"But I've Been Doing It That Way For Years...."

[Viper]

Well, I got my first call this season for a cracked block! All frost plugs popped out of both engines and one block cracked, so far. Of course the response was "Ya but I've been doing it that way for years and never had a problem." It worked until it didn't! Let the season begin! Well, kind of, not so much for this guy

[Midnightsun]

Like I always say, learn by your mistakes. Unfortunately sometimes those mistakes are spendy, therefor always tell people "Do it right the first time or expect to do it again".

[bud37]

Wonder if insurance will take care of that......

[RGrew176]

This is exactly why I always leave winterizing my engines to a professional. They screw up they fix. I'm not saying I couldn't do it but I sleep better at night knowing it was"hopefully" done properly.

[Viper]

QR_BBPOST Wonder if insurance will take care of that......

Not a chance. I've been through that with people before when they ask what I can do to help them make a claim. It's not an accident, it's ignorance. You can try though!

[chpsk8]

I have freeze coverage on my motors, but the policy states that you must follow the manufacturers procedure... which in my case is pretty much remove every single drain plug and hose and pour antifreeze into it. (crusader manual states this) After 25 years I can see that none of the plugs have ever been cracked loose other than the block drains.
Sort of helps me sleep at night... not really.

[tomschauer]

About 5 years ago, during spring get ready time, a fellow at the marina noticed two freeze plugs "just fell out" over the winter.
Somehow, he was lucky enough not to crack a block. Go figure.

[Midnightsun]

QR_BBPOST This is exactly why I always leave winterizing my engines to a professional. They screw up they fix. I'm not saying I couldn't do it but I sleep better at night knowing it was"hopefully" done properly.

My first adventure into an inboard pocket cruiser. Did not know much at the time. Had a marina take care of my winter storage. Launched the boat in spring however started having over heat problems above 3500 rpm or so. Turns out both heads were cracked on my Mercruiser 5.0!. Marina refused to admit it was their mistake. Cost me a lot of $ to have it fixed. This was the beginning of my learning the ropes and DIY. A different Marina on another boat broke my water tank inlet which once again was not their fault, it was very obvious what had occurred. Had to cut the floor out to change the tank! Since then nobody but myself works on my boat with some rare exceptions.

Maybe I had bad luck but too many times have I seen shoddy work or incomplete assembly. Every spring I count the cars on the side of the road that lost a wheel after winter tire to summer tire change over. This year it was only 3 and those are only the ones I saw. Somebody forgot to tighten the bolts on a wheel!

Not saying all professionals are not good however when you find one, hang on to him because they are worth their weight in gold. I have a guy called Tony, he is great and actually did all the work 2 years ago when I ran aground. He definitely is a keeper and worth his weight in gold.

[pepmyster]

Completely agree. Do everything myself. (When I can) I take my knowledge from the automotive field , many times has to be tweaked for marine, but I can say that I took my time and checked everything 3 times. Yes, crap does happens to the best of us. True to the fact that when you find a really honest and respectfully tech that works on your vessel with the same care as if it was their own, hold on to them. Boy, Have I learnt a lot from some really great people. And, still learning.

[Viper]

I'm a tech but I agree, there are some out there that make me wonder how and why they're in the industry. You get that in all industries though, it seems pride in workmanship simply isn't that important anymore. I've always thought that part of the problem in this industry are the marina operators, they have a huge influence in the quality of workmanship we all end up with, and I fear it's getting worse.