Outboard Gearbox Repair and Other Maintenance

It’s always a good day when your boat comes home after two weeks in the shop, even if you get it back on Monday instead of Friday because they didn’t finish the work on time. I had to miss a gorgeous fall weekend. I was starting to think there’s something wrong with me. By Sunday evening, my house and car were clean, my gas tank and refrigerator were full, and I even weeded my yard for the first time in months! I’ve got to get back on the water soon to restore my mental health.

I had three things done this time. First, they removed the squeaky gearbox from my engine, and replaced it with a brand new one from Mercury as a free warranty repair. I can’t wait to test it out on the water. Second, I had had a second battery installed a few months ago, but I had gone the cheap way and had them both wired in parallel. This essentially made a bigger battery, but without the ability to isolate them from each other. This time, I had a proper battery selector switch installed. This will allow me to isolate one battery while fishing to reserve it for starting the engine. The second battery is a “house” battery, which can be used to power the crab pot puller, the nav system/fish finder, and the VHF radio while the engine is shut off, without fear of getting stranded by a dead battery. Finally, I had them repair a pretty bad scuff on my bow that was caused by a docking incident. They had to resort to wet sanding and buffing using 1500-grit sandpaper. The result of their half hour of labor was fantastic – it gleams like new again! Now, to see if it’s too late to catch coho this year.

I’ve had a surprising number of issues with my new boat, but the Union Marine Service Center in Seattle has always made it right. Just a month ago they gave me a brand new Raymarine navigation system/fish finder after my first one refused to boot up anymore. I had a pretty lousy experience with the Union Marine salesman, but I’m starting to love their service department. I had thought I’d be taking my boat into Performance Marine in Everett more often (which is far more convenient), but so far their service hasn’t impressed me much in comparison.