under power.
Sold that boat and bought another with a '90 something Force outboard. Since they have a well deserved poor reputation, I told Dennis to check it out, tune it up but not do anything if it wasn't worth it. He said to leave it an it would be ready the following week. I went back each week for a month to remind him it was supposed to be ready. When he said to pick it up and bring my check book, a few hundred more, I took it over to Garibaldi.
The motor wouldn't idle. It would start but if you didn't give it throttle, it would die. So I played bumper boats getting out of the tight marina. On open water, the motor ran fine. It just wouldn't run at low RPM. Back to Dennis, more weeks and more hundreds and it was pronounced fixed. Back to Garibaldi, more bumper boating, back to Dennis. He said carb problems.
When I was finally able to pick it up again, he gave me the invoice but there were no readings for cylinder pressures. He wrote them in for each of the six cylinders as between 120 ~ 130. Didn't seem right so when I got home I pressure tested the motor with my gauge. #1 cylinder was only 95psi, the others in the 120s.
My boat had two tubes on each side that let the deck drain out through the transom. On the outside there is a little rubber flapper to keep water from coming inside when backing the boat or have a swell come from behind. I had Dennis replace those four tubes with aftermarket replacements. I later found the starboard tubes had loose - as in dangling - stainless steel hose clamps that hadn't been tightened inside the transom. Coulda sunk that puppy. Such was the workmanship and craftsmanship I experienced for the hundreds and hundreds of dollars handed over after waiting week after week of being promised it would be ready.
I don't go to Dennis anymore for anything. If you are wise, you won't either. read more
