Being new to town, someone we met recommended Outback Marine. We took our boat in last winter to have it winterized and to have the company check the engine due to engine loss earlier in the summer. We were told the timing for everything would be a couple of months (close to December), which was fine considering the time of the year.
In January, we called to ask about timing. We were informed Outback Marine was backed up and it would take longer. We waited and as spring came, we called again. We were told the issue was a cylinder and we needed a new motor. Soon after, we picked up the boat and brought it home.
Upon inspection of the boat, we discovered a broken rocker--the engine culprit, which meant we did not need a new motor. He also found a crack in the motor, which happened because the boat was not properly winterized. We called the company. They said to bring in the boat and did own up, stating they did not properly winterize the boat. This realization did make us nervous as we feared other things had gone wrong. When Outback agreed to fix the crack, we asked them to install a new fin as ours was broken. They estimated approximately $100 for a new fin with approximately one to two weeks turnaround.
Over the next couple of weeks, we called to check in on the boat repairs. We were told parts were on back order, the motor wasn't finished, etc. We returned to the marine to try and get the boat on the water while waiting for the fin. The engine did not run, which did not make sense. We talked with someone at Outback again and they did not have an answer. Were almost always talking to someone different and it appeared there was not a great deal of communication passed between employees.
We returned the boat to the marine the same day we tried taking it into the water and continued to wait for the new fin. Another week or so later, we returned to pick up the item after we called and learned the boat was fixed. When picking up the boat, my husband was told the fin was more expensive than originally estimated (over $100 more) as they had to order a different fin than originally thought. We were not informed of the additional cost and were not asked if we would approve the more expensive purchase. Patience now gone, my husband just paid the bill.
When he brought the boat home to research the issue, which my husband now thought was a fuel problem, we discovered that someone disconnected a wire. My husband reconnected the wire and now the boat runs. Not only did we almost buy a new motor, which wasn't necessary, our boat was never winterized, items were disconnected and not reconnected, and we were not asked permission for a much more expensive fin. We take blame for not arguing the price of the fin and for not calling more to find out a timeframe after we were quoted a much shorter time frame. read more