Personally if you cant set down and rationally work out a resolution with the shop owner I would simply pay the bill and documemt on the Check or credit card or with a witness that the payment is paid under protest/dispute then i would take all the paperwork and documented conversations and create an outline timeline ,removing emotion and un-neccesary infomation (just the facts) and when "cooler heads prevail" at a time when you can carefully sort all of this out and revisit the whole thing with the shop at a later date (typically you have 2 years on a business deal) .Not sure about your  state but in Cali the marine shops are largley unregulated do not come under BAR (auto repair) jurisdiction even an Auto shop that works on boats ,they do for example fall under Business & Proffesion and other civil codes ,  and some municipal regulations. Granted its your property but if one simply hooks up and takes it away you might be the one with legal problems particularly if any of the work was authorized at all (verbal or written) If you leave it or refuse to pay they may have certain remedies available  to them respective to your boat and trailer titles I know this is probably not what you want to hear but IMO is the proffesional way to approach it . Above my current business I have 30 plus years dealing with business situations similar to this on occasion  and belive theres likley an amicable resolution here for you as well as maybe the shop .  Happy to help if I can don't hesitate to call  Tom

I appreciate your honest, cool-headed input, Tom.  

You'd be pleased to know that the pump, droop snoot, and (if I recall correctly) the jet-ovater on my boat all came from you and your shop.  You even through in some free tech support over the phone one evening when I couldn't seem to fit the new pump through the existing transom mounting plate.  If only your shop had been a few thousand miles closer when it came time for the carb work...

UPDATE:

2 months into this thing. 

I finally got a call the week before last that basically said, "I'm clueless, I can't figure it out"  so they sent the boat down to another shop a few hours away.

Left me a VM yesterday that it was up and running and to come pick it up.

I called him back today and he said it's good to go and that I should stop by tomorrow when he's there to get it and to settle up.  I asked him what "settle up" meant, since I already paid for a carb rebuild and tuning, and that he was merely finishing the job... slowly at that.  He said that he was being as nice as he could, and that he knocked a ton of hours off it, but it cost him another tank of gas and 3 oil changes, and a lot of hours.  I explained that the tank was full when he got it, which should have been about 3/4 of a tank more than any other mechanic would have needed to rebuild and tune a couple carbs, and that the oil also was fresh... and then re-freshed after his first gas overload.  He said that it was an incorrect gasket that kept causing it to run into the oil, and that he had to keep changing it.  Apparently, the fact that HE put that wrong gasket in, and the fact that HE used all the gas didn't mean anything....   

Am I way off base in thinking that not only should I not owe one more dime, but I should be getting something back for not having my boat for the last two months... especially after I was quoted $500 and "about a week" and am now up 2 months and about $730 the first time plus another request for $350 more... what a joke.

I would try tackling it myself next time.

I would too, since I'm out 700 bones and my boat is nowhere to be seen... I knew I was going to pay through the nose to have it done elsewhere, but figured if I rebuilt them myself and took it for tuning I'd have paid dearly, and probably faced the argument that it was done incorrectly if they couldn't get it right... now I sit wondering why I just didn't try.

They've now had it for 2 days without calling me with an update... how long is too long before I need to just pop in and check on progress?  If it were me I think I'd be calling the guy back with an update on his boat, but I guess they feel differently.

Did you turn it over alot b4 it fired. was it hard to turn over at first. any flames aout the exhuast?

Fired perfectly the first start... after that, it dies twice because the idle was off so badly.  Each time it took longer to start.  Rather long crank, but not crazy long.

No flames, but she did backfire a couple times... mild at best, not big ones.

Overall, the filter was clean. I found one shaving that makes me a little nervous, but other than that it was clean.  Nothing like the last bearing failure I saw... that filter was a mess.

I need to determine the best course of action to protect my interests.

Short story:

I have a jet boat with a 455 oldsmobile with a high rise and twin Holley 600's.  It had been in storage for a season without use.  After pulling it out this spring, I decided that it was finally time to have the carbs gone through and tuned, since they'd leaked a little gas for a very long time, and now the seals and what-not had likely dried out substantially from sitting....

I changed the oil and filter, filled the gas tank with fresh gas, and brought it to a shop for  a complete "rebuild, clean-up, tuning, and synchronization."

Picked it up yesterday.

First time out, it idles very poorly... rough as hell to be precise.  Could barely keep it running through the no wake zone after leaving the dock... black smoke emminating from the exhaust.  Once out of the no wake zone, I had to stumble across a flat spot in the throttle to get the RPM's up... got to decent speed, but was missing pretty badly and even a backfire or two along the way.

Pulled her immediately back to the dock and trailered it.

Called the shop and plan to bring it back in this evening... but the kicker is, after I talked to them, I checked the oil (not sure what made me curious) and saw that it had actually increased in volume.  Pulled the plug for the drain tube and it "flowed" out... not a trickle like a thick high viscosity oil, but like it was water... except no bubbles like water in the oil... and it smelled highly of gasoline.   

Should I take it to the same shop and explain what happend?  Hoping they'll fix it and I'll be all good? Or did this potentially cause much larger problems, that I should have another shop look at, in-case I'm now looking at a new block that I might go back on the original shop to replace?  I worry that the original shop will down-play the mistake, change the oil and make a few adjustments, hoping to send me on the way before a bearing failure....

I need to determine the best course of action to protect my interests.