Hello fellow boaters! I don't want to cut my boating season short so if anyone can chime in, I would greatly appreciate it.
My boat (26ft Striper) is currently docked at Alamitos Bay Marina and I think 1 of my outboards (97 200HP Yamaha OX66) may be shot. Prior to putting it the water in April, I had the motors looked over and 1 of them didn't have even compression but my mechanic said it probably be fine as long as I don't go WOT all the time and it might give me another season or 2. I've just had 7 trips so far to Catalina and a couple times off HB flats. Luckily for me, I was right outside the harbor before the starboard motor started to knock and ping and then shut-off. Got it to start again but it would turn off and sounded really bad. Checked the fuel filter/water separator and tried some carb spray but no luck.
Anyhow, I got a # for a mobile marine mechanic off the papers, he came down to my slip in a burgundy Ford F150. He indicated he was a master mechanic and works with Yamaha's mostly. I gave him a deposit of $300 to pull the boat out of the water to bring it back to his shop. He gave me a receipt and his business card and he indicated he will be down Thursday to pick up the boat and will work on it over the weekend. Anyhow, today, I decided to stop by his shop to see what kind of operations he has and to drop an extra bilge pump I like to install in case my other 2 went bad. To my surprise, his shop was closed, there was no signs of a legitimate marine business running. There were 2 boats which looked abandoned in the back of the parking lot. I immediately called him and had to leave 3 messages before he would call me back. He explained to me that he's currently relocating to a bigger shop and that my boat would be at his house while he makes the repair. He gave me his address but I have not drop by yet.
If anyone has dealt with this person/business please let me know your experience. He's an asian guy by the name of John, drives a burgundy Ford F150, and goes by the name "Mobile Marine Mechanic". His shop is in Huntington Beach off Bolsa Ave., across from Boeing. I'm a little scared to trust this individual with my boat. The # of his business is disconnected and I only have his cell #. Please let me know if I should explore other options. He has pretty good rate at $60 an hour but I don't know if it's worth it.
Mobile Marine Mechanic in LB/OC; Legitimate??? 
