Ewan123 Posted August 30, 2023 Report Share Posted August 30, 2023 Having seen a few threads and comments recently, one could easily come to the conclusion that all boatyards are full of cowboys. Obviously the ones in question are rarely named (I can understand why), so perhaps we can all share some positive experiences and share names that have a good reputation? I hope this might be useful to others in future... I'll start: We got a new stern hatch fabricated and fitted, and Yale door locks fitted at Stanstead Abbots boatyard - good job done, on time and cost as quoted (also small added extra of straightening out some doors that had been bent). We got the boat blacked at Debdale Wharf (gritblast and two pack epoxy) - very good communication, they needed to move dates around and we got offered a discount in exchange for volunteering for a different date. Work done was transparent (in a good way!) as photos of all stages were provided after it was complete. Too early to say whether the job will last years yet but it appeared well done and so far so good. It's probably too much to hope that sharing more good reports will encourage the wrong'uns to do better in the hope they get recommended, but one can hope. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy D'arth Posted August 30, 2023 Report Share Posted August 30, 2023 I can second Debdale Wharf doing a good job at a fair price without any drama. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty40s Posted August 30, 2023 Report Share Posted August 30, 2023 I do know of Debdale doing a shoddy job of putting a boat back together recently after the zinc/2 pack process, this wasnt discovered until the bow thruster was used(countersunk bolts lost, new standard hex bolts used and hatch not sealed) . Unfortunately, rather than take ownership, they tried to charge a call out fee to rectify. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Lewis Posted August 30, 2023 Report Share Posted August 30, 2023 Had a lift out and welding carried out at P & S at Cassiobury a few years ago and couldn’t fault the service. Used them again last year on a charity trip boat I am involved in and had the same excellent service Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ewan123 Posted August 30, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2023 16 minutes ago, matty40s said: I do know of Debdale doing a shoddy job of putting a boat back together recently after the zinc/2 pack process, this wasnt discovered until the bow thruster was used(countersunk bolts lost, new standard hex bolts used and hatch not sealed) . Unfortunately, rather than take ownership, they tried to charge a call out fee to rectify. Oh dear, my dreams are already dashed! (Balanced reviews obviously important though). I can at least say that there appears to be no issue with our bow thruster after being at Debdale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty40s Posted August 30, 2023 Report Share Posted August 30, 2023 1 hour ago, Ewan123 said: Oh dear, my dreams are already dashed! (Balanced reviews obviously important though). I can at least say that there appears to be no issue with our bow thruster after being at Debdale. The actual job at Debdale was done without query, it was the putting the boat back together job, which is quite suprising given the amount of boats they process. Something has gone wrong, the worrying thing is the high level person that is insisting on a call out charge to rectify rather than just getting it sorted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Schweizer Posted August 30, 2023 Report Share Posted August 30, 2023 (edited) I always tended to use individual people to do work on Helvetia rather than boatyards, with most of them being based in Braunston, and I always got excellent work at a modest cost. Yes I will name them:- Roger Farrington for Steelwork, Jonathan Hewitt for engine work, AJ Canopies for canories, Tim Hewitt for blacking, John Sanderson for complete boat re-paint, and Ron Hough, and later Dave Moore for decorating and signwork. Apart from Ron Hough, who is no longer with us, I would recommend any one of them. Edited August 30, 2023 by David Schweizer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchcrawler Posted August 30, 2023 Report Share Posted August 30, 2023 18 minutes ago, David Schweizer said: . They were that good? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty40s Posted August 30, 2023 Report Share Posted August 30, 2023 15 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said: They were that good? No, they were better than that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Schweizer Posted August 30, 2023 Report Share Posted August 30, 2023 (edited) 10 hours ago, ditchcrawler said: They were that good? Yes 🤣. Original post deleted because of missing information, post now re-instated and repeated below:- I always tended to use individual people to do work on Helvetia rather than boatyards, with most of them being based in Braunston, and I always got excellent work at a fair price. Yes I will name them:- Roger Farrington for Steelwork, Jonathan Hewitt for engine work, AJ Canopies for canopies, Tim Hewitt for blacking, John Sanderson for complete boat re-paint, and Ron Hough, and later Dave Moore for decorating and signwork. Apart from Ron Hough, who is no longer with us, I would recommend any one of them. Edited August 31, 2023 by David Schweizer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ewan123 Posted August 30, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2023 54 minutes ago, David Schweizer said: I always tended to use individual people to do work on Helvetia rather than boatyards, with most of them being based in Braunston, and I always got excellent work at a modest cost. Yes I will name them:- Roger Farrington for Steelwork, Jonathan Hewitt for engine work, AJ Canopies for canories, Tim Hewitt for blacking, John Sanderson for complete boat re-paint, and Ron Hough, and later Dave Moore for decorating and signwork. Apart from Ron Hough, who is no longer with us, I would recommend any one of them. AJ Canopies did a good quick job replacing a zip on our cratch earlier this year 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Marshall Posted August 30, 2023 Report Share Posted August 30, 2023 Stoke Boats for a first rate resteeling job and for a quality repair after someone else's screw-up. The engineer at Heritage boats who tracked down and fixed an oil leak caused by the bloke who rebuilt my engine forgetting to use a gasket somewhere or other. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cuthound Posted August 31, 2023 Report Share Posted August 31, 2023 In the 20 years that we had shareboats we experienced many boatyards with varying degrees of quality. Norbury Wharf stood out. They resolved some long standing issues other boatyards were unable to permanently fix. When I had my boat repainted 4 years ago I took it to Norbury, because they were one of the few places that were happy to flat off the sound but faded paintwork and apply the same manufacturer and colour paint over the top. Most yards wanted to take the boat back to bare steel before repainting because " they couldn't guarantee that the paint would be compatible with that already on the boat" despite the manual detailing the manufacturer and colour of every type of paint used originally. Four years on and it still looks as good as new. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enigmatic Posted September 12, 2023 Report Share Posted September 12, 2023 For minor work recently I've been happy with a short notice T-stud weld from Jim at Red Hill Marina and zip repairs at Cover & Canvas at Venetian. Scott Wragg near Wakefield did a good job diagnosing a minor electrical issue at a remarkably reasonable rate considering there aren't any other marine electricians locally. Wish I could recommend the outfit that did my engine mounts, but after doing a tidy job on that they did manage to leave the alternator rather wobbly on a minor belt change they suggested doing at the same time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manxmike Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 Venetian Marina did some excellent work for me (yes - really!) I always found them helpful and ready to listen and then explain. The Marina at Wrenbury, on the Llangollen Canal, sorted out a problem with my battery bank - they spent over an hour and refused to charge me anything. I left some money so the guys could have a drink on me. They were helpful, explained what they were doing, why they were doing it and why it needed doing in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ewan123 Posted 21 hours ago Author Report Share Posted 21 hours ago Thorn Marine just did a nice job of making me some new deck boards. Two boards, neither square in shape. I gave them the measurements and they sourced the boards and cut (exactly to spec) then treated the edges. Good value for money too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchcrawler Posted 20 hours ago Report Share Posted 20 hours ago 4 minutes ago, Ewan123 said: Thorn Marine just did a nice job of making me some new deck boards. Two boards, neither square in shape. I gave them the measurements and they sourced the boards and cut (exactly to spec) then treated the edges. Good value for money too. Had my last two boat safety inspections done there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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