Houston Boat Svc

Strongly recommended! \r I have used Houston Boat Service with 2 different boats. \r The first was about 19 years ago. Jim (Owner) replaced the floor & also repaired a hole in the keel of my 17' Winner Minika. Jim did a great job with no problems.\r My most recent experience, my 1997 Cajun 21' Center Console needed major repairs. I brought it in on 2/18/14. Jim put in a brand new floor, replaced stringers, new gas tank in the floor, built a new rear deck & installed a new lean seat. \r Jim & employee ( Christian ) did a FANTASTIC job! If I was able to, I'd show pics of their quality work. It looks brand new!\r They have good personalities along with a good sense of humor!\r Jim was fair to me during the restoration. He would call me & make recommendations when he noticed a concern. \r Jim has lots of knowledge & experience in his field.\r Again, I Strongly recommend Houston Boat Service!!!\r Great customer service @ Houston Boat Service.\r Give Jim a call. \r \r Thanks Jim! more

Very good service.Reasonable pricing.Good communication.They work on a lot of older boats that other shops have little knowledge of.Happy to use them for service... more

Houston Boat Service has been in business 39 years.The negative reviews on this site are posted by a very few people who do not wish to pay for service.It is a shame that all of our very happy customers have not posted positive reviews.It would overload this site. We have had thousands of very happy customers through our 39 years of being in business.We have tried through the years to be fair and honest with all.It is true that you cannot please all the people all the time.We will keep trying...\r \r Jim Walters...Houston Boat Service more

WARNING, WARNING, WARNING - This company is a SCAM.............\r \r This company is a SCAM. Do not purchase from this company. I am a fist time boat owner who purchased a boat that was told was in great running shape. The owner of the company told me that the engine was serviced and had a recent tune up. On the lake, the engine would not take a load and kept dyeing; eventually it would not even start. When the engine cover was removed and inspected, the plugs were fouled and carbs were clogged. The boat was returned for service and picked up several weeks later. After the service the boat engine would still not run. When confronted, I was told by the owner that the boat was sold AS IS and it is my problem. I was taken advantage of as a new boat owner. STAY AWAY more

WARNING BOAT OWNERS DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THOSE PEPOLE!!!\r Toke my boat just to replace the shifter cable, day after toke the boat for a test drive... the engine doesn't turn on (new engine was running perfectly) and the guy didn't close the seal right my boat almost sink. OVER CHARGE ON EVERYTHING! WORST SERVICE AND REPAIR! more

It seems not much has changed at this place for some time now. The good: Quality parts used (CDI electric parts), friendly staff, they call to get authorization before proceeding with any repairs. The bad: They may call before continuing with repairs but do not have very accurate estimates. Being a new boat owner and a novice, at best, I was looking for a turnkey trip to the mechanic. This however was not what I received. The disappointing part is I was adamant about wanting the boat being looked at by professionals and all the bugs worked out since the boat had sat a long time idle. After about, a month of research and several trips to local parts stores I finally was able to launch the boat and run it on my own. Mistakes they made: Fuel lines leaking, steering pump leaking, fuel restrictions in the filter, etc. The aggravating part is I was sold a ?new? ignition switch, funny thing is the key looks just as worn as the old one. They tried to convince me the steering ram was not salvageable but I beg to differ. In conclusion, if you know a good bit about boats and motors and just want general service these guys are as good as any; however, if you are new to the marine world I would suggest going to a certified dealer. more

Brought in a used boat for an inspection I was planning on buying and was told in order to pressure check the lower unit all the oil had to be drained and would cost me $128 to replace the oil, so I agreed never being a boat owner, total inspection was $437. I currently have another boat being inspected by Texas Marine and I asked them if the oil in the lower unit needed to be drained and the guy said, "it's makes no difference if I pressure test the lower unit with oil in it or just air" and this complete inspection will only cost $300. Pros: null Cons: null more

I was referred by a friend that has been doing buissness with them for over 10 years. They found the problem with my boat that very same day.It sat at another boat shop for 5 days and they couldn't find the problem. They are very honest,the price was right, and finished on time.I will send all my friends over to Houston Boat Service give them a call and find out for your self. Pros: Very honest great customer service Cons: Only one location more

Took our 21 ft. runabout to Houston Boat Service for a simple tune up. Our model has a carbuerated engine, and had some appearant timing issues. Anyway, they ended up finding a variety of problems, and stupidly we gave them the green light to make the repairs. They fixed the mechancial issues, but created a plethora of electrial ones while they were at it. Guages, trim, and spark plugs cut in and out at random. We took the boat back to this shop atleast 3 times trying to get them to figure out what went wrong. They never admitted any wrongdoing and never got our boat running smoothly. After 2 other shops couldn't fix the prolem, we come to find they installed an automotive starter (not compatible in a marine engine), mistimed the carb, and misgapped the spark plugs. These guys are really unprofessional and unknowledgable. Please take your boat somewhere else. more

I was hoping to get a fair deal. They marked up the parts at least 100% and then charged me $40 to get them. They charged me sales tax on labor which I don't think is legal. A repair job that should have been $1000 was $1400. I called and spoke to the owner and told him I was on my way. When I got to the shop the technician was there and couldn't do anything about the charges. The owner knew I wasn't happy with the total and took off. The labor was excessive also. They charge by the book hours for each individual repair and some of the repairs required the same disassembly. They charged me for shop materials and everything they possible could. Pros: good technician Cons: charge as much as they can for every last item more

I'll never take my boat anywhere else. They took the time to answer all my questions. They really knew what they were talking about and had no problem explaining things to me so that I understood. I really appreciated them not talking down to me just because Im a women. My boat was ready on time. The price was right and there weren't any unexpected charges. They even saved all the old parts to show me. So I knew for sure all of them really needed to be replaced and they werent just trying to get my money. I highly recommend them. Pros: Knowledgeable , Reliable, Experienced more