How would you have handled this?

[ajgraz]

So my daughter and I pulled into the launch ramp area after a morning of fishing the bay. At the dock was a guy in a 12-14' tinny; 25hp Johnson (late 80's vintage? 2 cylinder with the one-piece cowl) with the cowling off. He tells me it quit peeing water out of both the peehole and the exhaust ports. In retrospect, I should have asked him how long he ran it that way, and if the motor quit on it's own...

Anyway, I gave him a general overview of how to change an OB impeller. He asked if he could bring his rig to my place and have me change it out for him and help him give it a "tune-up." I told him I do not have specific first-hand knowledge of that motor, nor would I want to promise anything regarding parts availability or the need for special tools--and especially, I don't want to be the guy who finds it needs something more than just an impeller. In other words, I don't feel comfortable working on a stranger's unfamiliar motor.

I did suggest the guy join iboats.com for specifics if he wanted to tackle it himself, and gave him the name of a shop I know of near his place if he wanted a pro to do the work. He did have a rather hangdog look on his face as he paddled the short distance from the dock to his trailer (where he did have another guy helping him load up), and my young daughter chided me for not "helping that man more."

So what say ye, am I an a-hole or not?

 

[colding]

Re: How would you have handled this?

No, not an a-hole, but what would it have hurt to help him out if you had the time? You might also make a new friend.

 

[Sea Rider]

Re: How would you have handled this?

Definitely not, you told him what you knew about related motor, or if in the mood & time for helping the Samaritan, something like: ok but don't know your engine well so you'll take full responsability for the leg removel & impeller change....

Happy Boating

 

[robert graham]

Re: How would you have handled this?

You did about all you could be expected to do, and you were pleasant and couteous to him. I towed an older guy with an overheated motor back to his dock about a week ago and he seemed to really appreciate it...he didn't expect me to fix it for him! Your guy shouldn't have even asked you to work on his motor!

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: How would you have handled this?

No, not an a-hole, but what would it have hurt to help him out if you had the time? You might also make a new friend.

Whether the OP has the time or not has nothing to do with this situation. He shared his general knowledge of impeller replacement and gave some choices for getting it fixed. The OP was neither bound or obligated to fix the boat of a stranger. As far as the guy asking the OP to bring the boat to the OP's home and do the work with him - I don't think so.

ajgraz - you did the right thing regardless of your daughter's chiding. If I could fix the motor or not, I'm not bringing strangers to my home.

 

[JB]

Re: How would you have handled this?

You done good Ajgraz.

You had neither the knowledge nor the equipment to help him any more than you did.

Your daughter probably thinks her Dad can do anything. Learning that Dads have limitations is part of growing up. Learning that we have wisdom of our limitations will come along in time.

 

[rickryder]

Re: How would you have handled this?

I say you did the right thing.... Most people wouldn't have even given him a second glance let alone some useful information on how to get his boat fixed!

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: How would you have handled this?

The noive! Come to your house to change the water pump? I 'spect he'd go inside in the AC and watch tv and drink your beer with your wife while you worked on it.

You did what you should--help someone out with reasonable effort and time for the circumstances. Towing to the ramp, helping a retrieve, giving recommendations, is not the same as wrenching on it.

Also once you start wrenching on someone's motor, you will be blamed if the repairs don't go well, or even if they dom and there are subsequent problems. And working on an old motor, like an old house, will always present more problems than the one you went to fix.

No good deed goes unpunished. Minimize your exposure.

 

[BonairII]

Re: How would you have handled this?

.

No good deed goes unpunished. Minimize your exposure.

I'm all for helping people out(and I do so very often), but going to his house to change the impeller is risky. If something goes wrong, you'll be blamed unfortunately.

The OP gave the guy all the tools he needs to help himself out.

 

[LongLine]

Re: How would you have handled this?

You're definitely not an a-hole. You helped him out by pointing him in the right direction. The guy had the cowl off & recognized it wasn't peeing from either place so he isn't completely helpless.

Tom B.
(LongLine)

 

[MCNPathfinder]

Re: How would you have handled this?

You did A LOT more than what the people who frequent my lakes would have done. I miss the days where people would share their knowledge as opposed to trying to beat you to the dock to get off the lake first.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: How would you have handled this?

Well, You do not repair outboards for a living or a hobby so you did all that could be asked. Now I repair and rebuild them by word of mout recommendation. I would have told him that yes, I would work on his engine and what I would charge him. I would also tell him that there is a chance I would not be able to get parts and that there might be more damage than appears. I show him what was wrong with his engine before repairing it.

If he was OK with the price and conditions I would repair the engine.

 

[foodfisher]

Re: How would you have handled this?

Exactly the way you did.

 

[BonairII]

Re: How would you have handled this?

Sending new people to iboats is def the way to help them(help themselves). Fixing the motor for them will only make them dependent on others.

A couple days ago, a guy came to my house to look at the runabout I was selling( I had a deposit from another guy already). He had a Mercury 650 that he had just bought hours earlier.

He was new to boating/outboards, so I chewed the fat with him for about 30 minutes on what to do....and not to do with his motor.

I told him to get himself a compression tester and sign up on iboats...and we would help him.


Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day......teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

 

[Boss Hawg]

Re: How would you have handled this?

You did about all you could be expected to do, and you were pleasant and couteous to him. I towed an older guy with an overheated motor back to his dock about a week ago and he seemed to really appreciate it...he didn't expect me to fix it for him! Your guy shouldn't have even asked you to work on his motor!

Pretty much my thoughts-
The guy was much more of a Ahole than you for asking that of you---

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: How would you have handled this?

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day......teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day---teach a man to fish and he'll sit in a boat drinking beer all day.


Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.





Sorry--couldn't help it.

 

[Boss Hawg]

Re: How would you have handled this?

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day---teach a man to fish and he'll sit in a boat drinking beer all day.


Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.





Sorry--couldn't help it.

LOL-

Build a man a fire and he'll drink beer by it all day AND night

 

[paultjohnson]

Re: How would you have handled this?

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day---teach a man to fish and he'll sit in a boat drinking beer all day.


Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his lif

Sorry--couldn't help it.

Chuckle chuckle

Its risky helping someone when ya dont know thier personality. Maybe he is the kind of guy that borrows tools and never returns em, always disappears when its his turn to pick up the tab. Constantly wants help with something, but never available when you need assistance. Complains to higher ups about the restaurant, newspaper, etc service. You know the type- What happens when ya put a wrench to his old engine and a bolt head breaks off?
On the other hand he may be the type to give ya the shirt off his back, volunteers at the church, wife has cancer, would love to help him, but dang... ya just dont know what your gettin yourself into. You were helpful without taking on undue liability. Yo gotta be careful these days, people can be weird.

 

[jbjennings]

Re: How would you have handled this?

I don't think the guy was an "a-hole" for asking you to fix or help him fix the motor. I'd think of it as a compliment that he thought well enough of you to trust you to fix his motor. However, I do agree that you did the EXACTLY correct thing in this circumstance. Due to your knowledge of outboards, you knew that there was at least a fair chance that there were other problems. There's no reason to expose yourself to the risk of getting into more than you bargained for. It's just a boat motor. He can still get to work and such.
You did right. CHildren aren't experienced enough to see all the other angles involved. That's why they're supposed to listen to you!
JMO,
JBJ

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: How would you have handled this?

good point--if you let your "young daughter" guilt you out, you are in for a long road when she's a teenager! Flip that relationship while there's still time!