Yamaha · Mercury · Suzuki 4-stroke outboards

Mobile Outboard Motor Repair & Service in Central Florida

Makin Waves is a mobile outboard mechanic. Wayne drives out to your dock, lift or driveway anywhere in Orange, Seminole, Volusia, Flagler and northeast Lake counties and works on Yamaha, Mercury and Suzuki 4-stroke outboards right where the boat sits: break-in and hour-based service, ECM code scans and diagnosis, fuel and cooling problems, and water pump and impeller work. Most visits wrap up the same day, and the boat doesn’t have to be trailered to a dealer for the work.

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Outboard work done on site

3 brandsYamaha, Mercury and Suzuki 4-stroke outboards

10 / 20 hrbreak-in service on a new or rebuilt powerhead

100 / 200 / 300hour services, done to the owner’s manual schedule

OEM or betterparts, sourced for the best price

When to call

Outboard symptoms worth a phone call

The overheat alarm goes off, or the telltale stream is weak or missing
It cranks but won’t fire, or it starts and stalls at idle
It won’t reach normal top RPM, or it bogs when you throttle up
A warning horn, a check-engine light or a code on the gauge
The motor won’t trim up, or it slowly trims down on its own
It’s coming up on the break-in service or the next hour mark

Describe what the motor is doing when you call. Wayne’s work trailer carries tools, fluids and common parts, and if the repair needs a part ordered, you’ll know that up front.

The Makin Waves truck and work trailer.

Repairs

Diagnosis and repair at the dock

ECM code scan, then real diagnosis. On fuel-injected outboards, the scan tells Wayne where to look. After that it’s old-school testing to find the actual cause, so you aren’t paying for parts thrown at a guess.
Fuel system service. Filters, lines and the rest of the fuel system, for the motor that runs rough or won’t idle after sitting between trips.
Cooling system service. Impeller, passages and water flow. Salt is harder on a cooling system than fresh water, so this matters most for boats that run in the Intracoastal, the Halifax River or Mosquito Lagoon.
Steering diagnostics and upgrades. Steering that’s gone stiff, loose or notchy gets checked from the helm to the motor. SeaStar, BayStar and Teleflex are among the steering brands on Wayne’s parts list.

Parts come from the suppliers on Wayne’s list, including Yamaha Marine, Mercury, Suzuki Marine, Sierra and SysteMatched. Because the service is fully mobile, there are some limits to what can be done on site, so describe the job up front.

“I employ old school methods of true diagnosis and repair accordingly. You can trust me to provide quality service, as I always leave your watercraft in cleaner and better shape than I found it.”

Wayne, Makin Waves. He started out as Custom Marine in the Ohio Valley 35 years ago and moved the business to Florida in 2016.

The hour-based service, line by line

What gets checked on an outboard service visit

These are the items from the Makin Waves Bronze and Silver maintenance packages that apply to an outboard. Your engine’s manual sets the interval; this is what actually happens at the dock.

Item	What Wayne does	Why it matters
Engine oil and filter	Drains, replaces and refills to spec	Fresh oil is the cheapest protection a 4-stroke powerhead gets
Fuel filter	Replaces the fuel filter	Water and debris in fuel cause hard starts and rough running
Lower unit gear lube	Drains and refills the gearcase	Milky or metal-flecked lube is an early warning of a seal or gear problem
Spark plugs	Inspects them (Bronze) or replaces them and runs a compression check (Silver)	Plug condition and compression numbers say a lot about engine health
Water pump and impeller	Inspects the impeller and replaces it as needed (Silver)	A worn impeller is one of the usual reasons an outboard overheats
Propeller and shaft	Inspects the prop, or pulls it to clean and grease the shaft (Silver)	Fishing line and corrosion on the shaft can damage the prop seal
Power trim and tilt	Checks the fluid and tops it off	Low fluid can leave a motor that won’t trim all the way up
ECM	Scans for stored codes, clears them and resets the maintenance interval	Stored codes can flag a problem before it strands you on the water
Electrical check	Checks system voltage and that the accessories work (Silver)	Weak charging leaves the battery low, and a corroded connection can look like a dead battery

Want this handled on a schedule every year? The yearly maintenance packages build these items around the manufacturer’s schedule for your engine, and Wayne can put together a custom package if none of the four fit.

Save a back-and-forth

Have this handy when you call

The brand and horsepower of the outboard, and the year if you know it
Engine hours from the gauge or the ECM
Where the boat is: on a lift, on a trailer, or floating at a dock
What it’s doing, and when it started
Anything else on the boat you’d like looked at during the same trip

That last one matters. Have a jet ski too? A boat and a ski can be serviced on the same visit, and the mobile jet ski service covers Yamaha and Sea-Doo 4-strokes. For anything else on the boat, like electronics or a battery switch, mention it when you call and Wayne can tell you whether it fits the same visit.

Questions

Outboard repair FAQs

How often does a 4-stroke outboard need service?

Go by your owner’s manual. Yamaha, Mercury and Suzuki all call for a break-in service in the first hours, then service at set hour marks or once a year, whichever comes first. A boat that sits most of the year still needs the yearly service, because oil, fuel and impellers age even when the hours don’t climb.

Can you work on the outboard while the boat is in the water?

Some of it. Gear lube, the impeller and the prop all need the lower unit clear of the water, so a lift or trailer is easiest. If the boat is tied up at a dock, say so when you call.

Do you work on 2-stroke outboards or other brands?

The outboards on the Makin Waves list are Yamaha, Mercury and Suzuki 4-strokes. Running an older 2-stroke or a different make? Ask before booking.

How much does mobile outboard repair cost?

There’s no published price list. The engine, the hours and whether a part has to be ordered are what move the number, so have those ready when you call.

What areas do you cover?

All of Orange, Seminole, Volusia and Flagler counties plus northeast Lake County. If you’re just past that line, call anyway; Wayne tries to fit in nearby customers when he’s already working in the area.

Get the outboard looked at

Call or text with the engine details, or pick a time on the booking page and add a note about what the motor is doing.

Call 407-276-6482 Text Wayne Book OnlineEmail wayne@makinwavesmms.com · Mon–Fri 8 AM–6 PM, Sat 8 AM–4 PM, Sun noon–4 PM