Looking for a yard

Bennett Brothers, Wilmington. They seem to have a good reputation but then so did the place you went. However, I think they may have not spread themselves so thin and in so many directions.

Lightning Yachts - facilty in Beaufort NC

Hope this helps.

Post:

http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/g...200-exceptional-yacht-service.html#post137183




Thread:

http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/general-yachting-discussion/17200-exceptional-yacht-service.html

Is Lightning adjacent to Jarrett Bay or a tenant of Jarrett Bay? I wasn't familiar with them.

I did some work at Ross Marine, just outside Charleston on John's Island about 16 years ago. They were OK to deal with.

Does this help?



https://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF...32&ei=HuyDUpacIpDksASzmYDIDQ&ved=0CJ0BEPwSMAo



http://www.lightningyachts.com/contactus.html

http://www.**************/facilities/directions/

Yes, clearly they are at least a tenant.

I would definitely say Jarrett Bay if your going to be in the Beaufort area, and for Charleston, Ross Marine is very good, a little off the beaten path of downtown Charleston, but ask for Paul Speits, he's the manager and very good, especially for older Hatteras' also, the City Boatyard up the Wando River would be capable of pulling you out, and they are associated with the City Marina, so you will be taken care of easily.

I contacted Jarrett Bay about hauling and doing some work on a 100 Hat that I run. The list was pretty extensive. They said, due to how busy they are, they could only handle a quick haul, wash, paint and basic bottom work. Hatteras in New Bern, through a local (NJ) Marine Max dealer, said they couldn't get to us until sometime in the "first quarter" of 2014. I was through Beaufort last week for the second time in as many weeks and picked up a brochure for Beaufort Marine, which appears to be next to JB. Which place are you dissatisfied with? PM is fine if it is not proper to say publicly. I would consider Ocean Marine in Norfolk but that won't work with this owners schedule. So it looks like that boat will end up On The Hard somewhere in the Fort Lauderdale area (TBD).

A few people have linked my prior posts regarding Lightning Yachts. They are located in the Jarrett Bay Marine Industrial Park, but they are not affiliated with Jarrett Bay, to my knowledge.

First, NYCAP, leave 'em alone until the middle of next week. They have had my boat for the last month, and they aren't quite done! I'll let you know when you can have them!

To reiterate my post from a couple of years ago, these guys are awesome!

About 6 weeks ago, we had a water leak in the top sides, that was difficult to diagnose. We also had some improvements we wanted to make. We had my Lazzara 68 in Sarasota, and I decided that I would be better served to get the work done on the East Coast (or better yet, at Lightning). My wife and I decided to make the trip over to Palm Beach while we were down for a long weekend.

Heres a synopsis of what's transpired since:

While heading north along the SE Coast of FL, on a Sunday, I told my wife that I would call Lightning to see if they could work on our boat. I placed a call to Bill Schwabe at Lighting, and I left a message. Plan B was to start calling yards in Lauderdale or PB, if Bill didn't call me by 11AM Monday morning.

At 9:15 on Monday morning, Bill returned my call. He could take my boat. Great! But I had to find a way to get it to Beaufort, because I had to be at work on Tuesday. Bill told me he'd come get the boat. They left that day, and drove a rental car to PB. By Tues night, they arrived at my boat. By the end of that week, my boat was in Beaufort. By the following Monday, my 100,000 lb baby was on the hard, in a yard at the JB park, where Lightning could do the work. (They would have brought it to their property, but too heavy to go down the road, I guess)

Here's a brief synopsis of the work I'm having done:

1. All new electronics, including (3) Garmin 8000 series chartplotters, new radar, sat wx, backup transducer, new sounder, a wireless network, and some new cameras. Bill has had lots of great advice/suggestions on the install, and they do the work themselves. They are a Garmin dealer.
2. Carpentry work, including some new cabinet doors. Last count, they were on the 32nd coat of gloss finish, and they had to match the existing veneer.
3. Some new wood flooring.
4. All new carpet throughout the boat.
5. New headliners where we had the leak issues. They investigated EVERY potential source of water infiltration, and found a couple of possible sources. There has been lots of adverse wx in their yard, and so far, no leaks.
6. Mechanical work, including a new AC compressor, and general engine service, such as fluid changes, pencil zincs, etc.
7. Some little things, such as light fixture upgrades, fiberglass ding repairs, new spreader lights, etc.
8. Some subcontractor coordination, such as a complete exterior detail, and a new polycarbonate flybridge enclosure.

I get email updates at least once a week, including photos. I was never asked for any up front money. I get quotes, or reasonable estimates, for most of the big ticket items. I get an hourly rate that couldn't be touched in FL. I pay a reasonable, and defined, markup on subcontract work, and materials.

Best part? Bill, and every one of the guys he works with, has a sense of humor.

I pick up my boat in about a week, and head back down south for a trip to the Bahamas. I told Bill of this trip/date before he started the work. I have every expectation that it will be done, and done right, when I get there.

Lightning is not a big company, or a big yard, and they don't have a big ego.

I'm a little selfish. When they are done with my boat, I'll post their phone number.

If this sounds like a repeat post from a couple of years ago, so be it. I have never experienced this level of service with anything I have owned that flys or floats. That's why I'm a repeat customer, and that's why it sound like a repeat post.

Kudos, again.

It seems somewhat odd to me and something that could lead to potential issues for someone like Jarrett to lease to Lightning when they provide the same services in many cases. I just imagine if one time you went to one of them and then sometime later they saw your boat being serviced by the other. Or, a situation where you talk to and get quotes for work from both. I wonder if they have any agreement not to poach or accept business from the other and/or for that matter employees.

I have only been by LDC, but not there. Unique approach but not one that appeals to me. I'm sure there are some good vendors there and happy customers. Just in my limited exposure I haven't run across any LDC customers. The non-customers don't speak well of them, but very little of what I've heard has been based on actual experiences. Sure a lot of properties in that area for sale or recently sold. The one right across from them had plans drawn out then was for sale at an outrageous price. Last I knew though it was bank owned and much cheaper.

They don't lease from JB, they own their own building within the park. I just looked it up on the Cataret County Tax Map. It looks like somebody (JB?) created a subdivision around JB's yard.

FWIW, it does seem to me that the businesses within the park all seem to "get along". Last time, my boat was hauled at the JB yard, and delivered to Lightnings non-waterfront yard. This time, my boat was too tall for their building, and too heavy to go down the road, so it's at another waterfront yard adjacent to JB.

Lastly, I will say that Lightning is a small operation. I'm told they are mostly doing refit type work. Due to the size of their operation, and the lack of their own lift equipment, I suspect that they are going to best serve a customer who has a longer term and/or larger project. I don't suspect they are going to be the "go to" guys for a quick service stop, and I also suspect that their timing will be somewhat hit or miss. For instance, they are knee deep in my boat right now ... couldn't imagine them taking on another project of similar scope/timing, and ending up with TWO happy customers.

I highly recommend True World Marine in Beaufort. I have had ongoing interactions with them for 2 years. I just had significant work expedited on one of my yachts and they were super. They are expedient, professional, reasonable, and I only wish they were in Lauderdale. Ask for Keenan.

Judy

I see they purchased the property in 2009. Actually own 7 acres, 4 of it industrial and 3 acres of marshland. So basically their usable space is pretty much their building but they own the land behind it as well, down to the creek.