[Gary1]

Three companies down in south Florida that get kudos from me:

Florida Rigging and Hydraulics. They're the 'local' Lewmar and Pro-Furl people (plus other lines). They've always bent over backwards to get stuff for me or point me in the right direction. If you need Lewmar or ProFurl parts, talk to Tim.

Southeast Power. Sell and service the Phasor generators and engines. Great people to work with. If you have a problem with a Phasor generator, call Martin. He's Dutch, and his accent is a little rough sometimes, but he's an absolute wizard.

Rich Beers Air Conditioning and Refrigeration. Custom made cold plates and systems. After five years, our system is still working flawlessly. If you have some odd system that has to be custom built, he's the man. Talk to Rich.

An honorable mention, too, for Marlin Marine. Rob gave me a hand doing a heavy-duty compounding on the hull, and he went up the mast to polish and wax the entire mast. (All 71 feet of it.) If you're just back into Miami and need some cosmetics, give Rob a call at 786-487-9444. He also does little paint touch-ups and that sort of thing.

Now, on the other side of the coin. Companies I'll never willingly do business with again.

Vetus US. We bought a bow-thruster from them. 12 7/8" 24VDC unit. It failed straight out of the box. I called them, and was told they were closed for inventory. A week later, I called and was told everyone was on vacation. I gave up and tore the whole thing apart and found out that the electrical guts of the thing are NOT marine grade in any sense of the word. The problem turned out to be the plunger on one of the large contactors that is under the gray plastic box. I tore the contactor apart and found that a tiny bit of surface rust, caused by condensation, had frozen the plunger up. I sanded the plungers on both contactors, put a thin coat of silicon grease on them and fixed the problem.

A year later we had a bilge pump in the forecastle fail, and the bow thruster motor was flooded with saltwater. Vetus wanted more for a replacement motor than I paid for the whole thing. Long story short: They have terrible customer service in the US. I finally got the parts I needed by calling Holland and raising H*** with the VP of Operations there.

Mango Marine. At Fort Lauderdale Marine Center. Enough to say they don't do a very good job, and are bloody expensive.