Wichita Marine

We took our 2003 VIP boat to Wichita Marine to have a standard oil change and tune up, to have the boat made "Lake Ready" for the season in April ’12. On June 7th, we were out on the lake when oil exploded out of the engine compartment and all over the back seat of our boat. The oil pressure dropped to zero and the engine seized up. We spent 3 hours waiting to be towed in on our wedding anniversary with our 1 1/2 year old son on board. It's a miracle no one was burned from the hot oil. Wichita Marine was gracious enough to admit that the oil filter gasket was not installed properly and they replaced our engine with a rebuilt engine. It took them a month and a half to get to it. When we received the boat back the first time, there were hoses and wires unplugged, the battery switch was not connected, the 2 batteries and their compartment box were not bolted down in the engine compartment, the bilge was not working and the boat was filthy with oil and dirt from the mechanics working on it. They were supposed to rectify all of these items at the 20 hour oil change to validate the new engines warranty. After hauling the boat from the lake and back to town, one of the batteries slid off of the engine compartment and disconnected several hoses, including the fuel pump and one of the battery cables. We took the boat back to Wichita Marine to have all of the items fixed so that we would not be in danger, get stuck out on the lake again or cause anymore damage to the boat. After another week in the shop, my husband went to pick up the boat and everything seemed to be working and to be put back together correctly. When the boat was tested on the lake, after an hour or so the boat would not start again. The starter was likely to be the problem this time. Wichita Marine, replaced the starter for us at no charge. We had the boat back the next day. When we got the boat out on the water, the boat would not start again. The power cable for the starter had fallen off. It had been tap