A year wait for anti fouling and engine service?

[TheMerryFisher]

Hi all, my boat has been out of the water with a marina for a year. They have stripped the old anti foul and serviced my outboard engine, however, they still need to clean the boat as it’s covered in green moss due to it being stationary for so long. I have been told that my batteries are now completely dead and won’t even trickle charge.
My argument is, surely because it has taken them so long (and believe me I have chased on a regular basis!) that they should be responsible for the care of the boat? They are now trying to sell me 2 new batteries which I found astonishing.
Am I being unreasonable or has someone else been in this position? I appreciate its a straight forward job to do all of this work but I regularly work away and I don’t have the time to do maintenance myself, hence why I have been held over a barrel with the marina.

 

[LittleSister]

I think it will depend on what instructions you gave the yard. Did it mention, or imply, keeping the batteries charged?

I can't see the moss being their fault unless you told them to keep the boat clean or covered.

Anti-fouling is best applied shortly before launch, rather than at the end of the season. (See anti-foul manufacturers' time limits before immersion.)

there are probably cheaper ways to buy batteries than via a boatyard, but if you are reliant on them to fit them . . .

 

[Portofino]

Always insist or find another yard that supplies shore power in the yard ……more so for extended stays like this .

Not wanting to be the harbinger of bad news there will be other stuff knocked by lack of use .Not just the poor neglected batts .
Boats need love and care and this eats into your time .If you haven’t got the time then they eat £££ .

 

[TheMerryFisher]

I appreciate the replies, sounds like boat yards just have the ultimate say and it is what it is! I guess the only thing I can do is recommend people don’t use them due to the lack of communication and time taken for a basic job. You wouldn’t take your car to the garage and expect it to come back in a worse condition than you left it. I guess boats are different!

 

[Daydream believer]

I appreciate the replies, sounds like boat yards just have the ultimate say and it is what it is! I guess the only thing I can do is recommend people don’t use them due to the lack of communication and time taken for a basic job. You wouldn’t take your car to the garage and expect it to come back in a worse condition than you left it. I guess boats are different!

Would you leave your car in a garage for a year?
If you specify some work to be done then that is all they do. You say that they have serviced the engines. So that has been done. You say they have stripped the old antifoul. Have you given them a date for launching? No point in painting it until you do.
Most owners visit their boats & check things like batteries & give them a 6 week top up. Did you fail to do that?
I would respectfully suggest that If you cannot keep the rest of the boat in order, that is your fault. Not theirs. Perhaps boating is not for you, due to either time constraints, or failure to get physically involved with upkeep. A bitter pill to swallow perhaps.

 

[TheMerryFisher]

OK I get the gist, thanks.

 

[Tranona]

OK I get the gist, thanks.

Very strange. impossible to give any kind of answer without knowing exactly what you asked them to do, preferably in writing and then identify what they have not done in accordance with the contract you have with them. For example with respect to the batteries. Did they agree to keep them charged and advise if there were signs of them failing. If not I fail to see how they can be held responsible if you just left the batteries for a year.

 

[ari]

My argument is, surely because it has taken them so long (and believe me I have chased on a regular basis!) that they should be responsible for the care of the boat?

I'm a little bit confused by this. Did you ask them to service and antifoul the boat, expecting it back in the water in a couple of weeks, and they took a year instead? Or did you get the boat lifted, ask them to service and antifoul, but they were waiting for you to tell them when to launch, which was a year later?

Because if it's the latter, then I don't understand what they have done wrong? They serviced the engine, they prepared the boat to antifoul, and were presumably (and quite reasonably) waiting to hear when you wanted it launched before antifouling it. That wouldn't leave them with the responsibility of maintaining it, unless you'd asked for that too.

If it was the former, and you booked it in to be lifted, jobs done and re-launched then that might be different, although it raises other questions (like, did you not notice that six months later the boat was still ashore?)

 

[henryf]

I’m a bit baffled too. Assuming a Merry Fisher then a week or two for the work, 3 to be safe Is hugely generous. We’ve allocated 3 weeks to clean, antifoul and stern gear clean a 55 foot boat then gelcoat correct / polish to remove any swirl marks and ceramic coat the hull.

It simply couldn’t take a year to do the work.

Henry

 

[SC35]

The way it works here is that you give them an intended launch date, and the antifoul goes on a few days before that.
No Launch Date = Nothing Happens unless instructed otherwise.

 

[harvey38]

A lot of sound advice above and probably a big learning curve for yourself.

You may have assumed they understood your requirements but be sure to put them in some form of writing be it email/text etc so your expectations can at least be followed up and it is sensible to check up regularly to make sure things are on track.

Like many 'Tradespeople' it is difficult to find a reliable one and unfortunately, for every ten out there, nine will say yes but only one will actually carry out the work on time and as specified.

This forum is a great source of information so don't be hesitant about asking for information.

 

[Daydream believer]

This forum is a great source of information so don't be hesitant about asking for information.

He did. But I am not sure he got the answers he expected. Hope that has not put him off though

 

[ari]

The way it works here is that you give them an intended launch date, and the antifoul goes on a few days before that.
No Launch Date = Nothing Happens unless instructed otherwise.

That would seem entirely logical, and I am wondering whether that's what has happened here? Perhaps the OP will let us know.

 

[TheMerryFisher]

I do appreciate all of your replies and it’s interesting to hear peoples thoughts on the matter.

Maybe I missed out a bit of details just to complete the post. I think some people are jumping the gun presuming I abandoned my boat for a year when that is far from the case.

I had a previous negative experience at a smaller yard which yet again, told me to bring the boat out of the water to do the same job, but then failed to do anything after 4 months. It was the classic “this won’t take long at all and we will contact you when it’s ready” scenario. I made weekly phone calls to chase them but was fobbed off with different excuses.

The new marina selected was/is reputable and again told me that the work would take around 3 weeks to complete in January 2023. They told me the date to have my boat ready for taking out of the water and everything went smoothly. She was put on the blocks and I thought, great, finally it will be done! There was no date given by either party for relaunch but the 3 week indication seemed to give it some sort of deadline. I am definitely not the only person in the same situation, one chap has been waiting over a year for an engine to be reinstalled into his boat and therefore paying mooring fees for being stuck on land too!

My boat wasn’t allowed to be plugged in as apparently there was no where to do this. I visited the boat every 2 weeks and yet again, made weekly phone calls with the response always being “I am not sure, we have one of the guys coming this week but I don’t know when he will do it”. As there were MANY unhappy customers it actually led to 2 staff members leaving the marina due to the constant barrage of negative feedback directed towards them. This is not my first boat that I have owned and am far from new to the boating world, I’ve just never experienced this before!

Unfortunately there is little I can do now apart from continue to wait, visit and make phone calls to chase as I have been doing. For those wondering why I didn’t move to a 3rd marina, the yard were unable to take my boat off the blocks as they didn’t have the ability to relaunch as only 1 person could operate the crane, which was absent due to long term sickness. I have been informed that it will be finished within 2 weeks so lets hope that is the case and I can get back to enjoying the sunny south coast once and for all!

 

[sailorman]

I think it will depend on what instructions you gave the yard. Did it mention, or imply, keeping the batteries charged?

I can't see the moss being their fault unless you told them to keep the boat clean or covered.

Anti-fouling is best applied shortly before launch, rather than at the end of the season. (See anti-foul manufacturers' time limits before immersion.)

there are probably cheaper ways to buy batteries than via a boatyard, but if you are reliant on them to fit them . . .i use battrrymegsstore, god price nd delivery. Usebq patio cleaner. Spray on in drybvonditoons then hose off

 

[ChromeDome]

It is always best for both parties to agree on price, time and deliverables expectations in advance. In writing/email.
Also, the person who has the job contacts the customer before doing more or differently than agreed.

In your case, I would ask for a quote on batteries - and if not fair, just buy them yourself.

And you don't hold grudges, right?
You just have an excellent memory

 

[harvey38]

I'd be forwarding the additional fees for staying on the hard to whoever said they were doing the work or refuse to pay if the yard were unable to launch you.

 

[ari]

I do appreciate all of your replies and it’s interesting to hear peoples thoughts on the matter.

Maybe I missed out a bit of details just to complete the post. I think some people are jumping the gun presuming I abandoned my boat for a year when that is far from the case.

I had a previous negative experience at a smaller yard which yet again, told me to bring the boat out of the water to do the same job, but then failed to do anything after 4 months. It was the classic “this won’t take long at all and we will contact you when it’s ready” scenario. I made weekly phone calls to chase them but was fobbed off with different excuses.

The new marina selected was/is reputable and again told me that the work would take around 3 weeks to complete in January 2023. They told me the date to have my boat ready for taking out of the water and everything went smoothly. She was put on the blocks and I thought, great, finally it will be done! There was no date given by either party for relaunch but the 3 week indication seemed to give it some sort of deadline. I am definitely not the only person in the same situation, one chap has been waiting over a year for an engine to be reinstalled into his boat and therefore paying mooring fees for being stuck on land too!

My boat wasn’t allowed to be plugged in as apparently there was no where to do this. I visited the boat every 2 weeks and yet again, made weekly phone calls with the response always being “I am not sure, we have one of the guys coming this week but I don’t know when he will do it”. As there were MANY unhappy customers it actually led to 2 staff members leaving the marina due to the constant barrage of negative feedback directed towards them. This is not my first boat that I have owned and am far from new to the boating world, I’ve just never experienced this before!

Unfortunately there is little I can do now apart from continue to wait, visit and make phone calls to chase as I have been doing. For those wondering why I didn’t move to a 3rd marina, the yard were unable to take my boat off the blocks as they didn’t have the ability to relaunch as only 1 person could operate the crane, which was absent due to long term sickness. I have been informed that it will be finished within 2 weeks so lets hope that is the case and I can get back to enjoying the sunny south coast once and for all!

I appreciate hindsight is a wonderful thing, but since the engine had been serviced and the boat prepared for antifouling, and that was the only job left, would it not have been possible to simply get another contractor to paint the antifoul on, and then ask for the boat to be launched? Presumably you've lost an entire year of boating due only to an afternoon of someone rollering some antifoul paint onto the bottom of it? I think after a month of broken promises I'd have been saying 'If it's not done within the next fortnight, please don't bother, I'll get someone else to do it'.

You certainly seem to have been very unlucky and I hope you get it sorted and are on the water for 2024. Best of luck!

 

[AllanG]

Which marina is your boat at, and why couldn’t you employ the services of an external contractor to do the work?

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Which marina is your boat at, and why couldn’t you employ the services of an external contractor to do the work?

It sounds like the marina was managing or not external contractors, I know of no marinas that actually do such work as the OP describes.