Richard Bryant of Richard's Mobile Marine, agreed to remove the port engine, and to remove and do repair work on the Volvo Penta outdrives on my 27' Carver yacht for $55/hr. Labor and parts. From day one, I told him I need an hourly report each day with an accounting for the hours worked, work done and parts purchased/ordered. Day after day went by and I continued paying him and I still did not receive any accounting of his work. I admit that I should have stopped everything after the second or third day. I was amazed at what little progress was being made. I was rushed because I had the boat out of the water at Fort Myers Boat Club Marina and was paying $75 a day in storage fees. I ordered a rebuilt engine from Rapido Marine in Hollywood, FL. Richard and I removed the old engine. The old engine core was worth $350 in exchange. After he finished removing all of the accessories from the old engine and installing them on the new engine, he was ready to install the new engine. He then told me that the new engine had been damaged in shipment and he could not use it. I didn't know who was really at fault and called the engine company. I was lucky that they sent me another engine and all I had to pay was $150 in shipping from Hollywood, FL. After two weeks of work and paying him over $ I had no accounting of his time and what he had done. No one was supervising him, as I was at work every day an hour away. I was no better off than I was when I started. Actually I was in worse shape. I told him I wasn't paying him anymore. I decided to do the rest of the work myself. When I asked him to return my crowbar that I had loaned him to use, he told me he did not have it. When I asked him to return my old engine core, he told me that someone had taken it. How did that happen? I asked him and he said he did not know. I think he sold it.
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