Marina is recommending work

[Her Diamond 2]

I had my marina pull the drives on my 2004 300 Sundancer since this was our first season with this boat. They reported the following:

- Port side insert for trim adjustment missing.
- Starboard engine alignment is out.
- Coupler splines dry and showing signs of wear
- Both Gimbal bearings rusty on inner sleeve.

Our marina has a bit of a reputation for making work. Is this normal for a 2004 with 300 hours? I'm suprised the alignment is out since I was always under the impression the boat would not shift in and out of gear smoothly if the alignment was an issue. I don't see any indication of hitting anything. I know about the insert for the trim since I noticed this after hauling the boat. What are your thoughts on a the coupler splines being dry and gimbal bearing. How can you tell if the wear is to a point where they need replaced?

Any comments would be appreciated.

 

[tbirdvet]

I'm not sure alignment is required yearly but yours may be out after this period of time. It is important to be sure you grease the Gimbal yearly along with the coupler.

 

[sbw1]

What is the service history of the boat? What do you do every year?

 

[Her Diamond 2]

Unfortunately I couldn't obtain the history of the boat when I purchased it so I relied on a survey and mechanical. I pulled the drives as preventive maintenance to see whats going on. My prior boat had an Alpha and I would have the drive pulled every 3 years, grease the fittings and change the gear lube each year. It seemed ok for the 8 years I owned it. I'll give my marina a call this week, take some pictures and get their recommendation. Last time I had them work on the boat they changed 2 impellers for a no start situation and an IAC (which ended up being the problem) and charged out 7 hours labour . Other members indicated 1-1/2 hours each impeller on my specific boat so the numbers didn't add up. They agreed to a reduced labour hours to 4 hours however my trust in their work/opinion was tarnished.

 

[Presentation]

..... I relied on a survey and mechanical......

So you did have a mechanical survey?

Why was this not discovered when they pulled the drives during the mechanical survey?

At a very minimum, a mechanical survey for a boat with drives would including pulling the drives for inspection of said components and a compression check on the engine, requiring the removal of all spark plugs and inspecting the exhaust using a borascope for minimizing the evasiveness of the inspection.

Are you sure you had a mechanical survey?

If I paid for a mechanical survey then they discovered a worn engine coupling and wet gimbal I’d be on the phone with the surveyor and if they don’t make amends I’d be posting warnings with his name to several websites and fill out a BBB grievance.

Again, I am assuming you paid for a mechanical survey.