The Outboard Doctor - Ben Minor, Professional Outboard Motor Mechanic

You just bought your first boat and want to establish a good relationship with a mechanic. Or, your outboard is displaying some unwanted symptoms; you want to get it checked out, but you're not sure where to go or what to look for in a mechanic. You are right to assume that you are about to make a very important choice. A good outboard mechanic is sometimes hard to find and if you, yourself, don't know anything about outboard motors, that just makes the choice harder. After all, you need a mechanic you can trust to do good quality work at a fair price and will be available when you need him.

It is very unlikely to find one Marine Dealership that will score high in all of the above categories, so let's take a look at each one and hopefully pass on some helpful information.

The amount of time a business has operated is both a sign that they may be doing quality work and that they know how to operate a business. However, you need to look further. Does the mechanic(s) have experience on all makes, all horsepower, all components, etc? I think you get the drift; you need to know more than just how many years they have been working on outboard motors. Experience alone is not a guarantee that the mechanic knows what he is doing. I know of stupid mechanics that have been stupid for 30 years, but in general I would expect a mechanic with 30 years experience to be more able to do quality work than a mechanic right out of school. The message I'm trying to get across is that experience can be deceptive, so don't stop with just finding an experienced mechanic working at a dealership that has been in business for more than 20 years.

Most good mechanics are well known in the area and you won't have to ask many people before you find out where to go or not to go. However, it is possible to "buy" a reputation, especially in a metropolitan area, so seek out personal recommendations from more than one person and consider the source of each recommendation. The reputation of the dealership and/or the mechanic is important.

Being a mechanic, myself, and after working with other mechanics, seeing first hand the results of different training schools, it is my opinion that the only certification that means anything is one from an outboard manufacturer. Not everyone will agree with that statement, but it is a conclusion drawn after 27 years in the Marine Service business. The certification from an outboard manufacturer requires not only that a mechanic be certified, but also the entire business meets certain requirements in order to operate as a dealer for that outboard motor company. Some of the requirements include required levels of inventory, the availability of necessary tools, service manuals, and the certification of individual technicians that is ongoing with re-certification mandatory every two to three years.

There are other sources for certification, but they do not meet the stringent criteria demanded from the manufacturer's training. For example, some schools have a 6-week program that "certifies" mechanics. This is a one-time training with no re-certification requirements. Another example: I recently received a letter from the XYZ Certification Company that said if I would send them $3000 they would certify my shop and send me a copy of a Marine Certification from the XYZ Certification Company. Obviously this certification means nothing except that you paid $3000 for a paper to hang on the wall.

The availability of outboard motor mechanics is shrinking, so you may not find the right mechanic in your area. The distance from your home, how busy they are, and how long it takes to get an appointment are all factors that will influence your choice. Many of our calls during the summer time will start with the caller asking how backed up are you. It is not unusual for a good mechanic to be booked up several weeks in advance. It is difficult to quantify time factors, so I recommend you ask yourself some questions:

How far would you drive to get excellent service over good service?
How far would you drive to get your boat fixed today rather than make an appointment for two weeks from today?
Would you wait two weeks for excellent service or would you accept average service to get your boat fixed today?

And here is a suggestion that might help you have not only the best, but the fastest: If possible, schedule yearly maintenance during the off-season; this will give you a much better chance of getting in and out in a timely manner.

The last qualification I am going to cover is one that most boaters do not think about, but many times is just as important as any of the others. The personality of the person you are dealing with, and how your personality reacts to his are important. In a large service center you will usually deal with a service writer. Service writers will have the training to deal with different personalities so they are easier to get along with than dealing directly with the technician. In smaller shops you will probably deal directly with the mechanic/owner. This can be either good or bad depending on how your two personalities interact.

As you may have noticed, I have not talked about price anywhere in this article. This is because price is one of the least important factors involved in boat repair. You should know before you purchase your first boat that owning a boat does not come without cost. The initial price of the boat is just the beginning. Regular maintenance and repairs for most boat motors is much more expensive that automobile care. With the cost of operating a marine service center increasing each year, the costs to repair your boat will also increase annually. If you believe that price should be considered in your decision, then use price as just the tiebreaker. Let experience, reputation, quality of service, time, etc be your main criteria and let price be the least important issue.

As you can see from this article there is no one easy answer to the question of "How to Choose Your Boat Mechanic". There are many factors to be considered. The perfect solution is to find a factory certified dealer, with a very good reputation, close to your home, that is available to work on your boat within a week, whose technicians each have over 10 years experience and whose personality is compatible with yours. If you find this situation you are very lucky, but chances are, you will have to make some choices.

One last bit of advice is to try to have your boat repaired by the same technician each time. When the technician knows that you are his regular customer, he will know the history of your boat and you will probably receive more personal service.

If you are someone who wants to do your own repairs, but will need some good technical information including service manual, diagrams, parts, tools, or just some good instruction, call 888 294-8957 for a free consultation.