Professional or DIY - An example

[Bigplumbs]

I have long been an advocate of Do it your self and indeed Do it yourself servicing if you can. I know many on here hold the opposite view and like to get it all done by 'The Professionals'.

I have an example to share with you which I think is interesting:

On the new to me boat I bought I got some paperwork with it that listed quite a lot of work on the 60 hp outboard engine, which included a full carb clean. This work was ordered by the previous owners and 'carried out' by a 'professional' company in March 2017 (So not long ago).

I tested the boat yesterday and was generally very pleased, except at idle it the engine sounded like a dog and upon further inspection I observed lots of petrol coming out of the overflow on the top carb.

I am not a mechanic but I like to have a go where I can so this morning I removed the top carb stripped it down only to find that the plastic float had a very small hole in it and was full of petrol and thus was not floating. This I am certain is the cause of my issue.

Now given that a proper carb clean requires the carbs to be removed and stripped and that the boat has been hardly used since March you got to ask yourself if a Professional Mechanic who was presumably asked to investigate poor running could have missed a float full of petrol............... Or indeed what did they actually do.

It could of course have happened since which is another question.

I will leave you all to your own views but I have mine and will continue to put my faith in my own work when I feel able to try and have a go.

If you start on small jobs and build your way up it is quite amazing what you can do and the sense of achievement that it gives.

Now off to source a new float................... or should I try to mend it

Dennis

 

[kashurst]

Well done on finding the fault. I am a big fan of DIY on boats (I think that's one of the reasons I like boats) and as you said start with the little things and before you know it you will be pulling crankshafts out for fun. We are on boat number 6 now, none of them new. The worst "Professional experience" I have suffered was on the previous boat where a gearbox had been replaced but in doing so quite a lot of other things got damaged by the so called professional as well as lots of missing nuts and bolts. One of the big reasons we bought our latest boat is that no-one had had chance to bu@@er anything up.

However its like everything in life many professionals are really excellent and do a great job. Unfortunately the really good ones are always busy so you have to book early or be prepared to wait a while.

The carb float - get a new one and new gaskets and any seal thingys too. It will no doubt be ridiculously expensive but at least you saved a load of money sorting it yourself. You might be able to fix it but it may well fail again and you want the gaskets anyway. The float may well come as part of a service kit with other bits and pieces you can fit to refresh the carb properly.

 

[rafiki_]

There are many examples of excellent work by professionals, and also appalling. On our boat, during the purchase process, the previous owner had to do some fixes, including repairs to the props. When we lifted her onto transport, we found the props were loose! Fitted by a business on the Hamble. While there are many jobs I can do on Rafiki, there are many more that I leave to the pro's, and I garner a small number of these who I find through friends who have used their services and who come highly recommended. They tend to be small businesses, usually 1-man/woman bands, where you develop a personal relationship. This way they are much more reluctant to let you down. I will also do my best to promote these as well, as it works both ways.
Actually, with your carb cleaning job, this can be done by ultrasound, so the carb may not have been stripped?

 

[Bigplumbs]

There are many examples of excellent work by professionals, and also appalling. On our boat, during the purchase process, the previous owner had to do some fixes, including repairs to the props. When we lifted her onto transport, we found the props were loose! Fitted by a business on the Hamble. While there are many jobs I can do on Rafiki, there are many more that I leave to the pro's, and I garner a small number of these who I find through friends who have used their services and who come highly recommended. They tend to be small businesses, usually 1-man/woman bands, where you develop a personal relationship. This way they are much more reluctant to let you down. I will also do my best to promote these as well, as it works both ways.
Actually, with your carb cleaning job, this can be done by ultrasound, so the carb may not have been stripped?

You can indeed do it by Ultrasound but you should still open it. Also if you Ultrasound them too long you can damage the parts like the float......... Again the so called Professionals

 

[rotrax]

Some years ago when using the upper visitors pontoon on the Yealm I assisted a French guy whose outboard would not start, leaving a very dissapointed wife and teenage daughter sitting all dressed up and nowhere to go.

To cut a long story short, he had paid for a service on his Yamaha two stroke outboard over the winter with a company near his marina berth.

I am an experienced small engine mechanic of fifty years experience but had no information on the engine to hand and I was not familiar with the type.

After some considerable time I found a gasket installed incorrectly which blocked atmospheric pressure to the float chamber. Without atmospheric pressure at the float chamber the fuel will not move through the jets-ergo, no go.

The French mechanic HAD stripped and cleaned the carb, installed a new plug and changed the gearcase oil.

What they had not done was check that it worked afterwards.

They took the money OK though................................

 

[Bigplumbs]

I managed to get a pair of spare part carbs complete from ebay for £100. Took the float out of one and replaced the holed one in my carb. Put it all back together and it now runs a treat

Very pleased

Dennis