russ
Well-Known Member
if your boat had a mechanical fault and only to find out after the expense of it being lifted out and inspected that the drive had been serviced incorrectly or had a part failure?
Advice please. What would you do...
- Thread starter russ
- Start date
Tranona
Well-Known Member
Far too little information. However if you suspect that a professional has not serviced your drive properly, collect your evidence and use your rights under consumer legislation to get redress.
Simple to say, but such things are often difficult to achieve - but that is in essence the process.
Simple to say, but such things are often difficult to achieve - but that is in essence the process.
simonfraser
Well-Known Member
Read the manual and find out how i had messed up on the service ?
volvopaul
Well-Known Member
I take it this is you ?
The problem is proving the fault has been caused by the company you employed , your insurer may help your claim but an expert witness may be called from both sides to battle out the claim .
The last one I was involved in as expert witness went on 4 years , which meant the owner was without his boat for that period . At the 11hour before court the company went into liquidation so the owner got nothing .
russ
Well-Known Member
I employed a very well respected engineer to firstly assess the problem whilst still in the water and then later to remove the drive and inspect.
I am a bit reluctant to start any proceedings as I am still waiting for a reply from the original engineer. Still no replies by either text or email from him.
jfm
Well-Known Member
Which is it? As Tranona says, there's far too little info to comment sensibly
mlines
Well-Known Member
This would be the "incorrectly fitted bellows" you are talking about in the Thames forum , "Harleyford marina help'
My guess would be that it is difficult to judge a bellows fitment particularly after two lifts and transport on a lorry
My guess would be that it is difficult to judge a bellows fitment particularly after two lifts and transport on a lorry
kashurst
Well-Known Member
Short story - boats are complex machines that live 80% - 99 % of their time in water - worse seawater. They break and go wrong period. Even with religious maintenance they go wrong. Don't waste your time chasing a few £K looking for who is at fault, you may get to 90% whose fault it is but never see a penny. Expert witness etc will cost loads. Owning a boat is not like owning an aston or ferrari - very different world and and very different rules
Probably cheaper to just sort it and move on (financially and peace of mind ). Boating is character building and can be very expensive. (hopefully not often)
Long story - what goes round comes around, I can lend you the T shirt if you want.
Probably cheaper to just sort it and move on (financially and peace of mind ). Boating is character building and can be very expensive. (hopefully not often)
Long story - what goes round comes around, I can lend you the T shirt if you want.
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volvopaul
Well-Known Member
I've got the same T shirt .
petem
Well-Known Member
My two penneth and I've no idea if its relevant in this case. Boats and particularly outdrives are prone to wear and deterioration due to being immersed in the sea. There are components such as propeller shafts and rams that wear and are expensive to replace (prop shafts £1800+ VAT per side IIRC and drive ram replacements that could require engines out). So there's a judgement call, does the part need to be replaced or will it be OK for another year? Can it be repaired or is a new VP part required.
If we get too litigious we could find that replacement is recommended at the slightest sign of wear and no engineer will be willing to mend a defective part. Is this what we really want?
Of course communication with the owner is vital and there's no excuse for sloppy workmanship.
If we get too litigious we could find that replacement is recommended at the slightest sign of wear and no engineer will be willing to mend a defective part. Is this what we really want?
Of course communication with the owner is vital and there's no excuse for sloppy workmanship.
jrudge
Well-Known Member
Resorting to Law on anything ( divorce business, boats) just results in 2 losers and one lawyer winner.
I would start with an open mind. Ask what was done and what was not done. He may not service X as is is expensive and he considers it not worthwhile. As an example I have never changed an impeller that is not broken or damaged. Many engineers agree with me. Many don't.
Tell him you are not happy.
Tell him it has cost you X.
Tell him you are reasonable and what does he think makes it ok either on this service or the next.
You just want a quick and simple agreement and move on. It is not worth the hassle otherwise!
Clearly i am assuming this is not £30k of damage etc.
Jim@sea
Well-Known Member
Mechanics (Whether Boat or Car) appear to have a different code of conduct from the rest of the world. It appears that if they make a wrong diagnosis and you give them the go ahead to do what they assume is the problem and it dosent fix whats wrong, you still have to pay them for what they do.
They then wont come back to fix what the actual problem is.
It would appear that the trick is to only pay them after the boat has been checked to see if what they have done has sorted out the problem.
I now follow the principal that when I am having a boat repaired I watch it being done, (so I can do it myself next time)
They then wont come back to fix what the actual problem is.
It would appear that the trick is to only pay them after the boat has been checked to see if what they have done has sorted out the problem.
I now follow the principal that when I am having a boat repaired I watch it being done, (so I can do it myself next time)
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