Issue with Fays service dept

[Yosemite Sam]

Originally Posted by Belmont Resident

When the boat was put into reverse it vibrated and clunked as if things were not meshing properly. Fay’s found and replaced a rusted and bound up gamble bearing then returned boat to us. Two or three consecutive returns netted little change and the mechanic pretty much stating they did not know what the problem was, but suggested the possibility of rebuilding the outdrive.
I believe the severely worn bushings coupled with the broken steering cable left enough play in the system to induce a severe vibration due to it being a duo-prop and the amount of torque it produces when put into gear. Pretty much everything from the steering wheel to the outdrive had a large amount of play in it as determined by a different mechanic.
As for getting upset with the marina yes I am. The boat was cleaned up and launched by my wife. I had no time to look into the problem due to my busy schedule that is why we took it to a marine. As for throwing things out there, all of the problems found were found by the mechanic at Irwin’s in short order.
I have a troubleshooting and diagnostics (electro-mechanical engineering) background having done so for 20 years before getting out of it and becoming a self employed contractor. So I have a really good understanding of the operation of most moving parts and was able to fully understand what was presented to me by both Fay’s and Irwin’s.
As for Fays Marina before this happened I had reservations about bringing the boat there.
As you drive into the place you are greeted with a picture of a cross between a dump and a boat junk yard. This has been brought up in conversation long before this happened with people who go there to do work on boats. I’ve been to a lot of marina’s around the lake and Fay’s is one of the most disorganized I’ve seen.

Question 1: After replacing the Gimble Bearing, did the outdrive go into reverse without anymore vibration and clunking? Forget about the other problems for now and state whether the outdrive is OK or not.

Question 2: How many times did your wife bring back the boat, 2 or 3 times? Certainly you must know if it's 2 or 3. After your wife brought back the boat the first time, what did she say they did to it? Then, after she brought the boat back the 2nd time, what did your wife say they did to it. Then if in fact there was a 3rd time, what did your wife say they did to it? Or did your wife keep bringing it back and each time they said “I don't know what's wrong"? Also did you bring the boat back at anytime?

Question 3: Everything from the steering wheel to the outdrive that had a large amount of play does not happen overnight. Why was all of this neglected over the years that it took to happen? Must be your maintenance schedule was a little lax.

Question 4: When you put the boat away last year, was everything working good? It seems to me that the boat must have had the same problem and you just ignored it. Then you stored it away with out properly greasing the Gimble Bearing which caused it to rust.

Question 5: If you know so much about mechanical parts and how they work, why didn't you at least look the boat over a little bit before you made your wife get into so much trouble. It seems like you have plenty of time to complain about it now.

Question 6 : Did you finally get the problems fixed and did they do it right the first time?


I really don't understand why you brought the boat to Fay's in the first place. Your remarks about them makes it look like no matter what they did you wouldn't have been satisfied. Also because you were the third party in this whole thing, do you think maybe there was a communication gap between you, your wife, and Fay's?

This whole thing reminds me of people who take there car to be serviced no more than once in ten years and then complain because they find things wrong with it.
I kinda think that maybe you might be are one of these people.