What should you ask a boat mechanic before they work on your boat?
Posted on: 22 October 2018
Finding a boat mechanic is pretty much like looking for a general physician. While the physician will be responsible for your health, the boat mechanic will be responsible for ensuring that your boat is in excellent condition. Therefore the amount of diligence that you would apply when selecting a physician should be the same diligence that you should apply when choosing a boat mechanic for your boat.
However, if it is your first time hiring a boat mechanic, you may not know how to establish whether the mechanic is competent enough to provide you with quality services. You will, therefore, need some form of assistance to guide your choice. Lucky for you, this article intends to do just that; assist you with some of the easy steps that you can take to ensure that you hire the services of a qualified and competent boat mechanic. Read on to find out how.
Where are they going to work on your boat from?
Often, mechanics prefer to operate or work on the boat from the customer's premise as opposed to their premise. However, depending on the complexity of the problem that your boat has, they might need to take the boat to their premises for better servicing or repair. They will need to look at your boat before deciding the ideal location. Regardless, make sure that they do not jump right to the option of taking the boat to their premises before explaining to you the necessity because most will charge you for taking the boat to their premises.
What type of oil or oil treatment that they will use on your boat?
Part of being a great boat owner is knowing the type of oil that your boat requires, based on manufacturer specifications. Find out if the boat mechanic is aware of the type of oil that your boat needs whether thin oil or thick oil, diesel or not, synthetic against conventional or inboard against outboard. Using the wrong type of oil is the quickest way to screw up your engine for good.
Are they adequately trained and experienced?
Competence comes with training and experience. Find out whether they are certified and licenced by the relevant authority in your municipality. If they are trained but not experienced, it is better to look for another mechanic. Think of it this way; if you enrol into a driving school and all you learn is the theory without practicals, you cannot boast of knowing how to drive a car because you have not done it yet. Similarly, if a person is trained to do a hands-on job but has never actually done any, they cannot be said to be competent.
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