[SchockT]

He must be talking about Lions Gate marina. I think it is important to note that around here the people that work on the boats are independent contractors, not employees of the boatyard. They sometimes lease yard space, or have shops nearby but they are not connected.

I use Lynnwood marina, and aside from an unfortunate incident where the yard staff bumped my boat with a set of steel stairs and scratched my brand new Awlgrip paint job , I have had pretty good success with them. The travel lift has never done any damage. I agree that every owner should have their boats marked for sling position. In my case the slings are never anywhere near the prop shaft.

 

[SchockT]

Lions Gate Marina seems pretty professional and there machine is impressive.
But the service company, Oceanos Marine Solutions, offered no solution. They insist that the rudder must have been like that when it was taken out of the water. Utter BS but I can't prove differently.
The fact is the replacement of a PSS seal escalated into a new shaft and all the attendant issues with removing the steering radial wheel to drop the rudder etc was all caused by the worker not knowing how to drill stainless.
It's not rocket science: slow speed, real cutting oil, cobalt bits, proper pressure and don't touch it until the bit is up to speed. He put the dry drill bit against the retainer, pushed hard and cranked to full speed. From there it was all down hill.
From a business point of view it makes sense. Put the worst guy you have on the job so it mushrooms into lots of expensive extras. All with no up front price. The slower he goes, the more they make, the more incompetent he is the more they make.

Its a $3500 mistake that I won't make again.

I would think that if the bent shaft was a pre existing problem then there would be signs of abrasion on the hull and rudder where they come into contact. Either way it may be a relatively simple fix. Pulling the rudder and carefully checking the shaft to see if it is true, and figure out where to apply pressure to bend it back.

Right now they have you by the short hairs because your boat is on the hard, and every day it sits there it costs you more money. Pay their bill so you can get your boat back, and then persue the matter with the better business bureau or small claims court. You might want to have another company give you an opinion on the problem before you splash.