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OBM ENGINE Outboard workshop · Annapolis, Maryland · Since 2008

Services · Price Ledger

What it costs and what you get

Fixed prices for the jobs that come around every year, and $118 an hour for everything else4. A diagnostic is $95, and it comes off the repair bill if you go ahead.

Shop labor
$118/hr
Diagnostic
$95
Tank run, every motor
15 min
Motors we take
2.5-150 hp

Price cards

Your horsepower6

Pick your band and the matching row marks itself on each card.

Card 01 1

Annual service

Labor and standard parts. Plugs, lower unit oil, grease points, fuel filter, impeller and anode checked, fifteen minutes in the tank.

  • 2.5-9.9 hp$195
  • 15-30 hp$275
  • 40-90 hp$395
  • 100-150 hp$540

5-7 working days, June to February. 10-14 in March, April and May.

Fixed price
Card 02 3

Winterize

Flush, fogging, fuel stabilizer, lower unit oil and grease. Done the week it arrives if the motor is staying with us.

  • Up to 30 hp$165
  • 40-90 hp$245
  • 100-150 hp$310

Storage drop off runs October 1 to November 30.

Fixed price
Card 03 3

Spring recommission

Fuel line and primer bulb checked, battery load tested, plugs inspected, then a tank run before it goes home.

  • Up to 30 hp$140
  • 40-90 hp$195
  • 100-150 hp$250

Slots run March 15 to May 15. Book early; they fill from the back.

Fixed price
Card 04 2

Water pump impeller

Impeller replacement, labor only. The kit goes on the bill at exactly what we paid for it.

  • 2.5-9.9 hp$120
  • 15-30 hp$165
  • 40-90 hp$220
  • 100-150 hp$290

Checked every year, due every second or third season. Plate 03 shows why.

Kit at cost
Card 05 2

Carburetor rebuild

Stripped, cleaned and rebuilt with a fresh kit, which is included. Priced per carburetor, whatever the horsepower.

  • Single carburetor$210
  • Matched pair$290the pair

Ethanol fuel left in the bowl over winter is how most of these arrive.

Kit included
Card 06 7

Winter storage

November through March, in the insulated rack room or the fenced yard next to the shop.

  • Motor only, indoor rack$160the season
  • Motor only, monthly$35a month
  • Boat on trailer, up to 18 ft$250the season
  • Boat on trailer, 18-22 ft$320the season
The storage season Half at booking
Card 07 5

Diagnostic

Done within 3 working days of drop off. Nothing past the diagnostic is touched until you agree the written quote.

  • Any motor, 2.5-150 hp$95
  • Repair after the quote$118an hour

The $95 comes off the repair if you go ahead.

Credited
Card 08 9

Dockside visit

We come to the slip or the dinghy dock, within 15 miles of Annapolis, for motors up to 30 hp only.

  • Call out, up to 30 hp$85
  • Time on the dock$118an hour
  • 40-150 hpShopsee card 09

Right for a tender motor that won't leave the dock. Anything bigger comes in on its trailer.

Up to 30 hp
Card 09 9

Trailer collection

We hitch up, bring the boat to the shop and take it home again, within 25 miles of Annapolis.

  • Collection$95each way
  • Return$95each way
  • There and back$190round trip

Book it with the job so the truck and the bench line up.

Each way
Book it in · hello@obmengine.com

What each job covers, and what costs extra

A fixed price covers the work on its row and nothing quietly added. Anything past it is written up, quoted and done at $118 an hour once you say yes.

Scroll the table

Bench time is hands-on hours at the bench, from the smallest band to the largest. Days in the shop are in the turnaround table further down.
Service What is done Bench time What is extra
Annual service
  • New plugs
  • Lower unit oil drained and refilled
  • Every grease point
  • Fuel filter
  • Impeller inspection
  • Anode check
  • 15 minute tank run
 1.25-4 h Impeller kit if it is due, anodes past use, any part beyond the standard set.
Winterize
  • Fresh water flush
  • Fogging oil through the cylinders
  • Fuel stabilizer run through
  • Lower unit oil changed
  • Greased
 1-2.5 h Storage, priced on card 06. Repairs we find while it is apart.
Spring recommission
  • Fuel line and primer bulb checked
  • Battery load test
  • Plugs pulled and inspected
  • Tank run at fast idle
 1-2 h New plugs, a replacement battery or fuel line, if the checks say so.
Water pump impeller
  • Lower unit dropped
  • Housing off
  • New impeller and gasket
  • Wear plate checked for scoring
  • Tell-tale stream confirmed in the tank
 1-2.5 h The kit, at cost. A housing or wear plate if either is scored.
Carburetor rebuild
  • Off the motor and stripped
  • Passages cleaned
  • Jets, needle and seat from the kit
  • Float height set
  • Refitted, idle set in the tank
 1.75-2.5 h Fuel pump, fuel line, or a tank that needs draining of stale fuel.
Diagnostic
  • Compression
  • Spark
  • Fuel delivery
  • Cooling stream
  • Written quote
 Up to 0.75 h Nothing until you agree the quote. The $95 is credited if you go ahead.
Dockside visit
  • Travel within 15 miles
  • Work at the slip on motors up to 30 hp
 By the hour $85 call out, then $118 an hour. Parts as used.
Trailer collection
  • Hitch, haul and tie down
  • Within 25 miles of Annapolis
 None $95 each way. The job itself is priced on its own card.
Winter storage
  • Racked and tagged, or parked in the fenced yard
  • Racks walked twice a week
  • Dehumidifier running in the rack room
 None Winterize and recommission are priced on cards 02 and 03. The season, step by step.
Plate 03 Exploded view
Not to scale Plate 03, water pump housing, exploded Line drawing of an outboard water pump pulled apart along the driveshaft centerline. From the top: the pump housing with its outlet tube and bolt flange, the rubber impeller with eight curved vanes, the drive key moved out to one side, the stainless wear plate drawn with its cut edge hatched, the gasket, and the driveshaft. An inset shows an impeller from above whose vanes have taken a set and stay bent one way. A B E C D F G
A · Housing B · Impeller C · Wear plate D · Gasket E · Drive key F · Driveshaft G · Vanes set, from above
Plate 03Water pump from a mid size two cylinder motor, exploded on bench two in the order the parts come off the driveshaft. Impellers are checked every year because the vanes take a set over a winter of sitting still, and replaced every second or third season because a set vane moves less water every hour it runs.

Why the impeller comes out every year

The impeller is a small rubber wheel that pushes river and bay water up through the powerhead to keep it cool. Its vanes bend one way against the inside of the housing every time the motor turns over, and after a winter on a rack they stay bent. That is the inset at G.

At every annual service we drop the lower unit and look. If the vanes have set, cracked or lost a tip, we write it up and change it with your say so. If they still spring back, the old one goes back in and the season is written on the job tag.

Left alone, a tired impeller shows first as a weak tell-tale stream, then as an overheat alarm halfway out the river. Card 04 prices the swap at $120 to $290 in labor, with the kit at cost.

Card 04, water pump impeller

How long it takes

Spring is the bottleneck. Everybody wants to be on the water the same weekend, so lead times double from March to May8.

Scroll the table

Counted in working days from drop off, Monday to Friday.
Job Off season · June-February Spring · March-May
Annual service5-7 working days10-14 working days
Water pump impeller5-7 working days10-14 working days
Carburetor rebuild5-7 working days10-14 working days
DiagnosticWithin 3 working daysWithin 3 working days
WinterizeOn arrival, Oct 1-Nov 30Not a spring job
Spring recommissionBooked from August 1Your slot, Mar 15-May 15
Dockside visitBy arrangementBy arrangement
Same day workIf a bench is freeNever in April or May

Parts and deposits

Parts over $250 50%

Half up front before we place the order. A lower unit's worth of gears is not something we keep on the shelf on spec.

Parts we order Cost + 15%

Billed at cost plus 15 percent. Impeller kits go through at cost, and the carburetor kit is inside the rebuild price.

Old parts In a bag

Ask when you book in and whatever came off the motor goes home with it, bagged and tagged with the job.

Paying On collection

Everything that isn't a big parts order or storage is settled when you pick the motor up, after its tank run.

How far we travel

Dockside visits 15 mi

Within 15 miles of Annapolis, for motors up to 30 hp only. An $85 call out, then $118 an hour on the dock.

Trailer collection 25 mi

Within 25 miles of Annapolis, $95 each way. Boats over 22 ft can come for work but not into the yard for winter.

Bigger than 30 hp Shop only

A 40 to 150 hp motor needs the hoist, the stands and the tank. It comes in on its trailer, ours or yours.

Further out Write first

Past 15 miles nobody goes dockside and past 25 nothing is collected. Bring it in yourself, weekdays from 7:30 am, and write first so a bench is free.

What we turn away

Better to hear it here than after you've hitched up.

Notes to the ledger

  1. 1 Standard parts means plugs, lower unit oil, grease and the fuel filter. Anything past that set, say an impeller that has taken a set or an anode worn past use, is written up and quoted before it goes on. Back
  2. 2 Impeller kits are billed at cost with no markup. The carburetor kit is already inside the rebuild price. Other parts we order for you go on at cost plus 15 percent. 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 on the front page is that tank. Back
  4. 4 Shop labor is $118 an hour. It covers anything outside a fixed price card, dockside time after the $85 call out, and repairs found at a diagnostic once you've agreed the written quote. Back
  5. 5 The diagnostic is $95, done within 3 working days of drop off, and ends in a written quote. Go ahead and the $95 comes off the repair. Say no and you collect the motor for the $95, with the findings on paper. Back
  6. 6 Horsepower is on the serial plate on the transom clamp bracket, next to the model and serial numbers. If the plate is missing or can't be read, we can't take the motor in. The contact page shows where to look. Back
  7. 7 Storage bookings open August 1 and motors come in October 1 to November 30. Half is paid at booking and half at recommissioning. A motor left uncollected 30 days past its agreed date is charged $35 a month. Yard storage stops at 22 ft. Back
  8. 8 Working days run Monday to Friday. Federal holidays don't count, and neither does the winter closure from December 23 through January 6, so a motor dropped off on December 20 comes back in January. Back
  9. 9 Distances are measured from the shop outside Annapolis. Dockside visits run within 15 miles for motors up to 30 hp. Trailer collection and return run within 25 miles at $95 each leg. Back

Next

Wintering it here: the storage season

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