the Price of Boat Maintenance

The service included a full detailing of the boat including washing and waxing the hull, cleaning the seats, carpets, and engine bay, polishing the trim and chrome, and cleaning out the sump.

The company also offers interior only detailing, exterior only detailing, wash and wax, repaint services.

Prices are per foot of boat length and vary depending on the complexity of the work (i.e. the shape the boat is in).

The company also provides detailing services for cars, motorcycles, RVs, and tractor trailers. Window tinting, stereo and alarm installation, glass replacement, and other non-mechanical maintenance services are also available.

They specialize in high-end vehicles.

I made an appointment with the detailing service to spruce up the boat for the start of the boating season here in central Arizona, with plans of heading up to the lake the following weekend. When I arrived (early) for my appointment, the detailing shop was running a bit behind and the manager asked me to wait for a bay. That took an hour, and the only magazines they had to read were very outdated issues of Cosmopolitan or Good Housekeeping or the like. Once work started on my boat, I told the service person I had other things I had to see to and that they should give me a call when my boat was ready to be picked up. They said they'd call when it was done, but that they couldn't keep it overnight as they had nowhere to put it so that it would stay safe. I didn't receive the call until well past 8pm, far later than I'd expected the shop to stay open.

The end result was worth the hassle, though. If it weren't for the scrape in the wood on the gunwale made last year by the stabilizing fin of a water ski, I would be hard pressed to say the boat didn't look new.

A busy place is good, but too busy may mean a long wait. Check for a paddock or some sort of locked storage if it becomes necessary for them to hold your vehicle overnight. As usual for service businesses, professional and courteous staff can make or break a company. Be sure to let the management know if the service has been substandard.