Insurance and winterizing engines

[Midnightsun]

I have had the "professionals" crawling around my boats in the past. My early experience was 2 cracked heads come spring on my 23' way back. Second adventure was a cracked water tank that required me to cut open the floor for replacement. Try to blame it on their winterization failure? Good luck! Never again, prefer to do things myself so I know it is done correctly. The other issue is I have yet to see anyone who works on a boat that does not leave a mess. Not talking about tools and debris, mostly boot marks and black fingerprints all over the place.

[Viper]

There's no doubt there's incompetence in the industry but you can say the same about all industries. Some techs are hackers, have a sloppy work ethic, and have no regard for someone else's property. I see it myself sometimes and I admit the lack of care is frustrating and embarrassing. There are however many that are very knowledgeable, take great care in what they do, respect the property of others, and have no problem fessing up to an error and taking responsibility for it. The trick is finding a tech that fits that criteria, and if he works for a marina, finding a marina that has the same ethic and backs it up. When you find one, hold on tight!

[km1125]

Qr Bbpost

Lol...here is a picture of one of the staff members running for dear life as my boat rolled backwards thru the lot towards the docks. Completely free rolling - they got it stopped by throwing 6x6 timbers under the wheels - they tried 2x4s but the lift just kept rolling away...

I cannot imagine watching that happen!!! I think I would rather the straps broke and it just fell down on concrete and busted into 1000 pieces. At least it would be over quickly!

[jcoll]

Personal experience on a twin engine 29' express raw water cooled. Purchased the boat in November and part of the deal was winterizng and storage. The business went under in January and so did my newly acquired "hole in the water". Loooong story short - both engines froze (poor attempt made by the business to winterize) Good news was insurance covered the damage for "new" not rebuilt engines. Bad news - reduction for betterment brought the payment down to the cost of rebuilts. Okay, that seems an obvious choice however when I made that choice I also gave up the coverage for poor workmanship on the job because "exact" parts as listed were not used. Yes there was POOR workmanship! It all worked out even in the end except about 2/3 of the season was lost. Now when I get a policy I check freezing clause carefully. On this boat I called to clarify the wording in the contract about "professional" or "personal" winterization service and was told it didn't matter, I would be covered I don't plan on testing that statement but I did make notes on the conversation.