Alumacraft 1436LT Conversion

[LDUBS]

Replying to a post about Muffs vs. Tank vs. Water testing I got to thinking about my timing again & I tried calling the local shop to make an appointment to have some fine tuning adjustments made in their tank and they want you to drop it off and they'll get to it within in a few days...am I just too uptight or does anyone else find this unprofessional and unacceptable? The motor is operational, I just don't have the test prop to be able to correctly adjust and synchronize everything.

What's so hard about saying bring it by in two weeks on Monday morning and I'll get to it during the day & you can pick it up later that day when it's done? That's how any auto mechanic would have handled scheduling. Not having someone telling you to leave your personal property outside on their lot where they take no responsibility if anything happens to it and it's exposed to the weather and whenever they get to it they'll get to it & give you a call.

The only two places that I have contacted have a similar practice, namely drop it off on Monday and they will have it done between then and the end of the week. I was a little surprised like you. Must be a standard practice for the marine repair places. I suppose it allows for the most efficient use of the mechanics time and hopefully keep costs down. One big difference however is both of the places I contacted had gated/fenced storage lots so there is some security. I would be pretty hesitant to leave my boat setting on a trailer in an open lot.

 

[Y_J]

A couple years ago I took a small OB into the local marine shop right after my boat had been flipped on the Chattahoochee. I explained to them what happened, as asked them to make it right before the water started rusting up the insides. A month later they still hadn't got to it. so I finally just picked up the motor and told them I'd deal with it myself. With that particular dealer/shop I figured out that if you didn't have about a 150hp or bigger they didn't even want to mess it and they should have told me that to begin with.

 

[onthewater102]

Little addition in the works - making a transom bracket to raise the motor and (hopefully) add a tilt & trim option as well. Right now I've got the material test fit together, next step is to test the height on the water then pull it all back off and add the Lenco actuator. We'll see then if it has enough torque to adjust the trim angle under power. If nothing else it will have taken the cavitation plate from 2 5/8" below the plane of the bottom of the boat to roughly 3/8" above it with 4.5" of setback.

 

[jethro]

What's so hard about saying bring it by in two weeks on Monday morning and I'll get to it during the day & you can pick it up later that day when it's done? That's how any auto mechanic would have handled scheduling. Not having someone telling you to leave your personal property outside on their lot where they take no responsibility if anything happens to it and it's exposed to the weather and whenever they get to it they'll get to it & give you a call.

I feel so lucky with my contact. He used to be the head mechanic at a premium shop here in NH and now works for a municipal water department. He has a 4 day on 3 day off schedule and his workshop (to die for- gantry crane, better than most pro shops) doesn't have a lot of room for storage. None basically, he can have one boat at a time. So I make an appointment, drop off on a weekday like on my way to work, and pick it up after work. That is how it should work. He's every bit as expensive as a major shop, but so worth it.

 

[akboats]

liking the build. coming along great.

 

[onthewater102]

New cart/trailer for the boat. Needs a paint job, but the weather wasn't cooperating for that. After paint it'll get the 4' long bunks from the old cart, the top rails are 32.5" long 10 gauge angled steel I scored off an old lay-z-boy couch, the wheels have ball bearing axles and are 8" solid rubber rated for 500lbs each, so I will not be repeating the issues that plagued the other cart.

Welded it up on Saturday, ran out of CO2 halfway through, so the later flux-core welds are quite a bit messier...oh well, they're functional, not getting graded on the prettiness of a boat cart anyway. Gives my 14' access to the lakes with public beaches & gated boat launches in the off season without having to remove the motors.

 

[onthewater102]

Little update, added a spotlight to the front and a cigarette lighter socket to plug it into so I can tuck it away out of the way when it's not needed.

 

[onthewater102]

Finishing up on the 16' boat and losing the argument with my wife to keep this boat has left me getting ready to sell it.

I'm using the Terrova on the 16' so this will be listed for sale with a motorguide bow mount, the steering wheel/remote controls/mariner outboard have been removed to get the design back to its original POU and in their place will be a Honda 15hp 4-stroke tiller that I have had in long-term storage in the basement which will be verified to be working before selling. The carb was drained but I don't know whether there are any gremlins in there from having been stored for so long. HDSI thru-hull sensor for humminbird model fish finders will remain with the boat, as will the cart I made to hand launch it from beaches when ramps aren't available and the cover support framing.

I'll have it available for on the water test driving for anyone interested.

 

[LDUBS]

Someone will get a nice boat.