jrmfg17
Registered
Ok, get a drink and a snack first. Sit back and prepare for my sob story. It all starts about 6 weeks ago. A co-worker/friend of my girlfriend sells us a his 23ft 1997 Caravelle walkaround. It is equipped with a 200HP Evinrude. Both the boat and the engine have 266hrs. We go for the test ride and all seems well. I had SouthEastern Marine in St Petersburg, perform an inspection and they give it the clean bill of health. So, Sheila and I purchase the boat.
Four days later, my buddy and I after working 12 hrs all night, decide to take the boat out for the maiden voyage with me at the helm. We launch out of south tampa and go to the Skyway for some fishing. The boat seems to be doing good. But after about 45 min at the Skyway, it doesn't seem to be running too good. So, we start heading back. The whole way back we are losing power. Then the motor quits and won't restart. I try several times with no luck. I perform the basic diagnostic check and can't figure out the problem. I call SeaTow and 2 hours later they get to us and tow us back to the launch. ($740 tow bill, but I had just purchased a membership earlier in the week so it was free) Oh, and the tilt motor goes out also. What a day!!!
Now you can imagine my anger/frustration at the situation. Just 4 days ago SouthEastern Marine said the boat was tip top. Now, I'm getting towed into shore. Well, I load the boat up on the trailer and off to SouthEastern Marine I go. The next day they call me and tell me the boat needs a flywheel. New part is $900 but they find me a rebuilt part for $250 with 90 day warranty. The new trim motor was $276. I chose the rebuilt flywheel. After the flywheel and tilt motor were put in the bill came to $900. We tell the previous owner of our misfortune and frustration and he is in disbelief. After some lengthy conversations, he agrees to pay for half.
Ok, I get the boat back on Thursday evening and work all weekend. Monday morning me and the same buddy load the boat up with ice and fuel and head off to Sarasota for some spearfishing. We launch and make it no further than 800-1000 meters and start losing power fast. I immediately recognize this scenario and start limping the boat back towards shore. This time it dies about 30meters from the launch. We jumped in the water and used the anchor line and pulled the boat into the launch by hand. So, again I loaded the boat up and went back to SouthEastern Marine. Now, you can really imagine how upset I am. I let them know how frustrated I am with both them and the previous owner. I could not figure out how they could give the boat a claean bill of health, take $900 from me to fix the boat, and I still don't have a boat that runs. They assure me they will fix the problem. The next day they call me again and tell me it was a defectice rebuilt flywheel. They find another one and install it. They take it for a test ride and the boat dies again on them. They finally diagnose it as a bad upper bearing and bent main shaft. Now they want another $4,000 to re-build the motor. The previous owner and I discuss this problem and he agrees to pay half. I tell him I don't want the boat and he tells me TOUGH LUCK!!! However, he still agrees to pay for half. I don't know if the previous owner or SouthEastern Marine are bamboozilig me. But it seems like one or both of them are crooked. I'm having a hard time swallowing this pill but I guess I have too.
Now, if anybody knows of a GOOD/Trustworthy marine mechanic in the Tampa/St Pete/Clearwater area, please let me know. I'm at the peak of my frustration level.
Sorry this is such a long post but I am really frustrated. Thanks for reading and for any help.
J.R.
Four days later, my buddy and I after working 12 hrs all night, decide to take the boat out for the maiden voyage with me at the helm. We launch out of south tampa and go to the Skyway for some fishing. The boat seems to be doing good. But after about 45 min at the Skyway, it doesn't seem to be running too good. So, we start heading back. The whole way back we are losing power. Then the motor quits and won't restart. I try several times with no luck. I perform the basic diagnostic check and can't figure out the problem. I call SeaTow and 2 hours later they get to us and tow us back to the launch. ($740 tow bill, but I had just purchased a membership earlier in the week so it was free) Oh, and the tilt motor goes out also. What a day!!!
Now you can imagine my anger/frustration at the situation. Just 4 days ago SouthEastern Marine said the boat was tip top. Now, I'm getting towed into shore. Well, I load the boat up on the trailer and off to SouthEastern Marine I go. The next day they call me and tell me the boat needs a flywheel. New part is $900 but they find me a rebuilt part for $250 with 90 day warranty. The new trim motor was $276. I chose the rebuilt flywheel. After the flywheel and tilt motor were put in the bill came to $900. We tell the previous owner of our misfortune and frustration and he is in disbelief. After some lengthy conversations, he agrees to pay for half.
Ok, I get the boat back on Thursday evening and work all weekend. Monday morning me and the same buddy load the boat up with ice and fuel and head off to Sarasota for some spearfishing. We launch and make it no further than 800-1000 meters and start losing power fast. I immediately recognize this scenario and start limping the boat back towards shore. This time it dies about 30meters from the launch. We jumped in the water and used the anchor line and pulled the boat into the launch by hand. So, again I loaded the boat up and went back to SouthEastern Marine. Now, you can really imagine how upset I am. I let them know how frustrated I am with both them and the previous owner. I could not figure out how they could give the boat a claean bill of health, take $900 from me to fix the boat, and I still don't have a boat that runs. They assure me they will fix the problem. The next day they call me again and tell me it was a defectice rebuilt flywheel. They find another one and install it. They take it for a test ride and the boat dies again on them. They finally diagnose it as a bad upper bearing and bent main shaft. Now they want another $4,000 to re-build the motor. The previous owner and I discuss this problem and he agrees to pay half. I tell him I don't want the boat and he tells me TOUGH LUCK!!! However, he still agrees to pay for half. I don't know if the previous owner or SouthEastern Marine are bamboozilig me. But it seems like one or both of them are crooked. I'm having a hard time swallowing this pill but I guess I have too.
Now, if anybody knows of a GOOD/Trustworthy marine mechanic in the Tampa/St Pete/Clearwater area, please let me know. I'm at the peak of my frustration level.
Sorry this is such a long post but I am really frustrated. Thanks for reading and for any help.
J.R.
