I would not recommend taking your boat here. My boyfriend brought his boat here because the boat…read morewouldn't start after not being ran all winter. We ran this boat at least two dozen times last summer/fall, in both the lake and the ocean. The only issue the boat had was needing new batteries. My boyfriend asked Russ to check the starter and give the boat a tune up, oil change, etc.
Russ gets in touch with my boyfriend saying the starter is fine, but there's no alternator system on the boat we have, which means the batteries aren't getting charged when the boat is running. He says he can install a stator assy, and of course tune up the boat. He had our boat for a total of four weeks.
When it was time to pick up our boat, our only availability to do so was in the evening. We felt a bit rushed, as he made it clear he was staying after hours to accommodate us. When we got there, we asked him to show us what all he did. He said "most people just pay me and leave." He did not have the boat hooked up a to a hose or start it for us, and in hindsight, that was a huge mistake (on our part) not to ask him to do that. He claimed he started the boat "half a dozen times, no problem." He showed us what he fixed, gave us an old part back, and happily collected nearly $1,300 from my boyfriend.
We tried starting the boat multiple times over the next few days, with no luck. We contacted Russ, asking him if he had any ideas why the boat wouldn't start. He gave a few smart-a** answers, like "hook the boat up to a hose," "use starter fluid," and my personal favorite, "turn your kill switch on." Obviously we were doing those things, because we know how to run a boat. Finally he says, "I don't know, it must be operator error."
We asked him if we can bring the boat by, so he can start it and show us exactly how he's starting it, since he wanted to claim operator error, and at that point he stopped returning our messages.
We brought the boat to someone else, and that's the reason why I'm leaving this review. New boat mechanic insisted we bring the boat back to Russ and tell him we want him to start it, because from what the new mechanic can tell all Russ did is spray paint. New boat mechanic says that no tune up was done, that he can tell. The oil filter was put on incorrectly, among several other things. Here's the kicker, they took the starter off and said it was useless, and that there's no way he started the boat once, let alone half a dozen times with the starter in the condition it was in. New boat mechanic ordered a new starter, and the now boat starts up. What a surprise, all it needed was a starter and tune up in the first place!!
Save yourself some money and go elsewhere! We have sadly gone the entire summer without a boat to enjoy, and now have to pay for someone to double-check this guy's work. We are honest, hardworking people, and I guess we just expect others to be the same.