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Reminder: check boat carefully after service


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This is just a friendly reminder to make sure you check your boat carefully after picking up from service because even good dealers make honest mistakes.  I picked up my boat this week after the 10hr service only to discover the hard way that they disconnected my raw water intake and left it unhooked.  Had 6 inches of water in the bottom of my boat and just got it back onto the trailer when the temp warning started going off.  Shut it down, winched it up on the trailer, pulled the plug to drain when I discovered the water intake was disconnected from the thru hull.   Not out to flame the dealer, they are replacing the impeller and checking motor and vdrive to make sure there is no other damage.  Just want to save someone else the trouble in case it happens to them.  I opened the back hatches to look for any problems right after startup and I didn't see anything.  It wasn't until I opened the vdrive cover under the back seat that I saw all the water and that was after the auto bildge kicked on and I knew something was wrong.  I don't think it got too hot, the alarm just started going off and we immediately  shut it down but prob ran 7-10 min with no water intake.

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29 minutes ago, Txstoj said:

 I picked up my boat this week after the 10hr service only to discover the hard way that they disconnected my raw water intake and left it unhooked.

I dont see this a being part of a 10 hr service, mistake or not, but I do see it as part of winterizing and not mistakenly left off. Unless, their tech did this making it easier to run on garden hose over fake a lake. Then yes, 100% mistake. 

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10 hours ago, MLA said:

I dont see this a being part of a 10 hr service, mistake or not, but I do see it as part of winterizing and not mistakenly left off. Unless, their tech did this making it easier to run on garden hose over fake a lake. Then yes, 100% mistake. 

I can see taking it off being *part* of winterizing in the same way that removing the oil filter is *part* of an oil change.  There's no reason that I know of not to put all the hoses back together again after draining.  Never heard of a winterization failure resulting from having the raw water intake hose reconnected  after being drained.

Well I guess other than convincing a customer that they also need to bring the boat back again in the spring to be "summerized" (i.e. have the work we shoulda done in the fall finished for an extra charge).

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@shawndoggy

It seems to be very common practice for marine shops to leave hoses and plugs out as part of winterizing. The thinking is that if a winterized customer boat is turn-key, and the owner takes a spin on a warm winter day, and boat is left undrained, engine damage might occur. This can easily turn into a blame game of the dealer not properly winterizing. With plugs out and hoses off and the presumption that the boat will return in the spring to be made ready for summer, the dealer has reduced their liability for a failed winterization. 

So this hose could have been a miscommunication winterizing or mistake after using it for fresh water rather then a fake-a-lake. 

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Good reminder though.   Back before I did my own winterization I took my boat in to be winterized.   I picked up the boat and drove home, only to realize that the gas cap was left hanging by the metal chain rather than being screwed back in.   The 1/2 hour drive back to my house must have had it swinging around, put some pretty good scratches in the gel coat.  Luckily they buffed out pretty well and the gel coat there is white so no one would notice at this point but me.  I can't really complain because the place was doing me a big favor by squeezing me in.  I live in one state and my boat is in another.   They were letting me drop off/pick up within a couple of hours so I wouldn't need to make the multi-state trip twice.

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4 hours ago, MLA said:

@shawndoggy

It seems to be very common practice for marine shops to leave hoses and plugs out as part of winterizing. The thinking is that if a winterized customer boat is turn-key, and the owner takes a spin on a warm winter day, and boat is left undrained, engine damage might occur. This can easily turn into a blame game of the dealer not properly winterizing. With plugs out and hoses off and the presumption that the boat will return in the spring to be made ready for summer, the dealer has reduced their liability for a failed winterization. 

So this hose could have been a miscommunication winterizing or mistake after using it for fresh water rather then a fake-a-lake. 

Given that an intake hose being off could sink the boat or seize an engine, that really would need to be clearly communicated in writing with lots of exclamation points.  I'm thinking a big "CAUTION" sign zip tied to the steering wheel.

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