Affordable Marine Service » Testimonials

Affordable Marine is the BEST

admin — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:50:49 +0000

We were able to depend on Affordable Marine

Hello Dennis,

Janelle and I recently relocated from the bay area to Southern California and were in desperate need of a reliable boat mechanic. After a failed attempt with another boat repair shop, Affordable Marine stepped in and came to our rescue. Being new home owners we were at the point we needed to be able to depend upon someone that we could trust. We really would like to just say thank you so much for all the additional work and help you have provided us to get our boat up and running this summer. I can’t tell you how relieved I am to finally have a dependable resource not only for my boat, but to be able to refer other boat owners to someone who will actually stand behind their work.
Thank you again for all you’ve done to help this passionate boat owner get back to water! We appreciate all you’ve done.
Alisa McKenney and Janelle Estrada
Pacific Beach, CA.

Our Hero!

admin — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 05:17:32 +0000

To: Dennis at Affordable

Thank you for rescuing us last Saturday. Our nightmare started when our outboard died and would not start again. Before my wife and kids freaked out thankfully you answered the phone. You took the time to walk me through the problem and were able to get our engine started and thankfully we made it back safely. I don’t know any other place that actually helps you over the phone like you did. I will be sure to bring the boat in to your for service in the future. I tip my hat to you for outstanding

Bob Stanwick

Don’t Get Ripped Off!!!

admin — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 05:16:54 +0000

Don’t get ripped off!!!!! I got the Best SERVICE. I’ve taken my boat to just about every single boat shop in San Diego, same story, different prices every time, always higher. I have a MasterCraft that the steering cable seized up. I called around and one “boat shop” wanted $700.00 for the cable job and my first reaction was what the ##%$. I thought that I was getting ripped off. I went to AMS and Dennis spent ½ hour working on the thing. He heated up the cable, sprayed it, oil it. I paid $45.00 bucks and was on my way, the steering works better than ever.

Charlie, $650.00 richer!

BIG Thanks!

admin — Mon, 25 May 2009 07:43:26 +0000

Took off the a.m. with my fishing partner Dave Jackson and headed for the B’fly. The skipper on the “Sea Eagle” provided me with some numbers just n/e of the b’fly yesterday (thanks again).

We stopped on a paddy and picked up on 5 quality (18-30lb) yellowtails.

We had doubles and singles (albies) on the troll all along the n/e area of the b’fly, all total, 12 fish.

My new Mercury DTI Sterndrive diesel, Dennis and his staff at AMS installed ran perfect. I put over 21 hours on her this weekend without any problems.

Here’s the best part of this post: I ran 145 miles today, and only used 19.62 gallons of diesel ($1.37 per gallon) that averages out to 7.39 miles per gallon!!! This is a 22′ cuddy with a pacific yacht tuna tower.

Before the repower I got 1.5 MPG on gas with 90 mile range. Thanks again Dennis, and special thanks to Bryan (get well soon) at Affordable Marine Service.

~Mike “El Gato”

Re-propping The Diesel Duck

admin — Mon, 25 May 2009 07:42:29 +0000

Hey Dennis,

I spoke to you a few weeks ago about re-propping the Diesel Duck. Your recommendation was dead on! Just changing the prop resulted in an amazing performance difference. The old prop (15X16) gave us a calm water (in the bay) speed of 12 knots. The only way we could get up on plane was to “surf down a swell”. Now, with the new prop (16X13), our calm water speed is 30 knots!!! Performance out in the choppy swell this morning was wonderful! Plenty of power going into the swells!!! Engine speed was perfect! Max throttle achieved max recommended RPM for our engine (3700 rpm for our diesel). The new prop size is perfect! Thanks for all your help!

If any other boat owners are out there, wondering about re-propping……..call Dennis. He’s the man!

~Gary aboard the Diesel Duck

Just Want To Say Thanks

admin — Mon, 25 May 2009 07:41:54 +0000

Dennis and crew, I want to thank you for the time one of your new mechanics, and Nate spent yesterday on my boat. I’ve had a buyer for my boat for two weeks, and after finally putting it all back together (after painting it) the outboard would not start. After bringing it to your yard, and checking everything out, and my assuring him the battery was good, we concluded it was a major electrical problem…..dead battery! (duh!) I felt stupid, but relieved. Thank you very much to them for stopping everything, and taking the time to help me out! I’ll be back with my new boat, hopefully soon!

~Gene “living water”

Da Man!

admin — Mon, 25 May 2009 07:41:07 +0000

Dennis,

You are “Da Man”. I met you at day at the docks and asked you about my boat problems. The OMC 4.3l that runs like shi# at low speed. Your advice of adjusting the micro switches was right on. She purrs right from the get-go now (no foreplay required). Just wanted to say thanks and also to ask what the cost would be for a COMPLETE service and do I need an appointment?

my boat is 17′ open bow four wins 4.3l OMC cobra outdrive

I’m thinking tune-up, oil change, all filters changed, outdrive serviced, and any recommendations you might have. The boat runs great now and I just want to keep it that way.

thanks again for the advice

~Kerry

Cheaper, But Workable Solution

admin — Mon, 25 May 2009 07:40:45 +0000

Dennis,

You may recall back in June you worked on my steering ram (23′ Sportcraft at Campland). It had been buggered up by a wrench grip and the new seal was being cut and was leaking like a stuck tuna.

A replacement ram was not available (only the entire system), so you polished it with a jeweler’s file, and asked me to let you know how it worked…

Well, it worked great! I don’t think I lost a single drop of fluid the rest of the summer.

Thanks for the cheaper, but workable, solution

~Jennie A.

Quick Turnaround Time

admin — Mon, 25 May 2009 07:40:09 +0000

Dennis, Thanks for the quick turnaround time on the R & R of my U – joint bellows. I really appreciated the way your staff explained to me what went on, what I should watch for, maintenance issues, etc. I’m sure the few hundred bills I spend now in preventative measures will save me tenfold later.

~Doug on the “Robert Francis”

Superb Job AMS!

admin — Mon, 25 May 2009 07:39:24 +0000

Dennis, there comes a time in a mans life when he gets to brag about some things. It’s about time you and Bryan get some recognition on the superb job done by AMS on my 28 Skipjack. I can’t thank you enough for the re-power you have done on my boat. You have brought new life to the 78 Skipjack. It all started in the beginning of October with me selling my twin 350’s with Volvo out drives, through the help of AMS. Then, we all decided, after talking with Gary Arnold at Boatswains Locker, we would re-power with twin Mercury Diesels 3.6L 170 HP each, with Bravo Two out drives. Merc Dieselams are not a familiar name with diesel engine re-power, but after doing allot of research, the Merc Diesels was going to be the engine of choice. After all I can’t see Mercury putting there name on something, that wasn’t up to there standards. Dennis and Bryan had their work cut out for them now that the decision was made. First they striped the Skipjack of everything that was old, including old wiring and they went so far as to remove the old gas tank and replace with a new one. There is nothing that they would not do to make it right. You never had to ask, what about this or what about that, because they were thinking way ahead of you. Every week I went down to see how the project was going. Both Dennis and Bryan always treated me like I was one of the boys. They always had time to discuss the project and go over any new issues that might have come up. Then it happened, the day I take possession of my 28 Skipjack. I opened the hatch and there sat two beautiful pieces of art. Twin Merc Diesels with Bravo Two out drives, new wiring, new gas tank and new bait tank. I could not believe what I saw. It looked like I opened the hatch to a new boat. Everything was perfect down to the last clamp. We went for the bay test in Mission Bay, Dennis fired both Mercs with no noticeable smoke from either side. Even the smell of diesel was down to a min, they idled between five and six hundred RPM and were so smooth you could set a glass of champagne on top of each engine without spilling a drop. We let the engines warm up for 10 to 15 minutes and then off we went. From a stand still, when we put the pedal to the metal, the boat was on plane in 3 seconds, without any hesitation, at 2200 RPM we were doing 30 MPH, at 2800 RPM we were doing 38.5 MPH not bad for 10,000 LB boat loaded with fuel, bait tank, gear and three people. Fuel economy is unknown at this point, but I can tell you, I went to the nine mile bank, down past south Island then back to the nine and back to Mission Bay. The next day I went back to the nine, putted around there for the day and came back and still had 3/4 of a tank left. The Skipjack performed better than my expectations. In all reality I am glad I re-powered. It turned out to be a real success, but that success only happened because of Dennis and Bryan. They used my money like it was there own, they watched every nickel and researched the best method for doing things, but never cut any corners to get the final result. Whether you live in Southern Cal. or any were in the US and you need someone to trust with your boat, you need to go see Dennis and Bryan at AMS. Thanks again Dennis and Bryan for a superb job.

~Frank M.