Performing boat maintenance tasks yourself might seem like a great way to save money. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case in the long term – amateur servicing can lead to a lot of avoidable expenses. Here are just a few of the reasons that it’s best to take your boat to a professional for its regular services.
1. The proper tools
Performing a boat service correctly requires a range of professional tools that are both expensive and difficult to use without the correct training. Without the use of these tools, you won’t be able to diagnose many potential issues in your boat before they become serious problems. Specialised tools allow us to perform the following checks:
- Pressure- and vacuum-testing the drive unit.
- Engine alignment.
- Battery condition.
2. Training and experience
Our mechanics have years of training and experience in servicing boats. This means that they don’t only perform services quickly and efficiently, they’re also good at identifying other issues that haven’t yet become obvious – often simply by listening to an engine run. A problem solved while it’s still small takes a lot less time and money to repair than one that’s been left to fester under the surface for months.
3. Professional methods
When you do the same jobs all the time, you figure out the best ways to do them. We have procedures for all common service jobs to ensure that we don’t forget a single step, whether it’s tightening a bolt or ensuring that every component is in good shape. This makes for a thorough and reliable service.
4. Work quality guaranteed
Imagine that you buy an oil filter and fit it yourself. You take the boat out, and the engine blows up; the filter was faulty. The manufacturer will give you a refund on the filter if you can prove it was faulty, but you have very little likelihood of having the far more expensive collateral damage – the engine – paid for as well. On the other hand, if you come to a shop like ours where we both stock the required parts and have technicians who are trained in fitting those parts, the manufacturer can be assured that the service was performed correctly… meaning that you’re far more likely to receive reparations for extra damage caused by a faulty part.
5. Parts guarantee
Another benefit to having your boat serviced by trained technicians is that we don’t just replace parts that are worn out or misbehaving; we first diagnose why the part failed in the first place. This is important because if the underlying problem isn’t fixed, the new part is likely to fail much faster than it should have… and possibly cause extra damage that could have been avoided.
