Archive for the ‘Marine Repair Facilities/Boatyards’ Category


Posted on August 20, 2013 - by

A bad report regarding Green Cove Springs Marina

Dave from Driftaway endured a bad experience with these guys. I’ll repost his comments:

Green Cove Springs Marina WARNING!

In preparation for our departure north, we needed to find a good place to leave Drift Away for the many months we’d be gone.  Cost was an issue and we eliminated all the expensive marinas.  We didn’t care about amenities since we wouldn’t be there anyway.  We also wanted a do-it-yourself yard to perform some needed maintenance,  like painting.  We narrowed our list down to a few.  Green Cove Springs Marina looked good, relatively close by to Brunswick Georgia where we were docked, just south of Jacksonville.

I gave them a call to make sure they could accommodate us.  They asked the size, weight, and beam, and then confirmed that they could easily haul Drift Away.  Pam and I even took a road trip there to talk to the staff in person.

We arrived at Green Cove Springs Marina on May 10th, tying up to their wall.

Not the prettiest marina we’ve been at, but the cleats were adequate.
We were there for a few days and made arrangements to rent a U-Haul for our trip north.  The marina owner and office manager came by in a golf cart and we chatted a bit.  They both seemed like nice folks.
I prepped the boat for long term storage, putting loose things in the Whaler and covering it with a tarp.  I turned off everything on the boat, both 110V and 12V.   The shore power didn’t work on the dock and so we ran our generator to keep our food cold and water hot, but no big deal.  The only things running would be the bilge pumps, so I hooked both batteries together with booster cables to double the battery capacity for the pumps.  I couldn’t just turn the battery switches to “all” because the engines won’t start that way.
On the day of our departure, I stopped by the office to check out.  I paid for hauling, bottom cleaning, pump out, blocking, and three months storage in advance.  I asked that our boat be hauled as soon as possible.  I didn’t like leaving a 33 year old boat in the water without someone reliable to watch it and check on it.  I was told that it would be hauled within a few days.
A couple of days passed and Pam and I were almost in North Carolina when the cell phone rang.   It was the marina.
“We can’t haul your boat.”
“WHAT?  Why not??”
“It’s too big.  We can’t do it.”
“When I called, you assured me that you could!”
“Well, we can’t.  It’s too tall.”
“So now what do we do?  We’re on our way north towing a U-Haul and almost in North Carolina.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.  I’ll have it hauled by Holland Marine and then stored at Reynold’s Park Yacht Center right next to us.  They charge more than we do, though.”
“When can you do this?”
“I’ll make the arrangements right away and get it over there.”
“OK, do it.”
After I hung up the phone, I was extremely aggravated.  I found it incredibly unprofessional that they didn’t take a few minutes to size up Drift Away in the few days I was there.  Plus, it would cost me half again as much as I planned on.  If I knew there was a problem hauling Drift Away at Green Cove Springs, I would have taken it someplace else.
Days passed and I heard nothing.  I called.  Drift Away was still in the water.
“I just have to get on Holland Marine’s hauling schedule.  I’ll get it out in a few days.”
A few days turned into a few weeks.   Another call.
“Your broker said to leave your boat in the water because it shows better.”
“What?  No way.  Look, it’s MY boat and I want it hauled.  Why would you take instructions from a boat broker?”
And then a couple of months went by.  Finally, on the 12th of July, I had a call from Holland that Drift Away was hauled and at Reynold’s.
I called Green Cove Springs and asked about refunding what I paid them.  I spoke to Crystal, the manager.
“I’ll talk to Bob, the owner.”
“Fine,” said I.  “I’ll pay for the few days we were there on the boat, and I’ll pay for the pump out you did, but I don’t expect to be charged for the two months my boat sat tied up to your wall.”
“I’ll have to talk to Bob about that.”
Several telephone calls and emails went unanswered over the next few weeks. It was apparent to me that they had no intentions of refunding me anything.  I guess they figured they could continue to play games since I’m in New York and they’re in Florida.  They were wrong.
I filled out paperwork and sent it to my bank to have my debit card charged back the full amount I paid them, $773.
Now the tables are turned and it’s their turn to wait.
A word to the wise.  Always put major expenditures on a charge or debit card.  You can always have the card charged back if goods or services are not delivered.
Avoid Green Cove Springs Marina.

Posted on December 22, 2012 - by

Charlotte Harbor Boat Storage

Passing on a review from Jan at Commutercruiser.com

We hauled a few days ago at Charlotte Harbor Boat Storage, in Placida Florida (just north of Charlotte Harbor/Ft Myers). We’re having the bottom redone (including a small blister problem) doing a bit of work ourselves, repacking the stuffing boxes, replacing a depth transducer & speed transducer, maintenance etc. This place is like landing at home — great facilities, great contacts for everything from soda-blasting (needed for our blistered bottom), fixing a 2001 Tohatsu outboard — anything we ask, they have quality recommendations. THANKS CHBS! Plus nice extras for liveaboards – showers, screened picnic table deck with lots of microwaves, washer/dryer, washing dishes area, TV & wifi. We will be back — hopefully after we splash again and get some more cruising in!

:) Cheers! Jan,

commutercruiser.com

Charlotte Harbor Boat Storage, Inc.
 13101 Appleton Blvd – Placida, Florida 33946
(941) 828-0216


Posted on August 31, 2012 - by

Marine Service in Beaufort SC. Shocking!! Butler Marine

This review was done by one my blogging buddies on board Drift Away. Dave was very impressed with Butler Marine and expressed it in his comical way on his blog http://trawlerdriftaway.blogspot.com/
I left his review unedited.
Thanks Dave.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

I‘m not sure exactly how to put this, so I’m just going to say it.  Butler Marine is awesome.   There. Those of you who follow this blog know that we bought an old boat and spent considerable time and money getting it up and running to make this trip we’re on.   We did it, and have been cruising down the ICW since last fall having the time of our lives.  Everything is working perfectly now that we have our fuel issues sorted out, but we’ve been staying in marinas every night because of the dogs.  They need to get off the boat a couple of times a day.  No matter how hard I tried, I can’t get them to hang off the poop deck. Drift Away came with a 13′ Boston Whaler which sits in chocks up on the flybridge.

Like Drift Away, the Whaler sat unused and uncovered for 20 years.  I had fixed the electric hoist used to get it on and off the flybridge a long time ago, but then focused on the big boat’s systems and did nothing with the Whaler.  Before we left, though, I bought a new gas tank, battery, and fuel filter in anticipation of working on the Whaler.  We didn’t have an ignition key for it so I bought a new ignition switch.   Since we’re here in Beaufort for a bit of time, I decided to tackle the Whaler.  The first thing to do was to install the new ignition switch.  I disassembled the control, not  too bad of a job.

I then spent the better part of a day trying to find the new switch.  Like many things on this boat, it simply disappeared.  So next I decided to work on the steering, which seemed loose.   I tried to unbolt the old mechanical helm and, in no time flat, snapped off a rusty bolt.  In the process, the old wooden console broke apart, the victim of decay and wood rot.  I was left with a train wreck. I got on the laptop and, amazingly, found a place in California that sells a mahogany replacement console for only $179, so I ordered one, which I am now awaiting delivery of. Back up to the Whaler to disassemble the steering controls.  There was no point in being gentle or methodical, so I just started taking things apart.  The mechanical helm was a little tough.

 
I finally got it unbolted from the console.  Now to take it apart.
 
 
Part of owning a boat is figuring out how things work.  As I analyzed at the steering mechanism, I realized that there was no reason to take this apart.  It was working fine.  What I snapped the bolt off of was this….
 
a simple bezel that connects the steering wheel to the mechanical helm.
 
Now here is the amazing part.  When I first tackled this job, I had thought that the steering mechanism was the problem.   After considerable googling, I found that the unit was made by Teleflex.  I looked on their dealer list and found that Butler Marine here in Beaufort was on it.  I emailed them inquiring about a replacement.  I soon received a call from Billy in parts.  By the time Billy called, I had learned that I only needed a new bezel.  Within the hour, Billy was at the marina with a couple of possible replacements.
 
How’s that again?   While all my cruising friends are sitting here reading this with their jaws hanging open, let me explain for my landlubber friends.  Customer service in the marine business is practically non-existent.  Yes, that’s right.  Generally speaking, service in the marine biz stinks.  Nothing is ever done within estimate of cost or time, and customers are generally viewed as the enemy.  Yet here was Billy in the parking lot of the Beaufort town docks with parts in hand trying to help me out with my small project.
 
Not only did I buy the replacement bezel from Billy, but I ordered everything I could think of from Billy, which wasn’t much but included a couple of bottles of two cycle oil, two spark plugs, and an ignition switch.
 
Pam and I walked the dogs over to Lady’s Island yesterday, and on the way we came upon Butler’s Marine.  We stopped in and I picked up the ignition switch.  Billy had it sitting on the parts counter with my name on it, intending to deliver it on his way home from work.  One of the ladies who works there saw the dogs and had to go outside to see them, and then even invited them into the store. 
 
What a great place.  Nice folks at Butler Marine.   So here is a shameless plug that I make no apologies for.  If you’re anywhere remotely close to Beaufort, South Carolina and need any kind of parts or service, you call Butler Marine, 70 Sea Island Parkway, Beaufort South Carolina.   843-522-9461.  Email Billy at parts at butlermarineinc.com.  They’re fine folks, and the owner should be proud of the employees he has.  They represent him well.
 
Good old fashioned customer service.  Imagine that.  What is this world coming to?

Posted on February 10, 2012 - by

Atlantic Yacht Basin

 

We pulled into AYB last year on our way down from the Chesapeake expecting to stay for a night before heading south. Then Mel got news that her mother was having health issues so she had to hop on a plane and leave Radar and I to fend for ourselves. My friend Peter had also tied up here waiting to head south. Pete had told me these guys were good boat fixers… Expensive but worth it. He was right.

It’s an old boat yard, but you can just tell by looking around these guys know what they’re doing. So I decided to have a few things done while waiting for Mel to return. They also give a special break on dockage if you have work done.
I needed a transducer replaced, which meant I must pull the boat, and I wanted to replace an old display with a new one I had in spares. They had good craftsmen and they did an excellent job of cutting in the new display.

Pulling the boat from the water was an experience. They didn’t let me drive into the lift, they asked me to get off the boat and they literally pulled it into the slings by hand, taking care to not scratch anything. About an hour later the transducer was replaced and the boat was going back into the water. Very quick work. While out, they cleaned my hull and scraped the running gear and keel coolers.
James Taylor, the Service Manager is a good fellow and made sure I had my boat back in the water by Friday so I could leave Saturday.
They had recommended Ayers Marine Electronics to do the wiring for the transducer. Ayers sent a nice young fellow to do the wiring and while there I asked him to look at upgrading the software on my Raymarine gear. He did both of those items quickly and professionally.
(I had problems with Ayers Marine Electronics, but I’ll write a separate review for them later.)

Our opinion of Atlantic Yacht Basin and it’s staff is another good one. Professional and seasoned veterans on staff. James Taylor is a fine fellow. We had a communication hick-up concerning billing and Ayers Marine Electronics, but all in all, it was a good experience and we hope to tie up at AYB in the near future.