Back to the main site

Got Boat - No Props!

W

Wendell / Lynn

Member
Messages
19
Reaction score
14
Well I have waited 5 or 6 weeks to Finally get My first Ben Q 2575 I/O Black out & now the dealer tells me NO PROPS, Do What!

Got a boat but Merc  back ordered the props & Ben rolls them out without them, I am told that's a norm but Dang it tell someone so we could hunt for a pair ?

Before we placed order my salesman checked on motors & towers to make sure those items were made & would not be a hold up..... we never thought about a prop or two! LOL

Another weekend on Foot!
 
Check out your local independent propeller shop. I have a local place that sells Solas props that are very reasonable. Would definitely work as a stop gap.
 
I believe he has a Duoprop setup.
 
What type of props are you looking for, plenty on the net and on Ebay.
 
Wait...what? Bennington quality issues? If Mercury has a supply issue getting a duo-prop setup for their sold/installed engines, that's a Bennington issue?

And if the truck was loaded up at Bennington and ready to roll with the entire boat minus the props...Bennington should have held everything back waiting for the props to come off of backorder?

"Bennington has to get a grip on their quality..." is a bold statement.

"They are acting like a company with money issues..." is even bolder.

Sounds to me like a Mercury Marine issue. 
 
Our prop was spec'd and provided by the dealer, not Bennington (took delivery end of March, before the rush I guess so we had no issues). We have an outboard so I can't confirm if the I/Os are different as far as who provides. I do know that a couple of weeks ago my dealer was really scrambling - not to get his new, sold boats rigged and ready for delivery prior to the Memorial Day weekend (which was a race in and of itself) but more so to have props for them. It sounded like there was (and still is?) a huge manufacturer shortage. He didn't mention the details, was obviously curious and concerned why this was happening in peak season (something he said he had never seen), but depending on what you need (and it must be somewhat widespread for the performance type props anyway), there was quite a backorder. So it sounds like it is not specific to your dealer either...
 
Well I myself am not looking for props, I have already paid for a set that's not here! Lol

The way it's explained to me is that Ben never ships props & salesman told me it wasn't Bens or dealers fault but was Mercs, they were suppose to have sent to dealer. Now My Thoughts...... Just like posted above SOMEBODY should have made sure props were at dealer waiting for boats arrival to complete a sell & have a Happy Customer, I Ain't Happy right now, in fact I'm sooooo NOT happy I haven't even been to dealer to see the boat because in my eyes all three could have done a better job communicating .

P.S. It is the bravo 3 mercy cruiser & dealer said they are hard to come by?
 
Not only hard to come by but price them.  Years ago I borrowed my Dad's boat with a Volvo dual prop out drive.  Hit a piece of wood and didn't know that that loosened the rear prop.  Going through a lock and having to reverse, the prop spun off the shaft.  When I went to price the prop, I had to tell my Dad that were we were at in life, 2 small kids, I could not afford to buy a new prop.   One of the hardest admissions I every had to make but it taught me never to borrow anything again.  If I don't own it, I don't use it.   
 
Wendell / Lynn said:
Well I myself am not looking for props, I have already paid for a set that's not here! Lol

The way it's explained to me is that Ben never ships props & salesman told me it wasn't Bens or dealers fault but was Mercs, they were suppose to have sent to dealer. Now My Thoughts...... Just like posted above SOMEBODY should have made sure props were at dealer waiting for boats arrival to complete a sell & have a Happy Customer, I Ain't Happy right now, in fact I'm sooooo NOT happy I haven't even been to dealer to see the boat because in my eyes all three could have done a better job communicating .

P.S. It is the bravo 3 mercy cruiser & dealer said they are hard to come by?
Click to expand...
It sounded like he was scrambling for various props for several boats, he sells Yamaha and Merc, both outboards and I/O, and I had the impression it was more than one manufacturer but I can't confirm that or specifically tell you which ones. I just happened to be in there to pick up some oil (we already had our boat) and he was obviously quite upset about it and was very busy working on the problem so I didn't pry further. It was obvious that this was something that wasn't ever an issue before and he didn't have any reason to expect it to be an issue until all of a sudden, when he went to place his prop orders, they said he couldn't get them anywhere close to when he typically would have been able to. He was busy working countless hours and days to prep boats for on-time delivery that in the end could very well be sitting there without a prop. Being a shortage of such a critical item, in a peak season, without warning, made absolutely no sense to him and I think we can all agree on that.

I totally understand your frustration and would be ticked off too! Sorry I don't know the specifics. Someone is responsible, it shouldn't have happened, and now you are left waiting on a new boat at exactly the wrong time of the year. I only mentioned my dealer's situation as it is possible that this may have been something he too had no reason to expect would be a problem and now after-the-fact, has become a nightmare to rectify. My dealer is awesome and was doing everything in his power to get his customers their boats either on-time or ASAP afterwards and I hope yours is doing the same.

If there is further delay, you hopefully find out that he is going above and beyond to attempt to rectify the problem. You really find out how good your dealer is in situations like this. In the end, I truly hope they get is resolved and that you are on the water very soon. A Q2575 I/O blackout is one sweet boat. Once you do get it on the water, I'm sure you'll love it and will find it was worth the wait, as hard as that is right now I'm sure!  
 
Very well stated Garrick, i too hope you get on the water sooner than later Wendell, but sometimes the ball gets dropped, who knows, maybe there is a truckload of Mercury props stuck in a flood somewhere....
 
Not sure why having dealer supply the prop makes sense but if that was the case then it's the dealers screw up.

To my point earlier, if you ordered a new pickup and it arrived without drive shafts made by a sub supplier who's problem is it?
 
It makes sense because different people have different uses for their boat. Some may always have a heavier load so if they tell their dealer that there is usually 12 out on the boat he can prop correctly for that instead of taking a "factory supplied" prop that may not be what the customer needs to get the most performance from their boat. Now granted, 95% of people with a duo prop are going to be fine with exactly what the manufacturer recommended and will probably never change it. 
 
guardrail22 said:
To my point earlier, if you ordered a new pickup and it arrived without drive shafts made by a sub supplier who's problem is it?
Click to expand...
That is an awesome question if and only if we were talking about pickup trucks. Boats are not cars. They are not sold, ordered, built, shipped or delivered the same way.
 
Mercruiser Parts are not always available--I once waited almost a year for a shortblock as none were in stock and it had to be cast.

Your dealer will probably have your boat floorplanned, and interest day by day on such an expensive boat is a lot.  He should do everything possible to find you a prop.

Ask the dealer if he can call around to other Mercruiser dealerships to see if they have the right props in their parts department. 

I strongly suggest you not complete your transaction with the dealer--don't pay him. 
 
Well dealer got some props & I sent my Toon Polisher to dealer to show shine the toons & seal them & he sent me pics of props, now I am a little unsure to say something or not but My Thinking for whatever its worth is a 6 figure boat would come with Polished props, heck I have never known that SS props ever came dull? I have yet to talk to dealer or see boat in person since the no prop talk & missing out on the weekend I could have used the boat, now a few weeks of waiting for another free weekend so now I am in no hurry.


Anyone taken delivery of Non Polished SS Props?


P.S. I know I am picky but I think Us Bennington owners are or we would pick a lesser boat.....


P.S.S. Boat will stay on a floating lift other wise I might wanna think No one will ever know....
 
Hmmm...can you put the picture of your prop-set on this forum? You just have to upload it using the gallery tab at the top. I can't say as I have ever seen unpolished SS props. Like...ever. Maybe its just a bad picture?
 
I will try & pull from phone but I will say I have a professional polisher that normally does Big truck rigs & he said he tried to polish to see if they might be of another alloy, he sais SS.


Try pics shortly
 
Those are stainless. They have more of brushed finish than polished. If you order racing props for Bravo 3 outdrives you can get polished as an option.I have bought 5 new boats with Bravo 3 outdrives including 2 Benningtons and non had polished props until I changed to polished racing props on a couple of boats.If you go to Mercrusier's web site and look up stainless steel props for Bravo 3's you will see the brushed finish on them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top