Skip to content
OBM ENGINE Outboard workshop · Annapolis, Maryland · Since 2008

How a job runs

Outboards serviced, stored and put back in the water

Plate 01 Fig. 1 · Side elevation Plate 01, a mid size tiller outboard in side elevation Line drawing of a two cylinder tiller outboard clamped to a transom board, with the gearcase cut in section, a dimension line for a 15 inch shaft, a dashed test tank waterline and five numbered callouts: 01 the paper tag tied to the tiller, 02 the spark plug boot, 03 the serial plate on the clamp bracket, 04 the water pump, 05 the propeller below the waterline. TANK WATERLINE SHAFT 15 IN GEARCASE IN SECTION TILLER COWLING 01 02 03 04 05
Tiller outboard, two cylinder Gearcase cut in section Not to scale
Plate 01A mid size two cylinder tiller outboard, side elevation, drawn from the motor on bench three. Callouts follow a job from tag to tank.

Tiller and remote outboards from 2.5 to 150 hp, looked after by one shop in Annapolis, Maryland, all year. Book in at hello@obmengine.com.

  1. 01 Book it in Write with the horsepower and plate numbers. It gets a paper tag on arrival.
  2. 02 We look it over Diagnostic within 3 working days. $95, credited if you go ahead.
  3. 03 Written quote Nothing past the diagnostic is touched until you say yes.
  4. 04 The work 5-7 working days, or 10-14 in March, April and May.
  5. 05 Tank run and collect Fifteen minutes at fast idle, then paid on collection.

What it costs, job by job

Fixed prices for the job named, set by horsepower band. Work outside a card is shop labor at $118 an hour4, and the $95 diagnostic5 comes off the bill if you go ahead.

Your motor6

Pick a band and its row is penciled on every card.

Notes to the price cards
  1. 1 Standard parts on an annual service means spark plugs, lower unit oil and drain gaskets, grease and a fuel filter. Anything worn past that, an anode or an impeller included, is quoted before it goes on. Back
  2. 2 Impeller kits are billed at cost on top of the labor shown. On the carburetor card the kit is already in the price. Back
  3. 3 The test tank is a cut down 275 gallon tote. We change the water every second Friday whether it looks like it needs it or not, and every motor gets fifteen minutes in it at fast idle before it goes home. The dashed waterline on Plate 01 is that tank. Back
  4. 4 Anything the cards do not cover is shop labor at $118 an hour, written into the quote before a tool touches it. Back
  5. 5 A diagnostic is $95 and done within 3 working days of drop off. Go ahead with the repair and the $95 comes off the bill. Back
  6. 6 Not sure of the horsepower? It is stamped on the serial plate on the transom clamp bracket, callout 03 on Plate 01, beside the model and serial numbers. A motor without a readable plate is one we cannot take in. Back
  7. 7 Storage is half paid at booking and half at recommissioning. A motor left 30 days past its agreed collection date is charged $35 a month. Yard storage stops at 22 ft. Back

The season, month by month

The shop year starts in August, when storage books open, and runs to the following July. Plan around the spring rush and your motor is back before the water warms up.

Scroll the ledger

Shop year Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul
Storage bookingsOpen August 1 Aug 1 · books open
Drop offMotors and boats in Oct 1 - Nov 30
In storageRacked and tagged Nov - Mar · checked twice weekly
Shop closedWinter closure Dec 23 - Jan 6
RecommissioningBack to the water Mar 15 - May 15
Long turnaroundAnnual service 10-14 working days
Saturday mornings8 am to 12 noon Sat 8-12 Sat 8-12 from April

From the bench book

Jobs worth writing down, kept since the two bay shed opened in 2008.

Plate 02 Bench two · Overhead Plate 02, a 1970s twin cylinder powerhead stripped on the bench Overhead line drawing of a bench top with the parts of a twin cylinder 20 horse laid out: A the block with two open bores, B the cylinder head, C two deflector pistons, D the crankshaft, E two connecting rods, F a folded feed sack stenciled 2 of 2, G a can of fasteners. A B C D E G SACK 2 OF 2 F
A block · B head · C pistons D crank · E rods F feed sack · G fasteners
Plate 02A 1970s twin cylinder 20 horse, stripped on bench two over most of a February. Block, head, deflector pistons and crank laid out in the order they came off, beside the second of the two feed sacks it arrived in.
Dale's bench book · A February rebuild

It came in two feed sacks, a 1970s twin cylinder 20 horse off a skiff the owner's father had kept for forty years. We rebuilt it over most of a February, between other jobs. It started on the third pull in the test tank, and that June it ran out to the mouth of the river.

The whole job in the logbook

What we turn away

Better you hear it now than after loading a motor into the truck.

The full list, with reasons

Where to next

What to put in the first message

Wintering it here: bookings open August 1

The bench book since 2008