Good mechanic?

[Tips Up]

Anyone recommend a good outboard mechanic?

My motor is a mid 80's 60 Horse Johnson. It has run great for the 1 1/2 years that I have had it until recently after being serviced. I figured I should take it in for a tune up and check over as I had no idea when it had last been serviced. Since I got it back It stalls at trolling speed. Neutral is fine and high speed great.
I have had it back to the shop that tuned it but have lost any faith or respect for them and would rather cut my losses and move on to someone else.

Thanks
Tips

 

[alley cat]

Depending where you are, I would reccomend Tiptons in Lake Cowichan for the older OMC outboards, the mechanic in the shop(Mark) is one of the best.
If there is a serious problem they won't jam you around nor will they go ahead without your permission to take anything major on.


AL

 

[scott craven]

where are you located tips ?

scotty

 

[Tips Up]

I'm in Victoria.

The motor is very clean and I don't believe it has a ton of hours on it. Ran like a top before taking it in so I don't expect it has any major problems.

Thanks.
Tips

 

[otter]

Sooke Marine Centre, see Peter.

B Gibb

 

[scott craven]

mark shubrook 744-9720 cell
he's good and reasonable
"Runabout marine"
he is in victoria as well

scotty

 

[Fins -n- Skins]

I would agree with Craven. Give Runabout a call, he comes right to your door.

Tournament Proven !

 

[Tips Up]

Thanks for the responses.

Any thoughts on S&G? I want to be on the water this weekend and they are convenient for me.

Tips.

 

[explorer185]

I have respect for Ken the mechanic there, if they are still on their off season rates and you are in a hurry, then go for it.

 

[scott craven]

bought my honda from s&g, they rigged it and did a good job.
no surprises when the bill came .

scotty

 

[marula]

Had S&G repower my boat plus some tune up work. Was happy and would go there again.

 

[codfish]

sooke marine center is a joke . Spent 750 on my trailer at the end of august and the brake s siezed he put a flush kit on new drums and shoes. He couldn't even take the tires off to look at the problem. Many other people have had problems with this place.

Thus the nickname row home (holm).

cheers codfish

dy

 

[Tips Up]

Thanks for the feed back.

Took the boat to S&G yesterday and had a great experiance. Very professional and fair.

As soon as I arrived the mechanic came out and had a look. He showed me where the ajustment screws for mixture and idle are located and discussed the problems that I was having. It was idling high in and making a "thump" when puting it in gear and then was stalling at trolling speed. He asked me what RPM it idled at and I told him I did not know as the tach did not work.

By the time I signed the work order and was leaving... he had it in their water tub and was having a look. 1 hour later I got a call that it was ready to go.

He had made adjustments to the carberator mixture, reset the linkage and adjusted the idle. He also went above and beyond to have a quick look at the tach and found a wiring problem.
My motor now idles at 650 rpm on a working tach and seems to run at trolling speed in the tub. My bill was for 3/4 hour service. Under $80 with tax!! (many shops would charge the full hour) I hope for a sea trial this weekend.

As you will notice in my original post I did not mention the shop that I went to first that created this problem. I don't normally slag anyone as I see no personal gain. In this case though I feel that the gain would be in keeping you fellow fisherman from having the same bad experiance and spending unnecessary money.

So.. I do not recommend Advantage Marine in Brentwood Bay.
I took in a boat that ran well for a maintanence tune up. I got it back running very poorly. It took weeks for me to get a hold of the shop to have the issue dealt with. No return phone calls and no effort to rectify my problem. Plenty of attitude when I finally did get it back in. The adjustments were done with the muffs on and not in a tub which is necessary to create back pressure. They told me there was no idle adjustment screw on this motor (which is located below the fly wheel)... I could go on...

S&G Power gets my future business and a top reference from me!!
It is important to have confidence in your motor and a respect for the ocean. Safety first!!

Tips

 

[Yote]

Though I am not a big fan of S&G myself, for other non-marine realated issues, it was a good post. People need to know.