Barrett Custom Marine

[MooreMoney]

Shout out to AJ at Barrett Custom Marine. I don't think anyone in the business is working as hard as this guy. Hes always answering the phone and answering any questions i have. When i go to his place he is always working on the boats himself. If you follow his social media you will see hes working all hours of the night so customers can get back on the water.

Last weekend he helped me get special batteries that only he carries in town. He was closed and it was late in the day but he made it happen for me. i would HIGHLY recommend AJ at BCM for any need on my boat.

 

[Why Not]

First class!! He has my boat right now for annual, so far nothing unexpected!👍👍

 

[Outdrive1]

AJSUX. [emoji12][emoji8]

 

[charlyox]

AJ is the man. My impeller went out right as the Desert Storm poker run was getting ready to start and I was one of the safety boats.. I called Barrett marine. They said bring it in. I was back on the water in an hour. :thumbsup

 

[MrMayhem]

AJ did my Whipple kit. Fair price, done on time, no unexpected charges, first class all the way.

 

[Lavey29]

His shop left 2 inches of water in my ski locker while doing routine service on my deck boat. They must not have had the boat tilted up slightly as they were working on it and it drained from the bildge into the ski locker. Nice mess for me to clean up after the $700 charge. Tried them once, won't go back.

 

[MooreMoney]

His shop left 2 inches of water in my ski locker while doing routine service on my deck boat. They must not have had the boat tilted up slightly as they were working on it and it drained from the bildge into the ski locker. Nice mess for me to clean up after the $700 charge. Tried them once, won't go back.

Little water never hurt anyone

 

[RiverDave]

His shop left 2 inches of water in my ski locker while doing routine service on my deck boat. They must not have had the boat tilted up slightly as they were working on it and it drained from the bildge into the ski locker. Nice mess for me to clean up after the $700 charge. Tried them once, won't go back.

Not to argue a point here, but a service shop wouldn't ever put water in a boat? When they service a boat they change the impeller etc.. and then typically hook the water up to the drive and it runs through the cooling system and out the exhaust etc..

Basically what I'm saying is if there was water in the bilge and it went into the ski locker, it was in there when you dropped off the boat. I'm not sure how that scenario could be blamed on a shop regardless of who the shop is.

If it was in the bilge and they hooked it to a forklift and put it inside and the water drained forward they likely never knew it was in there.

RD

 

[Patyacht]

His shop left 2 inches of water in my ski locker while doing routine service on my deck boat. They must not have had the boat tilted up slightly as they were working on it and it drained from the bildge into the ski locker. Nice mess for me to clean up after the $700 charge. Tried them once, won't go back.

So you expect a detail also. I'm betting the water was already there. I've been using AJ for about 15 years. Top notch!!!!! Nobody better!

 

[Lavey29]

Not to argue a point here, but a service shop wouldn't ever put water in a boat? When they service a boat they change the impeller etc.. and then typically hook the water up to the drive and it runs through the cooling system and out the exhaust etc..

Basically what I'm saying is if there was water in the bilge and it went into the ski locker, it was in there when you dropped off the boat. I'm not sure how that scenario could be blamed on a shop regardless of who the shop is.

If it was in the bilge and they hooked it to a forklift and put it inside and the water drained forward they likely never knew it was in there.

RD

Nope, it was a pre-season service. The boat had not been used in 4 months and was kept in my garage. There are 3 holes in the bottom of the bilge in front of the motor on the Lavey and whatever water was flowing into the bildge was draining forward into the boat not rearward and out. I had water all the way to the front of the storage areas in the sponsons when they were done.

 

[Lavey29]

So you expect a detail also. I'm betting the water was already there. I've been using AJ for about 15 years. Top notch!!!!! Nobody better!

Well thats fine if you are happy with them. Just sharing my experience and the result I found when I got the boat home from their shop. They obviously did not have the boat angled up to drain and the water saturated the interior. Yes, boats are made to get wet and spending some time soaking up with towels and leaving all the storage compartments open to air out after removing all the soaking wet contents (i.e. umbrella, vests, towels, first aid, etc...) may not seem like a big deal to most but when I pay over $700 for a routine service and impellar, I tend to expect a little more care with my boat and contents.

 

[RiverDave]

Nope, it was a pre-season service. The boat had not been used in 4 months and was kept in my garage. There are 3 holes in the bottom of the bilge in front of the motor on the Lavey and whatever water was flowing into the bildge was draining forward into the boat not rearward and out. I had water all the way to the front of the storage areas in the sponsons when they were done.

I understand your perspective.. but I'm telling you at no time does a service shop put water inside the bilge of a boat. Why would they? LOL Did it rain while it was down there or something?

RD

 

[Sbarry]

Well thats fine if you are happy with them. Just sharing my experience and the result I found when I got the boat home from their shop. They obviously did not have the boat angled up to drain and the water saturated the interior. Yes, boats are made to get wet and spending some time soaking up with towels and leaving all the storage compartments open to air out after removing all the soaking wet contents (i.e. umbrella, vests, towels, first aid, etc...) may not seem like a big deal to most but when I pay over $700 for a routine service and impellar, I tend to expect a little more care with my boat and contents.

Not commenting on the water, but $700 for full service and impeller is a dang deal.

I have never taken anything to AJ, but I was sitting at Pirates one day and he walked in with a few other guys off their badass DCB's, and within 5-10 minutes there were already 2-3 different guys that came up to him and thanked him for getting their boats ready for Monster Bash (last year). Just that alone speaks volumes to me. If I ever need anything done while the boat is up in Havasu, it will be going to Barrett.

 

[Lavey29]

I understand your perspective.. but I'm telling you at no time does a service shop put water inside the bilge of a boat. Why would they? LOL Did it rain while it was down there or something?

RD

Nope no rain and I do not know whey they put water into the bilge unless they were trying to clean it out for some reason. Don't know if they drained my 14 quarts of oil into there or not. Yes they do hook up to the drive with a hose to run the motor all I know is the boat was there for one day routine service after having sat in my garage for 4 months during the off season and when I picked it up and drove home, I discovered the mess of water. I did speak with the owner via phone and expressed my dissatisfaction with the service due to the mess left. The actual routine service work done seemed to be fine with no problems after I went out on the water.

 

[Lavey29]

Not commenting on the water, but $700 for full service and impeller is a dang deal.

I have never taken anything to AJ, but I was sitting at Pirates one day and he walked in with a few other guys off their badass DCB's, and within 5-10 minutes there were already 2-3 different guys that came up to him and thanked him for getting their boats ready for Monster Bash (last year). Just that alone speaks volumes to me. If I ever need anything done while the boat is up in Havasu, it will be going to Barrett.

Actually I think it was more, would have to find my old receipt. I know Absolute charged me like 798 so it was probably closer to 800.

 

[Outdrive1]

I understand your perspective.. but I'm telling you at no time does a service shop put water inside the bilge of a boat. Why would they? LOL Did it rain while it was down there or something?

RD

When you pull the hoses to remove the impeller all the water in the system drains into the bilge. I have a hard time imaging 2" of water in the ski locker from it but who knows. One thing about AJ though. Had you brought it to his attention he would have made it right. Anyhow it's hard to please everyone. I'd take anything I own to AJ for sure.

 

[Lavey29]

When you pull the hoses to remove the impeller all the water in the system drains into the bilge. I have a hard time imaging 2" of water in the ski locker from it but who knows. One thing about AJ though. Had you brought it to his attention he would have made it right. Anyhow it's hard to please everyone. I'd take anything I own to AJ for sure.

I did speak with him via phone after (may have been a day or two) but I had already cleaned up what I could and left all the compartments open to dry out. It was my first time trying his shop and of course he offered to clean it up if needed but I was already out of town. This incident happened like 2.5 years ago based on the picture on my phone of my boat in front of his shop.

 

[MooreMoney]

I did speak with him via phone after (may have been a day or two) but I had already cleaned up what I could and left all the compartments open to dry out. It was my first time trying his shop and of course he offered to clean it up if needed but I was already out of town. This incident happened like 2.5 years ago based on the picture on my phone of my boat in front of his shop.

So it sounds like he was willing to fix issue if it was his fault or not. Most agree here there is no way 2 inches of water can come out of a motor or a reason to hose out a bilge.

Seems really odd For you come on a forum that I started to saying something great about him and you bring up a bad story and not tell all the facts?? I guess they stopped teaching people if you don't have anything nice to say don't say it at all...

 

[Lavey29]

So it sounds like he was willing to fix issue if it was his fault or not. Most agree here there is no way 2 inches of water can come out of a motor or a reason to hose out a bilge.

Seems really odd For you come on a forum that I started to saying something great about him and you bring up a bad story and not tell all the facts?? I guess they stopped teaching people if you don't have anything nice to say don't say it at all...

You posted a thread commenting about your positive experience and that you highly recommend the shop. I responded to you but posting my negative experience at the shop and that I would not use him again for service based on my experience. How are people supposed to get a true perspective and make an informed decision to try the shop or not? I maintain my boats with fanatical detail inside and out. Serviced regularly and stored inside. Obviously during the service there was water being introduced from some source and instead of having the boat tilted up slightly so as to drain out the bilge it drained in from the bilge and soaked my interior all the way to the front of the sponsons in the storage areas. Is what it is, water under the bridge now so to speak because it was 2.5 years ago and I own a different boat now.

 

[brad22]

I understand your perspective.. but I'm telling you at no time does a service shop put water inside the bilge of a boat. Why would they? LOL Did it rain while it was down there or something?

RD

When I worked for Ace Marine, rinsing the bilge was part of the service. Some of the upside down oil filters are hard to contain all the excess oil that comes out. Also most people never rinse their bilge and tons of hair and just "stuff" gets down there. We degreased and rinsed everytime. All while the boat is tilted and then dry with air hose and spray down some spots with wd-40 then wipe off excess. Top that off with tieing the drain plug to the steering wheel in a sandwich baggie.

 

[MooreMoney]

You posted a thread commenting about your positive experience and that you highly recommend the shop. I responded to you but posting my negative experience at the shop and that I would not use him again for service based on my experience. How are people supposed to get a true perspective and make an informed decision to try the shop or not? I maintain my boats with fanatical detail inside and out. Serviced regularly and stored inside. Obviously during the service there was water being introduced from some source and instead of having the boat tilted up slightly so as to drain out the bilge it drained in from the bilge and soaked my interior all the way to the front of the sponsons in the storage areas. Is what it is, water under the bridge now so to speak because it was 2.5 years ago and I own a different boat now.

People like you are the reason why this site is so negative and most people don't post anything because someone has something bad to say within minutes.

 

[Lavey29]

People like you are the reason why this site is so negative and most people don't post anything because someone has something bad to say within minutes.

LOL, you are upset at a negative post in response to your thread and you respond by saying the website itself "is so negative". Sit back and enjoy your kool-aid, drink it by the gallon but keep an open perspective at all times it will help you in life to see the glass half full as well as half empty sometimes also.

 

[Lavey29]

When I worked for Ace Marine, rinsing the bilge was part of the service. Some of the upside down oil filters are hard to contain all the excess oil that comes out. Also most people never rinse their bilge and tons of hair and just "stuff" gets down there. We degreased and rinsed everytime. All while the boat is tilted and then dry with air hose and spray down some spots with wd-40 then wipe off excess. Top that off with tieing the drain plug to the steering wheel in a sandwich baggie.

Thank you for sharing that info. This would be most likely to have occurred and they just did not tilt the trailer up to drain it out the back.

 

[plaster dave]

What if it was outside and got rained on and they wiped it down but didn't drain the bilge? It can happen Aj parks boats outside all the time.

 

[RiverDave]

So it sounds like he was willing to fix issue if it was his fault or not. Most agree here there is no way 2 inches of water can come out of a motor or a reason to hose out a bilge.

Seems really odd For you come on a forum that I started to saying something great about him and you bring up a bad story and not tell all the facts?? I guess they stopped teaching people if you don't have anything nice to say don't say it at all...

People like you are the reason why this site is so negative and most people don't post anything because someone has something bad to say within minutes.

Honestly the site isn't negative at all compared to the rest of the internet. You been on facebook lately? Holy shiznit people pop off about anything and everything, even when that have zero clue, zero experience, or zero affiliation to the discussion at hand.

I have always encouraged people to share their experiences on here, both good and bad. My only rule is to not "bash" a business on RDP. To be clear about what I mean by bashing, it would be perfectly fine to say "I went to xyz place and wasn't satisfied with the service." Hell it's even fine to tell the story in a professional way (which Lavey29 did). What's not ok is the "Fuck that mother fucker, he's a crook, he ripped me off" type B.S. that Hotboat was so famous for having on there constantly.

RD

 

[RiverDave]

What if it was outside and got rained on and they wiped it down but didn't drain the bilge? It can happen Aj parks boats outside all the time.

He said it didn't rain.. I dunno, I have never seen a ton of water in a bilge while they are doing a service. Paul says the water from the system gets in there, but what does that amount too.. A coke can or two?


Either way we've side tracked AJ's positive thread enough with it.



On a side note my boat is going to Barrett Custom Marine on Monday for it's annual service and some upgrades.

RD

 

[plaster dave]

Aj has always been very helpful to me. Gone out of his way to let me use his shop and work on my boat.

 

[Lavey29]

Honestly the site isn't negative at all compared to the rest of the internet. You been on facebook lately? Holy shiznit people pop off about anything and everything, even when that have zero clue, zero experience, or zero affiliation to the discussion at hand.

I have always encouraged people to share their experiences on here, both good and bad. My only rule is to not "bash" a business on RDP. To be clear about what I mean by bashing, it would be perfectly fine to say "I went to xyz place and wasn't satisfied with the service." Hell it's even fine to tell the story in a professional way (which Lavey29 did). What's not ok is the "Fuck that mother fucker, he's a crook, he ripped me off" type B.S. that Hotboat was so famous for having on there constantly.

RD

Yes you have, as it should be and to be fair, I am sure my situation was a most likely a "fluke" and not typical of the service the shop provides based on its good reputation and reviews. I do know a lot of boat owners that use the shop. If I remember correctly, I think Absolute was booked that weekend I was in town and I opted to try Barrett over my usual service shop because they were able to get me scheduled in and out the same day.

 

[DSMITH]

Btw Amanda from Barrett Custom Marine called earlier to confirm the work on the Hallett next week. [emoji16]

 

[petie6464]

AJ's a good man. I've delt with him in business and personally.

I will mention it to him that he needs to start draining any water out the bow from now on

 

[Melloyellovector]

Couple things, maybe the water was in bilge from last time boat was used, put away, 4 months later serviced, take home, water is found. Iv had boats that haven't touched water in years, stored indoors, remove floors and there can be a lot of water just hanging out nasty as can be. Wasn't anyone's fault, just happens sometimes

My experience so far with AJ, I have every reason to bash him. But I just can't do it. He's a solid guy, does good work. For normal work, maintanence, service, drive and motor swaps etc. quick painless turn around at fair costs.
Maybe I'll feel differently in a couple weeks

 

[steak&lobster]

AJ SUX
JK . . . as long as you bring him beer he works very hard and fast
GOOD DUDE!!!

 

[Joker]

Never had an issue with him. Great service and as personable as anybody you will find.
Amazing to be so young and have such a great business and reputation.[emoji106]

 

[Tank]

Im forced to tolerate him. [emoji6][emoji6][emoji16]


On a side note, you can't make everyone happy. 2.5 years ago a customer wasn't happy. While im sure AJ would like that not to be, it is what it is. It's unfortunate but it is not a common theme or problem for AJ from what I've seen. You don't build an extremely successful business that's respected by the vast majority of the industry by making it a habit of pissing customers off. [emoji6]

 

[Tacho]

Ive seem there shop I've have a 496 mag which goes into limp after a while on the lake even after sitting but after turning key off and on boat resumes power for a couple of min sometimes less or more any advice on problem or could recommend someone ran diagnostics no codes stumped on this one

 

[Why Not]

My boat just left his shop post annual. Clean annual, couple trim reservoirs and a fuel pump! He has been straight forward and busted his ass to do anything I need. Hell, last spring he spent a weekend flying back and forth from Havasu to Powell to figure out what was happening with my boat. He is incredibly knowledgeable and is very prepared to keep us on the water!👍👍👍

 

[Tacho]

Thanks ill give him a call don't mind paying to keep boat on the water just need someone that knows what he doing not just replacing parts and charging a ton and never found out what the real problem is.