# Boat dealer service software that keeps every repair order, warranty claim and recall notice on one hull

> Boat dealer service is the rigging, repair and warranty work a dealership performs on the hulls it sells and the ones it takes in. Every job attaches to a hull identification number, an engine serial number and, when the manufacturer pays, a warranty claim with its own labor schedule. Under 46 USC 4310 a manufacturer must notify its dealers of a safety defect discovered within 10 years of the date of certification. Neurobird holds the hull, the job and the claim on one record.

- URL: https://neurobird.com/boatdealer/
- Product: Neurobird Boat Dealer Service Document Automation Platform
- Niche: boat dealer service
- Buyer: boat dealerships and marine service departments
- Status: in development, open for early access
- Updated: 2026-08-22

## What Neurobird Boat Dealer Service does

- Open every repair order against a hull identification number and an engine serial rather than a customer name
- Split one job into the warranty claims it actually contains, with the right labor rate on each
- Match incoming recall notices to hulls you sold or hold, and show which ones are still open
- Hold technician hours against the job so a claim is filed from the record instead of from memory

## How it works

1. **Take the boat in** Hull identification number, engine serials, hours and options captured once, so the same boat is recognised the next time it comes back on a trailer.
2. **Work the order** Labor and parts recorded against the job, split by who pays: the customer, the boat builder, the engine maker or the dealership's own goodwill.
3. **File and follow** Claims leave with the hours and photographs attached, and open recalls stay visible against the hull until the remedy is recorded.

## From the source material

> The emission-related warranty for an engine may not be shorter than any published warranty you offer without charge for that engine .

Source: 40 CFR 1045.120, emission related warranty, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/40/1045.120

## Industry context

- **10 years** Period from the date of certification, or from the date of manufacture where no certification date is affixed, within which a discovered safety defect triggers the manufacturer's duty to notify. Notice goes to first purchasers, known subsequent purchasers and to dealers and distributors. (source: 46 USC 4310, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/46/4310)
- **$5,000** Civil penalty for a violation of the recreational vessel safety provisions, with a maximum of $250,000 for a related series of violations. Willfully operating a vessel in violation carries a fine of up to $5,000, up to one year of imprisonment, or both. (source: 46 USC 4311, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/46/4311)
- **$44,539** Maximum civil penalty per engine or piece of equipment where a manufacturer or dealer removes or renders inoperative an emission control device. For anyone who is not a manufacturer or dealer the figure is $4,454 per engine. (source: 40 CFR 1068.101, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/40/1068.101)
- **175 hours** Minimum emission related warranty for an outboard engine, or 5 years, whichever comes first. Personal watercraft engines carry 175 hours or 30 months, and conventional sterndrive and inboard engines carry 3 years or 480 hours. (source: 40 CFR 1045.120, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/40/1045.120)
- **$50** Ohio watercraft dealer licence fee, with the licence expiring on the last day of December each year and covering a permanently assigned dealer number and a wall certificate for the place of business. (source: Ohio Department of Natural Resources, https://ohiodnr.gov/business-and-industry/business-activities/boat-dealers-liveries/watercraft-dealer-registration)

## Pricing

- Single bay: $169 per month
- Dealership: $529 per month
- Group: $1,300 per month

## Questions

### What is boat dealer service?

Boat dealer service is the rigging, repair, commissioning and warranty work a marine dealership performs. Unlike a car, one boat carries several manufacturers at once, so a single repair order can produce a hull claim, an engine claim and a customer pay line, each with a different labor rate and a different administrator.

### What are a dealer's obligations when a recall is issued?

Under 46 USC 4310 the manufacturer must notify first purchasers, known subsequent purchasers and its dealers and distributors of a defect that creates a substantial risk of personal injury, for defects discovered within 10 years of the date of certification or manufacture. The dealer is the point where that notice becomes a repair on a specific hull.

### How long is the emission warranty on a marine engine?

40 CFR 1045.120 sets the minimum: 175 hours or 5 years for an outboard, 175 hours or 30 months for personal watercraft, and 3 years or 480 hours for a conventional sterndrive or inboard. High performance sterndrives carry shorter mechanical component periods, down to 1 year or 50 hours above 485 kW.

### Does this replace our dealer management system?

No. It sits beside it. The dealer management system holds the deal, the inventory and the ledger. This holds the service record: the hull, what was done to it, who paid, which claim went where and which recalls are still open against it.

### Can it track technician hours for warranty claims?

Yes. Hours are recorded against the job and the pay type as the work happens, so the claim is assembled from the record rather than reconstructed at the end of the month when the labor time has already been forgotten.

## Sources

- [46 USC 4310, repair and replacement of defects](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/46/4310)
- [46 USC 4311, penalties and injunctions](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/46/4311)
- [40 CFR 1068.101, prohibited actions](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/40/1068.101)
- [40 CFR 1045.120, emission related warranty](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/40/1045.120)
- [33 CFR 181.23, hull identification numbers required](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/33/181.23)
- [Ohio DNR, watercraft dealer registration](https://ohiodnr.gov/business-and-industry/business-activities/boat-dealers-liveries/watercraft-dealer-registration)

## Contact

- office@neurobird.com
- https://neurobird.com/