[C320-list] Boat Yard Blues

[Allan Field]

The manager of our Yard finally left this past fall.   Based on this e-mail,
I now think I know where he is.  In 17 years of dealing with this guy, his
folks NEVER made a mistake.  If you don't believe that, just ask him. Most
boat yards only have bad customers, not bad employees.  There is a pervasive
attitude of, "You have it, I don't, so you must have stolen it from me."
That attitude seems to justify all kinds of outrageous behavior...

I suspect someone came to your boat, started the engine to get the oil hot
before removing it, forgot about it, and came back the next day.  I run
about 3,000 RPM's when motoring and burn 0.5 gallons per hour.  I think that
0.2-0.3 gallons per hour, around what you describe, is not unreasonable if
at idle. 

Allan S. Field
Sea Shadow - #808
Columbia, MD

-----Original Message-----
From: c320-list-bounces at catalina320.com
[mailto:c320-list-bounces at catalina320.com] On Behalf Of PJACKERMAN at aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2007 3:21 PM
To: c320-list at catalina320.com
Subject: [C320-list] Boat Yard Blues

The weather finally broke here in Chicago and I went up to Larsen Marine  
boat yard to check on the boat.  When I dropped the boat off it had just
around 
60-70 hours and full tank of fuel so I ordered the 50 hour service  on the 
yanmar.  When I stepped on her today she had 111 hours and 1/2 tank  of
fuel.  
Someone must of let her idle for two days!  When I  confronted the service 
manager I got the same thing I've gotten from them since  I've been there.
We 
couldn't have done it, must have been you!  
 
A few questions for those of you out there, 1) does it make sense that the  
boat could put on 40 hours at idle on 7-9 gallons of fuel, 2) what should I 
look  out for or what harm could be done running at idle for 40 + hours and
3) is 
this  the type of service I should expect from all yards?  Year one 3 gel 
coat  gouges and spider cracks up and down the stern from using the boarding

ladder on  land, their response, we couldn't of done it had to be you, year
two 
missing vhf  antenna, same response, this is my third year in the yard and
this 
is the third  time I've gotten the same response.  They are supposed to be
one 
of the  better and expensive yards around!
 
 
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