500 Euros for a Major Engine Service? Really???

[Tranona]

That sounds like an idea worth investigating.
I wonder how much it would cost to ship the boat on a truck from Zeeland Netherlands to Amsterdam.
Then I don't need a skipper. I can learn on the inland waters, and hire a sailing instructor for a day, and wing it from there.
And I can take my time and do this work myself and learn my engine better, which I want to do eventually anyway. And I think I can manage with the prop shaft seal (stuffing box?) myself. It doesn't look especially complicated either. As long as those allen bolts come out ;-)

If the truck transport is cheaper than the shop quote, it's win win.
I'll look into it.



Right. I should be able to do the work itself. For both safety and the amount of money it will save me in the long run.

Faced with a similar problem with the boat I have just bought (November last year), which unlike yours was actually in use and everything working, I had a long discussion with the surveyor about what needed doing to make it ready for the 300 mile passage back to home and we came to the conclusion that it was better to truck it back (230 miles by road). Decision helped by the fact that I could not get full insurance for the trip without the mast being removed and at least checked. Plus the sea passage would have to wait until this year, could take 2 weeks and estimated weeks work to prepare the boat myself or pay somebody to do the work.

Cost of truck, rig preparation and lifts both ends came to around £2300. Best decision I ever made. Boat was back quickly and I could work on it at my own pace without pressure and avoid any unnecessary professional help. To my mind much more important to get the boat to where you want to keep it as soon as you can - then you have it under your control.

Complete engine checkover and changing that dodgy seal (with one made by Radice rather than Volvo) is maybe a day's work by yourself. There is nothing difficult about it and again best you learn at leisure. You are going to have the boat for a long time. Get to know it and up your skills at the same time.

 

[dunedin]

What I would recommend is that you pay for the professional to do the first service the engine, but on condition that you can be on board and watch what they are doing to learn how it is done.
We did that when we bought our boat and worked very well. I sat with a notepad and made very detailed notes, as well as taking lots of photos. Also painted red blobs of paint on a few key bolts, for future reference. Great investment.
Subsequently typed up all the notes with photos included, and have serviced myself every year since, improving the notes each time.
Did need a bit of investment in specialist tools - oil extraction pump (electric then when it expired a Pela), better filter grips, and an impeller puller - to make the job easier. Best specialist tool is a shaped plywood “spanner” for the Vetus raw water strainer lid.

 

[madabouttheboat]

The OP called it a ‘major engine service’. I suspect there are more parts than the ones mentioned in the first post. I would expect the list of parts to include:

Primary fuel filter
Secondary fuel filter
Engine oil
Oil filter
Drive belt(s)
Air filter
Engine anode(s)
Coolant
Gearbox oil
Gearbox filter (if fitted)
Impeller

Proper OEM parts at full retail will account for quite a lump of the 500.

Depending upon access, and assuming a lack of any unforeseen issues, I would expect a full engine service of this nature, inc coolant and gearbox oil change, to take 3-4 hours. Add in a bit of travel time and costs and E500 is starting to look like a bit of a bargain IMHO.

 

[Whiterose]

They change the oil in engine, transmission, water in cooling system, replace some anode (?) in cooling system, and want 500-550 Euros.
This sounds insane.
I know boat work is expensive but is this legit? Should I just do the work myself?
It's a modern Volvo D1-20, about 4 years old with almost 600 hours on the clock.
I have done basic car work, change oil, new brake pads, etc, but I'm not very physically fit at the moment and wondering if this is a PITA job then maybe I'll just pay them.

BTW, they also want 350 Euros for a new prop shaft seal installed.
Same questions.
Am I being taken for a ride? Maybe I just need to get used to the realities of boat ownership, but geez. These are lofty rates for seemingly simple work!

What do you want your son or daughter to be? A doctor, a lawyer, an engineer? How about a boat mechanic, they make more LOL

Edit: the boat sat for two years in the marina so I'm worried about water in the system, and need to sail/power her a long ways to get her home.

Had same service Same engine by Volvo agents and service and shaft seal best part of €1000 so ..engine was still under extended warranty so… in Alicante

 

[Laysula]

Learn to do it yourself.

 

[ean_p]

I don't rate your prospects of finding a good one that's not busy and who is willing to crawl around in tiny damp spaces. If you do - he'll probably never have changed a shaft seal like that or dealt with raw water cooling.

Oh well, carry on doling out the beer tokens, there's a good chap.......

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Just a thought, why not try to get a professional skipper to help you do the delivery. Providing you are up front about the boat let him see the survey and confirm any immediately necessary work has been done he will help you to do what servicing is required per voyage. It will be your cheapest option and you will get to see a service and get some basic sailing tuition.

 

[Tranona]

Just a thought, why not try to get a professional skipper to help you do the delivery. Providing you are up front about the boat let him see the survey and confirm any immediately necessary work has been done he will help you to do what servicing is required per voyage. It will be your cheapest option and you will get to see a service and get some basic sailing tuition.

See posts#16&36

 

[Fr J Hackett]

See posts#16&36

Road transport is going to be way more expensive than a delivery by sea.

 

[Tranona]

Road transport is going to be way more expensive than a delivery by sea.

The OP has already had the suggestion of a skipper and rejected it.

That is a sweeping statement. I have had 2 deliveries by road where there was not much in it costwise against a sea delivery. In the OPs situation with an unknown boat with issues that has not been used for some time and realising how much just basic things cost if done professionally road transport makes sense. You get the boat where you want it in a few days with no damage or wear and tear and can start on getting it sorted.

Different if the boat is already in commission and fully operational, the owner is doing it himself with help of necessary, but this is not the situation here.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

The OP has already had the suggestion of a skipper and rejected it.

That is a sweeping statement. I have had 2 deliveries by road where there was not much in it costwise against a sea delivery. In the OPs situation with an unknown boat with issues that has not been used for some time and realising how much just basic things cost if done professionally road transport makes sense. You get the boat where you want it in a few days with no damage or wear and tear and can start on getting it sorted.

Different if the boat is already in commission and fully operational, the owner is doing it himself with help of necessary, but this is not the situation here.

I thought price had ruled out road delivery at least delivery by sea has the option of ruling out at least one lift and cradle hire. To be honest I have little idea how much freelance delivery skippers charge .
Didn't he say it was Zeebrugge to Amsterdam? If that's correct it's only a day or less by road but it could be delivered on the water virtually all the way by canal in a couple of days which shouldn't be too taxing.

 

[Stemar]

I've always driven older cars - not bangers, now, but still a long way from new. I've always reckoned that a £500 bill for a service and MOT was firmly in the "it could have been a lot worse" category.

I recently enquired about getting Jazzcat's engines serviced - one place reckoned £300 per engine, provided I bring the boat to them. Well, no, they won't be getting the job, but I can't get myself into the tiny spaces and contorted positions needed to service a cat's engines any more (remember the joke about gynaecologist retraining to be a mechanic?), so I'll just have to pay up, though hopefully not that much, and look sweet

 

[Wansworth]

How on earth did we manage without internet advice??

 

[Fr J Hackett]

How on earth did we manage without internet advice??

People just did it, some died some didn't the gene pool benefited and we generally didn't get to hear about it.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

They change the oil in engine, transmission, water in cooling system, replace some anode (?) in cooling system, and want 500-550 Euros.
This sounds insane.
I know boat work is expensive but is this legit? Should I just do the work myself?
It's a modern Volvo D1-20, about 4 years old with almost 600 hours on the clock.
I have done basic car work, change oil, new brake pads, etc, but I'm not very physically fit at the moment and wondering if this is a PITA job then maybe I'll just pay them.

BTW, they also want 350 Euros for a new prop shaft seal installed.
Same questions.
Am I being taken for a ride? Maybe I just need to get used to the realities of boat ownership, but geez. These are lofty rates for seemingly simple work!

What do you want your son or daughter to be? A doctor, a lawyer, an engineer? How about a boat mechanic, they make more LOL

Edit: the boat sat for two years in the marina so I'm worried about water in the system, and need to sail/power her a long ways to get her home.

AFAIK, there is no anode in a VP D1-20. There isn't one in mine.

 

[ylop]

Oh well, carry on doling out the beer tokens, there's a good chap.......

That's not what I was suggesting. What I am saying is there isn't a magical pool of HGV mechanics who will do competent work on boats for much less than the cost of marine engineers. They are used to working on vehicles on ramps / over pits or with tilting cab bodies providing access to engines. They aren't used to stern glands, anodes and raw water cooling. It might be a viable solution in a remote part of the world with a skipper who knows his way round his boat and has a particular issue needing diagnosed, or something requiring special skills or tools, but it could become blind leading the blind. If the OP was in the UK and in no great rush I would suggest going on the RYA diesel engine course then DIY.

 

[sailaboutvic]

Can you send him to Mallorca, I’d like my engine(s) serviced for 500 euros! ?

Seriously though, I think they earn every penny of it. Crawling around in my engine bay is no fun!

I have some time on my hands pay my flight and hand over the £ 500 I be more then happy to do it for you.
considering many time I done it for free to help other out ,

 

[pcatterall]

Assuming that the OP would really like to be able to DIY jobs rather than fork out, then he should get stuck in. These are basic jobs that practical boat owners should be able to do.
getting the basic tools will be well worth it in the long run, getting to know the way around the engine and which tools work will be invaluable. I have to make/adapt some tools for specific jobs and its good to know they are on board.
Of course servicing the engine is only a small part of being confident that the boat is up to a long trip. Fuel tanks may have lots of gunge on the bottom just waiting to get into the filters as an example.
The road idea followed by learning to service and sail her appeals if the economies work out.

 

[Tranona]

I thought price had ruled out road delivery at least delivery by sea has the option of ruling out at least one lift and cradle hire. To be honest I have little idea how much freelance delivery skippers charge .
Didn't he say it was Zeebrugge to Amsterdam? If that's correct it's only a day or less by road but it could be delivered on the water virtually all the way by canal in a couple of days which shouldn't be too taxing.

The information given is confusing. Elsewhere he talked about "hundreds of miles in the North Sea" and don't recall any mention of road delivery apart from my suggestion -see my post#16. Only after that did the possibility of a canal route enter the conversation and the location of the boat and destination given.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

The information given is confusing. Elsewhere he talked about "hundreds of miles in the North Sea" and don't recall any mention of road delivery apart from my suggestion -see my post#16. Only after that did the possibility of a canal route enter the conversation and the location of the boat and destination given.

If I am right about the locations then the canals is the obvious route, even if he has fuel problems it wouldn't be the end of the world.