Boating sure is expensive

[thrasher]

I bought my first boat and it had a broken starter motor mount. the first shop I went t, told me I needed a new engine (mercruiser 4.3L V6) and it would cost $5500 for the new motor and changing it out. I took the engine out myself, welded the mount and put the engine back in (it works great) total cost $200 for a new starter motor and a couple of hours of my time.
Now my ignition cut-out switch (when you put the Alpha 1 gen 2 drive into gear) is not working correctly. I take the boat to a different shop, they tell me I need to replace two cables (lower shift cable and accelerator cable) and that it will cost $740! They say it's 4 hours labour to change the accelerator cable!! I just can't believe it would take 4 hours to change any cable.,. I am regretting that I didn't check and change the shift cable when I had the engine out, but it looks simple enough to do (drop the outdrive).

Are these prices the norm for boat ownership, or have I just found some very expensive boat shops here inAustin?

Gary

 

[JB]

Re: Boating sure is expensive

Pretty normal, I think. Running a shop is quite expensive if you do it right.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Boating sure is expensive

Ayuh,........ If you're Handy enough to do the work Yourself,......

Why are you even Going to these Shops in the 1st place,..??

(when you put the Alpha 1 gen 2 drive into gear)

Ayuh,........ I don't know just What the issue is,......
But,......
That Switch is only supposed to Work when coming OUT of gear,+ only In the water........

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Boating sure is expensive

Bring
Out
Another
Thousand

 

[AguaSki]

Re: Boating sure is expensive

Yep, boating is a big waste of money, but I sure have a lot of fun wasting my money on boating. Any other form of wasting money hurts. Just about any hobby requires a fair amount of cash to keep up with the hobby, so try to do the work yourself and enjoy the water.

 

[thrasher]

Re: Boating sure is expensive

Thanks guys.

Bondo, I am just lazy and wasn't sure what was causing my problem! I would put the engine into gear, you could hear a gentle clunk as it engaged, then as I moved the throttle forward the engine would die. I checked the cutout switch and saw that it was operating after the outdrive had gone into gear. I didn't know what would cause this (or how to adjust it) so I took it to the shop. They told me what the problem is and have ordered the 2 cables that I need, I will now find the time to fit them...

Gary

 

[Willyclay]

Re: Boating sure is expensive

Before you start swapping out cables, you may want to look at the procedure for adjusting the cutout switch. I'm not an expert but maybe one of the forum guru's on Mercruisers will comment on this.

 

[oops!]

Re: Boating sure is expensive

i agree! check the switch not the cables.
some boat dealerships can be pretty mercyless.
talk to other boaters in the area. find out who is doing the best work and cares about his coustomers. that will be your mechanic!
good luck
p.s. can u lend me fifty bucks for boat gas? I spent all the money i had fixing it. now i cant afford to use it!

 

[2Smokinya]

Re: Boating sure is expensive

I work at a boatyard, and yes those prices look right. My yard charges 100 bucks an hour, a lot of customers react like you do. I'm pretty happy I'm mechanically inclined.