Sounds like the divers were really the only ones that did anything that could be called work? If the job of the divers is to verify that there is not something else wrong, or no other holes or leaks or they need chemicals leaking from the engine or exhaust?
What kind of company leaves a job any job with only 3 hours of work left to do? I'm sorry that kind of business ethic is something that just says bad business to me if they got there late in the day that's one thing. But this isn't exactly like refinishing a basement here. A company is salvaging or saving a boat from sinking, and that company didn't bring pumps the first day? I don't know what would be the first go-to thing when salvaging a half sunken boat that still tied up and is propped up by topes and kept afloat by ropes. Why wouldn't they have supplied a pump that first day? I mean what were they expecting to do that day then? other than inspect the boat, and then leave and come back with a bigger pump the next day and pump it for 3 hours? To me it doesn't really sound like the company did anything? Other than charge you a $7,000 pump rental fee. The divers I'm sure inspected the integrity of the entire boat. And also made sure that nothing was leaking from the engine or exhaust into the water. Which is a risk whenever you have engines in water. If anything the divers sounded like the only ones that did anything in the area of work.
But other than supplying a bigger pump, I mean what did this company do for you? So you got all the water out of the boat and then why wouldn't you just back it out like normal after that like back your boat up or float it over to the boat ramp onto your trailer and then pull it out and then fix it the rest of the way yourself? To be honest if it was only half sunk you could still float it or have a another friend with a boat tow it half underwater over to the boat ramp? Get it on the trailer and get it up out of the water and then pump it?
I'm going to tell you right now yeah that is way too much money to be spending on a boat that was not sunken to the bottom that was not at risk of sinking as it was tied up to the dock and being held in place by the ropes that were there. Obviously even the company did not think it was going to go anywhere if they left after 6 hours and came back 24 hours later to do 3 hours worth of work. I imagine they just left it tied up half a float?
I think you paid too much. I think the divers actually got paid what they were worth. That is to say as long as when you pull your boat out of the water and put it on your trailer and inspect it yourself and have whoever's working on it do the work on it align with what the divers said. If it turns out you got a giant problem that the divers didn't point out then yeah the divers definitely didn't do their job. But this company that salvaged your boat or I should say took the water out of it and then moved it over to the boat ramp for you and pulled it out of the water I don't understand what did they do to even get a bill of $6,500? Because that's ridiculous that they would charge that much for that. Because look at it this way they did 9 hours worth of work right?
At least we can all agree on that there were 9 hours worth of work. What did they do? Other than supply you with a bigger pump for 3 hours what did they do? Because if it's literally just pumping the water out of your boat and moving it out of the water then yes you paid way way too much I still think no matter what you paid that company way too much.
And it's not about you NOT paying them just like you said you seen like a fair person to me and you're going to pay people Fair wages for fair work you never claimed that you were going to not pay somebody.
I don't know why or how or where the other people on are getting information about what you said but from the sounds of it, I think that was too expensive and that you should not have had to have paid that much. I guess a simple question that does make a difference in a lot of this what kind of body of water are you in and how far from the boat ramp are you? Are we talking in Ocean dock are we talking a doc along a Sandy Beach still by an ocean are we talking a doc on a large lake what kind of water is it is it very murky is it clear is it got a lot of wildlife is any of that wildlife dangerous? All of that also makes a big difference in price. Is the area in which you keep your boat docked hard to get to does it take a while to get just to wear that is?
A friend called and told you your boat was sinking. Now that's a good friend! By the time you guys got out there it was half underwater. You guys had rigged up ropes and tied it up and so that it wasnt going to sink completey to the bottom. It was not going to sink under the dock. It was going to remain full of water but tied up to the dock? You guys had to furnish your own pump and used that however it was small and the company then brought a bigger one out later which sounds like that was the next day and ran out for those three hours? So what did they do for 6 hours did they come and look at it while you guys ran your pump? Did that company supply the divers as well or did the divers get subcontracted or contracted through something else? From the sounds of it they inspected the boat figured out why it did what it did which was filled with water and almost sink? I would say definitely like other people here said get some better insurance. And maybe get a better boat dock because I still feel like that should never have happened if you're paying to dock your boat somewhere you get certain amenities along with it like security and safety and knowing that you're both not going to think just by being there even if the seals or whatever go bad or not. There's certain extras that should be included in having to pay to dock your boat somewhere. I mean if you go and use a parking garage and that parking garage has security and you get back to your car and see that your car's been broken into wouldn't you be a little upset that you had parked in that parking garage that has security and had to pay? What are you paying for if you didn't get the security of using the parking garage? I understand that that is probably not something that is included in a lot of docking fees but if you are a person that owns a marina or a dock you might just find yourself having more business if you offer more
But I would not be paying even $6,000 for 9 hours worth of work if you want to call it that I think it's ridiculous that they didn't get there with a bigger pump right away I don't think it's ridiculous that they waited 6 hours to say you know what we're going to come back tomorrow with a better pump. I think that the 6 hours that they were there is where the biggest questions should be being asked I definitely think you need to get an itemized receipt for that first day cuz that's just that's ridiculous to me it's so ridiculous that does not make sense. I'm sure there's stuff I'm missing and I'm sure there's stuff that they did that we don't know about.
I would think that the biggest things to say are you are very lucky to have gotten a call about your boat in the first place and that the person that called you definitely deserves a token of your appreciation. I don't claim to be any type of expert in voting or in salvaging or in even paying docking fees or even owning what one would call a true boat. I like to canoe. In fact I love to canoe, I love to paddle, really anything, canoes, kayaks, boards, rowboats, rafts.
I'm surprised that wherever you're paying to keep your boat docked did not have a company or some type of contingency plan for when this type of a situation arises. To me it seems like keeping a boat from sinking while docked should kind of fall under the area of things that you pay them to help you with and to help prevent from happening. And of course general maintenance and upkeep of a boat is going to keep a boat from and sinking but s*** happens people. For all you guys know that this boat was just purchased or it was just inherited or maybe you will number of things or somebody did shawty work on it and they're crappy material didn't seal 100 different reasons for the problems that people are trying to apparently tell you that you had and that you have and that what you could have done to solve that none of that is helpful how is any of that helpful Captain hindsight!? It's like that guy that stands over you when you're working on something that's broken and then once you're done and you fixed it he then goes oh well here's your problem it was broken!? No I thank you Captain obvious for pointing out the very least helpful bit of information that pertains not to what was it asked in the first place.
Which again to answer I think that that is very very high price and that if it's not all settled and done with already which I imagine it is, to at least ask that company to break down their bill and explain what and where the charges apply. Stress to them that it seems that it's high and that you supplied the pump. Ask them to quote other prices that they have worked for on other jobs. Bring up the fact that they had to do it in two different time settings. That they were the ones that came there without the material that they needed and if they borrowed your pump that you had to furnish then they used it bring that up too. And this is not about trying to screw them out of their money for the work that they did this is about paying a fair wage for the work that was done. Which I'm not trying to even say your attempting to get out of paying them you're clearly not doing what some people are saying like oh don't don't hire somebody and then say you could have done it yourself and then not pay them blah blah blah.
