Hello,

 

I have a couple quick questions. I recently inherited 2 boats from my father who didn’t have time to maintain or use them.

 

• I was wondering if there was a way to get a diagnostic test done on the engine to identify any issues that I’m not aware of? 

 

• How much does it cost to get a head gasket replacement on one of the Mercury Outboard Motors? There is water intrusion.

 

• How much is it to replace the controls of the other Mercury Outboard Motor? The old ones are deteriorated. The engine itself, as far as I know, still runs fine. 
 

• Should I take these boats to a local marina and have them do the work and run tests? Or should I find a boat mechanic? 
 

I know these labor costs vary, but a ball park range would be super helpful. I’m very new to boating and am eager to learn so any and all information would be useful. 
 

 

A shop should be able to give them a look and tell you what's wrong and what it'll cost to fix.  There might be a fee for that, but if you're having them do the work anyway, then it won't really be costing you any extra.  I have no idea about repair costs myself.  I haven't owned a power boat in a decade, and even then, I did my own repairs.  Definitely find a local boat mechanic in town.  Don't mess with ones at the marina, as they will almost always charge you more.  

 

And I'd take just one boat in at a time.  That way, if the costs are a lot higher than you were anticipating, you can sell the other to try to cover some of the costs, leaving you with one good boat and lots of fond memories.

Up here it’s about $125/hr plus parts

unused motors need a lot done. Hopefully they are not ceased up.

You might do better posting some serial numbers, model numbers and makes of the motors.  A couple of pictures would also help.  

Then age and condition of the motors, and how long they have setup and if they were inside or outside in the elements has a lot to do with what you are asking.

When you say the mercury has water intrusion, that's definitely not good.  If water has gotten inside the motor, especially around the crank and bearings, good chance that motor is junk.  Even if just a cylinder is rusted, it may not be worth the cost of a rebuild.

Also, you might want to look at the condition of the boats. If they have floors in them, they might be rotted and if water was left to build up in them, the transom's may be rotted.

At todays labor cost, old motors are not worth repairing if they need much work, unless you can do the repairs yourself.   Even then, it can be very expensive just of the parts and any machine work that might need to be done.

In TN it would be easier to get the motor running than to register the boat. My buddy inherited one from his great grandpa in Arkansas and had to go to the courthouse several times and back to Arkansas to straighten it all out. Had to get get signatures from two of the deceased’s sisters, the whole process took a year 

On 4/13/2021 at 7:39 PM, E-rude dude said:

Up here it’s about $125/hr plus parts

unused motors need a lot done. Hopefully they are not ceased up.

That price is about right for my area also. But they put some $10 an hr "trainee" to do the shoddy work.  ?

Sounds like the last guy I worked for.  

I usually always did my own work, but was backlogged with a couple of jobs I had going, so I sent one job to the home office to be done.  When the customer showed me the bill he got, my jaw dropped.  What I normally did in four to five hours max, they charged 20 hours labor.  I called up there to question it, the owner says they bill it so the slowest, newest guy in the shop could do it twice, because he usually has too.  I promised him I would never send another one of my customers piece of equipment to the home office for repair again.