I just purchased a new Yamaha outboard from the good people at Fairwinds. The expertise of Chuck and Chris was amazing, further more to top it off Joanna knowledge and professionalism was on full display answering all my questions regarding warranty and transfer of my information with Yamaha I would recommend them to anyone read more

This is absolutely the worst marina around if you don't believe me just look at the reviews not only is the ownership subpar they can't keep staff on because they constantly screw over their staff as well. They take no responsibility when their employees damage or destroy a boat or a trailer. They are untrustworthy unreliable, and could care less about your business as a person I would highly recommend staying away from this business and I have all the footage documentation to prove it please seek and ask if you need it, I will gladly provide it. read more

was in the process of selecting a new marina when I read a negative review from Eddie Watkins. It was one of several reviews I read, most of the rest were glowing. During my investigation, I found that the staff was knowledgeable, reliable and friendly. Of all the places I researched, Fairwinds was clearly the best by far. I made my choice, immediately becoming their customer. read more

awesome small engine repair. One other engine shop recommended them and they were right.

just now NEW Overall our experience was pretty good here. We were only there for a year and John, the previous manager, was always responsive and very helpful. We recently took our boat out because we are moving and there was damage to our trailer. The marina took charge of putting the boat in and taking it out of the water as we have hybrid rav4s and are unable to move the boat without asking friends/family to help. I spoke to the owner and the new (interim?) manger about the damage and asked for them to make it right to which the owner denied they could have possibly done the damage and basically said too bad that's why you have insurance. I told him that I had a pretty good experience here overall and I would like to leave on that but he said that he is taking no claim despite the fact that I've been reaching out to discuss since my father-in-law removed the boat from the slip and he said feel free to write a bad review we will just comment that they didn't damage the trailer and that it was our fault. This is the boat and trailers 2nd season. Just unfortunate. If you take your boat here and trailer and have the marina do all the trailering be sure to check on your stuff regularly as the owner and new management don't seem to be as trustworthy as John was. read more

Fairwinds Marina - Boating Near Me - Annapolis, Maryland

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Great service in the service department. They fixed my boat very quickly will be ready for the upcoming season!

Needs to be cleaned up. They generally are pushy about goods and services that are not needed.

Absolutely disgusted by this sorry excuse for a marina. They put my family in a terribly dangerous situation today and nothing but a public heartfelt apology will stop me from letting anyone and everyone know how disgraceful this place is. read more

I want to say that I do not work or have a personal relationship with any one at Fairwinds. I am just a customer. I have read the previous comments and expected to have another half-ass company experience. They were the cheapest slip around so I decided to give it a shot. I am new to Maryland and not sure what you all expect from businesses, day one through the season, I have been impressed with the customer service and treatment. Not only do they give me friendly advice as to where to go in the Magothy and the events going on on the river. I had an issue with my boat and had no idea what to do. Chuck walked with me to my slip, climbed on my boat, and diagnosed the problem while teaching me a few things. This was not asked of him and he could have easily sent me on my way as they were clearly busy that day. Again, I needed my batteries charged as they were both dead. Chuck let's me borrow the appropriate tools, charges my batteries up, and gives me a battery to use in the mean time. The cost of these services was being scolded by Chuck for not knowing parts of my boat (not really scolded, but the you should know everything on your boat). We have had a heavy rain and they released the dam, so everyone knows the logs and amount of damage it can cause to boats in the water. I was out of town for that entire week and to make matters worse, my bilge pump switch went out. My boat filled up with water and it could have caused major damage just sitting there. However, the staff noticed my boat listing to one side, went out there and check it out. They pumped out the water, called my and helped me get my boat out of the water so I could have my mechanic look at it. This cost me a half hour worth of labor ($40). I am not sure of everyone's name, but a guy was walking around who seemed like the owner, or head manager of the place, and was trying to make sure my boat was okay. Joanna has been legit from day one. I have been a certified digital marketer and business consultant for a couple of years and will say, customer service is a big reason businesses fail. However, this business must have completed a 180 from the previous comments, because I am very impressed with their treatment. They are not obligated to go the extra mile but they did!! It is rare to hear about good treatment and friendliness and I was excited to see that my gamble paid off. If you are looking for a marina and do not want to pay over a few thousand dollars, GO HERE! A few suggestions for the marina that could improve the experience, but not necessary. 1.) Have another employee empowered to make decisions. Joanna seems very busy and the only one that makes the decisions. Other employees seem very competent and great people who have an idea of what is going on. 2.) Have a lounge for people who are apart of the marina (not just the Freedom Boat Club), and make it exclusive to paid members. Would help customers to socialize and want to be at the marina. 3.) Minor user experience fixes on your website and better SEO for local and global searches. Thank you for a great experience so far and glad to have a great business relationship with this place. read more

Terrible business. Owner doesn't even have the common courtesy to speak with you after you have paid for a service that they totally botched up. We paid good money to have the bottom of our boat painted. After having it painted (using the paint type they recommended) we put it in the water and pulled it out 3 months later with barnacles all over the bottom. Other boats we've had and painted ourselves the bottom paint always lasted at least 2 years. Fairwinds did nothing to make this right. After we took our boat back to show them how it had fowled, they left it sitting in the boatyard for 3-4 weeks, never reached out to tell us we could come pick it up (we finally just went up and got it) . They weren't the least bit concerned that the boat was taken off of their property (anyone could have gone in and taken it). We then had to take it and pay for another place to paint it for us which really pushed back our anticipated date of getting it in the water. The owner is spineless and makes his employees deal with the unhappy customers. I do not recommend using their services unless you want to pay a lot of money for nothing. They really should warranty their services but obviously they have no intentions of doing so. The owner (Larry Goldberg) is a terrible person to attempt to deal with, spare yourself the agony and the frustration (and money)! read more

This place continues to disappoint every time. Made the mistake to stop for fuel and after fueling they take CC and haven't come back in over 20 minutes. Claim they computer problems; not sure how long you are supposed to wait at their dock. Poor service and continuing to disappoint. read more

I have always had good service at Fairwinds. I'm a mechanic and do all of my own work. They are my go to for OEM YAMAHA PARTS. They usually have what i need in- stock. Their prices are fare and OEM parts are expensive anyway. The staff has always given the highest level of customer service. Recently i called them at 5 pm on a Saturday and noticed they close at 5pm on the website and then hung up. Their parts store called me back a few minutes after 5 pm and said sorry I missed your call how can i help you. I then ordered a replacement OEM tilt motor for my Yamaha outboard. All i can say is Great things. I highly recommend Fairwinds. read more

We've had two experiences with them. First- they refused to service our boat because it was their busy season and it was a less than easy job (part needed to be hunted down). Second- an employee yelled at us when we boated by for no reason other than to impress the potential customers he was with. Let's hope we never have a reason to go for a third. read more

Great service on my 20 year old Johnson outboard. I hit a rock at 30 mph and tore up the lower unit. They did a great job fixing that and threw in rebuilds for my carburetors. The motor hasn't run this well in years. I thought it needed new spark plugs. I will go back to Fairwinds for service in the future. read more

BUYER BEWARE! These jerks are a bunch of crooks. I heard a lot of bad things about this place but still decided to give them a shot because the mechanic was familiar with my engine. They installed a defective starter, admitted it was defective when I brought the boat back, installed a new starter, then tried to charge me again for the labor. Why should I pay again for a defective part that they installed? When I questioned this, the owner threw my keys at me and told me to get out and never come back. I had paid $600 the first time ($200 More than they quoted) but didnt fight it, so this was a real slap in the face. I'm a fair person, and just wanted them to make it right. No paying customer should ever be treated like garbage and that's how they made me feel. I will NEVER return. I can't believe they are still in business. read more

I had my boat serviced with them over the last two years and both years I had minor damage done. They agreed to fix the damage but never fixed it correctly and then later made it difficult for me by having me deliver the boat to them to have the repair completed, which in the past they were coming to my pier. I found somebody else to repair the boat and will not use them again. read more

Avoid at all costs. Terrible place to work and rude people. Everything is overpriced too. Since new management the place has gone down hill. I remember working there moving trailers in 95 degree heat. Threw up next to the truck then told the boss I can't do any more (after moving 10 or more trailers) and he responded by saying I was out of shape. I also remember the travel lifts hydrolic line busted and dumped fluid right into the bay. This was cleaned up by putting spray 9 over top to hide it. Owners already rich just looking to steal your money. Shop charges 125 bucks an hour and look to rip u off any chance they get. I remember calling to have my 25 hp evinrude sportster LOOKED AT and it was gonna cost me 125 just to look at and I was going to be charged 325 dollars or so for 3 hours of labor before they even did anything. Took it to pauls and got looked over for 60 bucks. read more

Recently my husband and I purchased an outboard motor. Worst experience ever. Took the money and never ordered the motor. They lied and said it was on backorder. Called Yamaha and they had never ordered the motor. When we went to pick up the motor a month after we ordered it, the owner left immediately and the salesperson was rude. They proceeded to charge us a $150 delivery fee they had not originally quoted us. Not apologetic at all. Save yourself the trouble and go elsewhere. read more

I've heard many things about this marina over the past year and eventually I decided to go, a few months ago I went to the store and was met by a pitiful place, the store was quiet and almost uncomfortable to be in, Lorry was the first person to greet me, only with a sales pitch for freedom boat club. Not only was the store extremely dirty, but they were also increasingly rude, regardless of how polite I was. Jason, the store manager looked as though he hated to be there, he wasn't too much of a help which I should've assumed however he couldn't even pinpoint another marina that would be able to assist me. He took every possible route to be lazy instead of being a help, which was a shame, the marina holds such good potential I think it just needs better staff read more

The location is good for Ches Bay and Magothy river accessibility. The docks are horrible, unsafe, and 2 push carts can't even pass each other. In the summer, it's generally like washing machine inside the marina due to all the boat wake, and no protection from the north or east. They've been talking about new floating docks and/or at least adding catwalks between the slips... none of that happened during my several years there. No pool, limited parking, and way overpriced. Barely a hose spigot that works. The place needs a lot of help. And don't even think about unloading your gear at the end of your pier, or you risk a confrontation with the owner. I had 2. One was late evening in July, in the pouring rain, without 1 other marina patron around. I parked for 2 minutes at the head of the pier, with my truck running, to unload gear. Owner came flying down yelling at me. Then last October, again almost dark and no other marina patrons around. I was trying to unload some heavy gear, he again came running down, yelled at me, and had the nerve to slam the tailgate of my truck shut! It's clear they only care about their overpaying Freedom Boat Club clients, as evidenced by the fact that 99% of the half-broken dock carts are keep 100 yards away from the dock, right by the FBC parking. Not very helpful for slipholders who park down by the docks. For the money they want for a slip, you can do much better. read more

I live nearby and during a wind storm I lost one of my kayaks. I emailed the local Facebook groups and also sent a email to Fairwinds. The owner Larry got back to me right away that he saw my kayak across the creek from him. He did not have to go out on the dock to check for that but he did. I thank him for looking out for neighbors and the follow up. (An aside I was unable t retrieve kayak because of high winds) Thank you read more

Nothing better than going to get some things and no one being there. I sat around last Monday for about 10 minutes knocked on the door a few times and no one answered. Great service. read more

For those of you that don't know this place is under new ownership as August 2013. I have done business with new owner before and have complete confidance that he will go out of his way to help you out and make sure you are satisfied. He just helped me with a hard to find part this weekend.......Give him try! read more

I've been a lifetime customer of Fairwinds. This place has never been better. Gone are all of the old school ways of the previous owners. They are computerized FINALLY. Gone is the old "bargain shed" which was a bunch of junk bought at auction as I'm told. This place is up and coming with two great Yamaha Certified Mechanics. Took my 5 year old 250 hp motor in for some needed maintenance and it now runs as good as new and the price was certainly fair to the market. These people are actually nice. Needed a fuel filter wrench for a quick change and they didn't have one in stock; mechanic "lent" me his for a quick change as I was only a block away. I've since bought my own wrench but when is the last time a mechanic lent a tool out...never. Prices in the store are better than West Marine easily. They will offer a food truck by the water this summer along with gas at the dock. The place has a ways to go but clearly is on the up rise. read more

Kind of a love it or hate it kind of place. I kept a trailered boat there for my first few seasons in the area, and had the boat serviced there. These guys won't win any awards at charm school, but they were never outright unprofessional with me. I didn't ask much of them, but they always answered my questions (even the obviously naive ones) and took care of what I needed. Rates for both service and boat storage seemed reasonable, although they were a little confusing and inconvenient. Not my thing, but their old motor parts and service capability is somewhat legendary. This place is old school for sure. I switched marinas to get a different service mix, not because I was disgusted with Fairwinds. read more

I went to this marina looking to purchase a few parts and left with nothing. The girl behind the counter didn't know what I was looking for or how to help and there wan't anyone else there. They seem to be very unorganized and still learning the business. read more

I have used services at Fairwinds Marina since August 2011. Services included storage, winterization, de-winterization, bottom/outdrive painting, engine and outdrive repairs. I have consistently been satisfied with the service provided and prices have been reasonable. Since Larry Goldberg and his daughter, Joanna, have taken over its ownership and operations a couple of years ago, I have witnessed a significant improvement in the property and professionalism of its staff. Recently, the staff was most helpful in getting my 2004 Crownline ready to sell. Joanna effectively arranged and coordinated most of the activities such as painting, maintenance services, launching, and storing it on a stand and in a slip. Chuck (lead maintenance tech) and Richie did a superb job of repairing a compression problem with the engine and subsequently doing de-winterization maintenance to ready the boat for launch. The paint crew did an equally superb job or removing barnacles from the outdrive/propeller, painting the outdrive, and bottom painting the hull. When it came time for the boat's buyer to do a sea trial, Larry (the owner) expedited getting the boat in the water by operating the lift himself with the able assistance another staff member, Bill. Bill was most helpful in getting the boat refueled and identifying a slip to put the boat in after the sea trial. The boat performed perfectly during the sea trial. Just prior to closing on the sale I noticed a noise coming from under the boat's head. I asked Chuck (lead maintenance tech) to check it out -- within two hours he had identified the problem (stuck float on the sump pump under the head) and provided guidance on how to resolve the problem. The transfer of ownership of the boat went without a hitch due in large part to the support I received from the Fairwinds staff. I am a very satisfied customer and strongly recommend Fairwinds to others. read more

The owner comes off as a nice guy at first but only cares about your money. I worked there for 3 months and did any job he told me to (cut grass scrub his boats bilge fill in pot holes etc) for 3 months just to be let go the other day. The travel lift blew a hose and leaked hydrolic fluid into the water and it was never reported. I kept my boat on trailer there for those 3 months. The other day i noticed a tag on my wench that said unknown after i told him 10 times its my boat and he even told me where to park it. After he let me go he had the nerve to ask me if i still want to keep my boat there haha. I scrubbed the bilge of his boat for 6 and a half hours and all he let me use was spray 9 and a rag then complained it wasnt clean enough. I asked the mechanics for help with my boat and got pretty much blown off/ you do it yourself kind of answer. This place is a joke avoid at all costs. read more