Just got my 21' Trophy back from Holcomb Marine. I want to list what he charged me and see what other people think. I just bought this used boat and planned on going halibut fishing may 1st for the opener. I wanted the motor and outdrive checked out before going out to sea. I asked for a tune up, service the outdrive, check overall condition. This boat has a 4 cylinder Volvo engine with a 275 Volvo outdrive. When I picked it up I was told it checked out as good as new. He did say if he would have had a new carburator he would have installed it but the only problem was that it was very cold blooded but that wouldn't be a problem once it warmed up. We left the dock at westport and got about 12 miles out in the ocean when the motor coughed and quit running. It took almost 3 hours to get back to the marina. Very scarry setting on the stern steering a 9.9 hp Mercury in the white caps. I will now miss the whole westport halibut season. The following is the bill from Holcomb Marine.

Check compression (145# on all cylinders) $158.00
Get ready for ocean ??? 179.99
Tune up 199.99
Service outdrive 249.97

Spark plugs (4) #5.33 each 21.32

Sales tax 62.32

TOTAL $871.61

When I asked him what service the out drive consisted of, he replied he checked the dip stick and topped off the oil. I said you mean you didn't even change the fluids. He said no,they looked as good as new. I saidisn't that a bit expensive? His answer was "Will I checked the boot too". I asked what "get ready for ocean means". He said that he ran the blower and bilge pumps to be sure the worked. Iasked if he installed new points and condenser and he said they weren't needed as the ones in it were as good as new.
I'm soory for the gramer errors but righr now I'm rather upset. I called another boat shop to get the boat running and when I mentioned Holcomb Marine the man started laughing and asked how bad I got ripped off. Said he has known Everett Holcomb for years and this is his standard procedure. If I'm wrong with my feelings I appogize tothis board for wasting your time. This is my first post and if I'm wrong it will be my last. I just relly felt this perso should be brought to everyones attension if not already known.

Thank Yoy

Welcome to the board. i would say you got ripped ! 158.00 dollars for a 4 cilynder compression test ? that took him all of 15 minutes. 250.00 dollars to check outdrive oil level ? that takes about 5 minutes. WOW i would write the BBB. even for a boat shop that is crazy.

It would put things in better context to know their hourly rate for labor...

Have you had whatever went wrong on your maiden voyage diagnosed?

An outdrive service usually means pulliing the outdrive, checking gears, realigning, lubing, etc. If they did that service it's probably worth what they charged. As for the other stuff.... No idea.

By your description of his comments. I'd suggest trying to get a full itemized list of parts, labor, etc. That way you'll have a better idea what was done. Labor adds up pretty darn quick. Get a print out of the bill and then do t he math.

If all is as you say, I wouldn't be too happy with that. Rick's Master Marine in South Park has always been my go to repair shop. Never felt like they took advantage of me and always tried to help me trouble shoot the problem first.

Whew! If what you say is true, ripped off is too gentle a term. Better Business Bureau would definitely be on my "to do" list. LoweDown is right about finding out their hourly rate, and I would want to see the hourly breakdown for the bill. Nice guys are easy......don't be nice.

I am not trying to cause trouble on this board. I feel that by posting the exact charges as they appeared on my bill that people could make their own decisions. I think the charges for what he did are pretty plain. Ihave talked to a very well known guide onthe cowlitz and when I told him I took the boat to Holcomb marine his response was he hoped I had a lot of money. I am hearing a lot of Holcomb marine now and a very large percent of people feel ripped off as well. The better busness bureau has had complaints on this same person. I hope I can stop at least one person from the same experience.

Lowedown: I never seen a sign posted anywhere as to his hourly charges. Looking at my bill and seeing what I paid, his charges must be between $200.00 And $300.00 an hour. Iwas probably naive not to ask but I'm 74 years old and have been boating most of my life. I've never run across anything like this. Thank you for at least asking.

I called them to ask what they charged per hour for repair labor, and whoever answered the phone had no idea. Said to call back Monday morning.

I think they saw you as a new boat owner, and easy target. Sorry.

Consider it a lesson learned.

When dealing with Marine Repair Shops. ALWAYS get the estimate in writing first, then get two more second opinions in writing from other shops before starting any work to make sure they are charging fairly.

I've met the Holcombs personally. They're nice guys, but there isn't any way in hell I'd ever do business with them. That field behind his shop is full of people's boats that the work bill has far exceeded the boat's value. Some have been there for over a decade.

Advanced Marine in Olympia pulled that with me when I first got my boat. I forgot to get the estimate in writing and $800 suddenly became $1600 when I came in to pick it up.

If you have a written estimate, they can't exceed that dollar value by more than $100 without your permission.

The problem with straight & honest Marine Mechanics is that they are usually so booked up that they charge alot and take a long time to get around to you.

As an ex- troller/marine mechanic in my view the real lesson here is to take the "ocean ready" comment with a very small grain of salt when you have a new boat that you are not familiar with. Run it around the bay for a couple of days before hitting the big water. Even if you have the best mechanic in the world there are way to many things that can go wrong with a boat that are easily overlooked.

Great advice Keta.

If I just had my boat serviced, I'd make sure it ran DAMN well for about 10-15 hours before going offshore. Luckily you had a kicker and made it back ok....

Keta

I agree with you completely. It was dumb on my part to take the boat out without running it for a few days. I had all ready waited for three weeks to get to get the boat serviced when I called Holcomb and he said he could have it done by the end of the week. That should have been the next red flag. Hindsight should have said "how come he has time". I was overly anxious to try for a halibut. I agree the outcome could have been very different.

Again my only point in starting was to let people know what this person is doing. My feeling is there should be some way to stop him.

$871.61 for what he did with the only parts was 4 spark plugs and a little oil and no the outdrive was never removed.

With some of what I'm finding out about him, i'm wasting space here because most are already aware of him.

Thanks for the input.

CRW, sorry about your problem, and glad you made it back in ok. 12 miles at Westport is a long boat ride with a 9.9. Hope to hear from you again under better circumstances.

Welcome to the board!! Hope to hear from you again...sorry this has happend, at least the sparks plugs were a good price...its hard to find a good honest shop...c

I've done business with them before and they said I needed a new head gasket (the problem was the cable routing to the lower end (jet) was making the cup not engage all the way). Anyway I told him the engine had 200 hours on it and I bought it from a reputable mechanic in Seaside Oregon. They said they would look at it and I told them I was going to call the previous owner first, which I did and he told me that they were full of sh%$@. Long story short I bought a manual and read up on it and do 89% of the work myself and leave the real complicated stuff to an Evinrude mechanic in Portland. I was wondering about the Graveyard of boats in the yard and double duty cable fence that surrounds it!

Ditto on Ricks master marine.

No way in hell that old [censored] is working on my baby!

I have had work done at Holcomb Marine and I have always had a great experience. The work was performed flawlwssly and in a reasonable amount of time. I have also ordered parts through them and have found that the prices were below most Marine shops. I have also seen the owner of Holcomb Marine work on boats on the river without charging the owner.

CRW get an estimate the next time and ask about the services they will be performing. I am sure there is another side to this story. For those of us that are or have been in business for ourselves I am sure you will agree it's not about getting things done cheaply or for free.

It appears Holcomb Marine is not getting a chance to defend himself here. It's the old story of being in business, if you do a great job 10 people will know and if you do a bad job 1000 people will know.

Just my .02 worth!

Captain

Captain

I only showed the bill that he charged me and and his axplanation what was done by his own words. If you can tell me the cost of a compression check should be $158.00 or to service an outdrive is $249.99 with out pulling the outdrive but just to top off the fluids and LOOK at the boot or "get ready for the ocean" which he said he made sure the bilge pumps work and turned on the blower is justified I'll go along with you. You never commented on any of these FACTS.

You know there is a great difference between someone he knows and some one he dosen't. Like when your car breaks down in the small town and the local mechanic sees a sucker. I like to trust people but if you look at the charges you know they are ridiculous. When did you ever get a tune up and not have new points and condenser installed.

I also owned my own business and I also stand up for my friends but you never looked at the facts. I never did anything but print his charges and and what he said he did. They speak for themselves.

CRW

I also did not hear the facts why your boat had to come in on your kicker. Should his services have found the problem that caused this? Have you discussed this information with Holcomb Marine? Did you give Holcomb Marine the opportunity to correct the problem? If so, I believe you have merit to your argument.

If you had not had the problem would you have gone about your life and not gave this information over the internet. I know for a fact that the people he has helped for free he did not know. He also has many repeat customers that do value his talents.

I wish you well and hope you do find someone to work on your boat worthy of your expectations at the price you feel is reasonable.

Captain