Choosing your marine mechanic

The engine is often the heaviest maintenance item on a boat, and the one a buyer asks the most questions about. Choosing your mechanic is therefore not just a matter of finding someone free in the spring: it means finding a professional who knows your type of engine, who explains what they are doing and who leaves a usable written record. This guide does not tell you who to choose; it gives you what you need to compare: the criteria, the questions to ask, how to read a quote and the signs that should put you on guard.

1. What a marine mechanic does (and does not do)

• Routine maintenance: oil change, filters, raw-water pump impeller, belt, anodes, coolant, gearbox or saildrive leg oil — the calendar is set out in the guide on inboard engine maintenance.
• Diagnosing a breakdown: an engine that will not start, smoke, overheating, vibrations.
• Repairs: pump, injectors, starter motor, alternator, heat exchanger, exhaust elbow, gearbox, saildrive, outboard.
• Repowering: removing the old engine, adapting the mounts, fitting, alignment, trials — see the cost of repowering.
• Winterising and recommissioning the engine.

What they do not always do: the boat’s electrical installation, the batteries and the navigation electronics are often the work of a marine electrician; the hull and structure, that of a boatyard. Many workshops do several of these trades, but ask rather than assume. And a mechanic is not a marine surveyor: their opinion on the engine of a boat you plan to buy is valuable, but it lacks the independence of a survey if they then offer to do the work.

2. The right criteria for choosing

• Speciality. An inboard diesel, a saildrive and a petrol outboard do not call for the same tools or the same experience. Ask which engine makes the workshop knows. A workshop approved by your engine’s manufacturer has access to its diagnostic tools and genuine parts; for an engine still under warranty, check in the warranty booklet whether servicing must be done by that network.
• Training. No diploma is required to practise, and experience counts as much as qualifications. There are French marine-trade diplomas — the CAP in pleasure-craft repair and maintenance, the vocational baccalaureate in marine maintenance — and engine manufacturers train their networks.
• An identifiable business. A SIRET number, a Kbis extract or an entry in the national business register: all of this can be checked free of charge in the official business directory.
• Professional liability insurance. Ask for the current certificate, and whether it covers sea trials and moving the boat.
• References. Boats similar to yours, customers in the same harbour. Online reviews should be read with some distance; a neighbour on the pontoon who has been satisfied for several seasons is worth more.
• Travel. Do they work at the pontoon, at a mooring, ashore in another harbour? Travel costs should be stated.
• Lead times. In spring, every workshop is full. A written lead time is worth more than a verbal promise.
• Warranties on labour and on parts: how long they last, and what they cover.

3. The questions to ask

• Do you know this engine (make, model, age)? Do you look after others like it in the harbour?
• Can you give me a written, detailed quote before starting?
• What happens if you find something else when dismantling: will you call me before going further?
• Genuine or aftermarket parts? Can I have the replaced parts back?
• Do you note the engine hours and the serial number on the invoice?
• What warranty do you give on your work and on the parts?
• Can you work where the boat is (pontoon, mooring, ashore)? On what date?
• Can you send me your insurance certificate?
• Would you agree to confirm your work in the boat’s log?

4. Reading a quote

A serious quote lets you compare two workshops line by line. It should include:

• The identity of the business: company name, address, SIRET number, and often the insurer.
• The boat and the engine: name or registration, make, model, engine serial number, hours recorded.
• The work item by item, and the parts with their references and quantities.
• Labour in hours and the hourly rate, travel, any handling (crane lift, haul-out).
• The amounts before tax, the VAT and the total, the period of validity, the lead time, the deposit requested.
• What is not included, and what happens if dismantling reveals something else.

Warning signs in a quote: a lump sum with no detail (“full service”), unspecified parts, a “we’ll see when we take it apart” with no ceiling and no promise to call, a large deposit before any parts are ordered, no SIRET number or VAT.

5. The signs that should make you walk away

• They refuse to give a written quote, or to hand you an invoice.
• They suggest paying cash “without an invoice”: you lose any warranty, and any proof of maintenance.
• They announce a big job without having seen the engine, or press you to decide on the spot.
• They replace parts without showing them to you and refuse to give them back.
• They cannot show any insurance, or a registered business.
• They note neither the engine hours nor what they changed.

A single sign does not condemn a professional; several together should send you looking elsewhere.

6. Finding a pro near your harbour

The Hullteam map of pros shows, trade by trade, where marine professionals are located: tick the trade you are interested in and move the map to your harbour. Each trade also has its own page, area by area, with each professional’s listing — all of them are gathered on the all trades page. A listing marked “Registered on Hullteam” shows a professional who has opened a Hullteam account.

7. Keeping a record of the work

Record every job in the Hullteam log: the date, the engine hours, the parts changed, the professional, and a photo of the invoice. A detailed invoice in the boat’s name (its name or registration, the engine serial number, the hours) counts as proof at resale; a receipt reading “engine service” with no detail proves almost nothing. The guide on which proofs count explains why, and how a professional can confirm their work in your log.