Had a seawall put in this and Kyle's crew did an amazing job! Courteous and conscientious of their…read morework and our home, made it a pleasure to work with them. We are having a pier replaced with a new one next week. It will be the highlight of our backyard. Thanks Kyle, Charlie, Leo, Kim, Brittany and of course Rod.

I spent $15,000 on a brand new CraftLander lift from Captain Rod's two years ago, and it has been…read moreone headache after another. To be fair, they were great during the sales process. Once they had my money, getting anyone to answer the phone became nearly impossible. The install itself was a mess. They installed the wrong bunks for my lift, never installed the canopy, never sealed the battery boxes, didn't center the bunks, didn't level the lift, and the winch box was missing required components. I called, left voicemails, and messaged them for weeks. Eventually I gave up and fixed most of it myself. Then halfway through the summer, one of the rear bunk supports bent backwards while my boat was just sitting on the lift. After finally getting Brittany on the phone, she immediately told me the only way that happens is if you drive your boat into the lift. I absolutely did not. She refused to warranty it. She said they had replacement parts and I could come pick them up because they weren't coming back to the lower river until the end of the season. We set up a day and time, I drove there during their normal business hours, and the office was locked. One of the seawall guys called Brittany, and she said, "I forgot you were coming. We decided to make it a long weekend." Then they looked for the replacement parts...and didn't even have them. So once again I fixed it myself. I straightened the supports, fabricated reinforcement plates, and put everything back together. Later I contacted CraftLander directly, and that's when I learned those bunks weren't even supposed to be on my lift. They were undersized for my boat and missing the proper reinforcements. The final straw came when I was raising my boat and the chain inside the winch box snapped. The boat crashed down from near the top of the lift. My wife and I were about to get in the water to wipe down the side of the boat. Had timing been a few seconds different, it could have ended very badly. I messaged Brittany. She read the messages and didn't respond. More voicemails. More ignored calls. 5 days later, I finally got Rod on the phone, instead of asking what happened, he immediately started cussing me out. He called me a "fucking idiot," accused me of winding the winch backwards, and then sealed off the conversation by saying: "We would've been luckier if you were in jail from the boat falling on your wife even better if the boat fell on you." Before I could even get another word out, he hung up. At that point I contacted CraftLander directly and spoke with Rory. I sent him photos and videos of the lift and my concerns. Within minutes he found multiple installation issues. Wrong bunks. Missing reinforcements. Missing winch shaft retainer. Missing cable guides. Motor installed incorrectly. Basically the lift had never been assembled correctly and parts from other lift models were used which led to every issue that I ran into. CraftLander's customer service was amazing. Rory told me he wasn't comfortable letting Captain Rod's touch the lift again. Two days later he sent one of their factory technicians to my dock. The guy drove 8 hours each way! The technician completely rebuilt the lift with all the correct parts and fixed every issue. All free of charge. CraftLander stood behind their product, even when it was their dealer that made all of the mistakes. If you're shopping for a boat lift, I'd absolutely buy another CraftLander, just buy from somewhere else, as Captain Rods won't be a dealer for CraftLander much longer.

So yesterday the wife and I headed to Miller's to look at a 1986 Century Cardel they have for sale…read more I spoke with Dave a few times, and decided to go take a look. I grew up with Century's and would love to own my own now. Got to Millers, and Dave came out. We started talking, (Dave can talk), and when we finally got around to talking about the boat he told me that he's been dealing with the family that owned it for 20 years (he didn't say 20 years, he said their kids now have kids in college) and they traded the boat in for a pontoon. Told me that he replaced the engine a few years ago, and that it's a remanned 454. We took the cover off the boat, the whole time talking about this and that, but not the boat. I went around to the swim platform to climb up, and he said let him grab a ladder, he doesn't use swim ladders anymore since something or another happened. I climbed up, he came back with a ladder to climb in, didn't think anything of it. Looked it over it needed help, but nothing I wasn't prepared for looked at the stringers they were encased in fiberglass, I asked if they were solid, he said yes and asked if I wanted a hammer to tap them with. I declined. We were looking at spending 6500 on this boat. I say that to say, when I wanted to start it, he hee'd and haw'd avout how it hasn't even been summerized yet, and doesn't know if the batteries are charged, can't claim this or that because it's not his boat, and he's just selling it. After he just finished telling us he's been dealing with this family forever, and has put an engine in this boat, and has been in his care for years. Finally tell him, I'm not spending anything if I can't water test the boat. He finally agreed to back it down the ramp and try to start it for us. You'd swear we were more like Jehovah's Witnesses than customers the way he was treating us. Anyway, got the boat in the water on the trailer, and got him to start it. It did fire up, it had fogging oil still in it, but ran smoothly after it warmed up. As it's sitting on the trailer, we noticed water pouring in from the transom (back wall of the boat), like pouring in. We pointed it out and he tried to tell us it was because the swim platform was submerged. Asked him to pull it out so we could look at the hull, we also noted it was leaking below the waterline, not above it. He pulled it out and started saying it was the speedo mount, and the swim platform is loose, and the exhaust outlets need new gaskets, and that they would tighten all the hardware before they let it leave their shop. I asked if it needed a transom and he said no he didn't think so, they had just put an engine in a few years ago (when the wife asked him when they actually put the engine in, he couldn't answer said he'd have to look at his notes). I jumped in the engine compartment to feel the transom wood where it was leaking from, it didn't even crumble it disintegrated. When I told him this, he said he had no idea about the transom, and then started bad mouthing the owners talking about how stupid they are, and they don't know how to take care of anything. Dave has been maintaining this boat for years, he knew the condition, he knew what he was trying to sell us. Dave is just a used car salesman, trying to pawn his junk onto someone else. Buyer beware. He came out with a smile, sidestepped as much as he could, and when we called him on the issues, he turned his back on us, walked away and said "goodbye". Not an honest or decent salesman at all. Again beware if you do business with these shysters.

Miller's was recommended to me by both the tow captain (when the boat broke down) and my neighbor…read moreas the place to bring an outboard motor for repair. Dave Miller was honest and treated my respectfully each time I talked to him. He's been described as quite a character and, if that means he's got a sense of humor, then I agree. At any rate, he quoted me a 3 week turnaround and it happened. Not often something like that happens with boat repairs on the water, at least in my experience. Kudos to Miller's Dream Marine. I highly recommend them.

I can't say enough good things about Midwest Boat Service in Woodstock! From start to finish, the…read morewhole team has been nothing short of professional, knowledgeable, and honest. It's rare these days to find a business that truly cares about both your boat and your experience as a customer, but that's exactly what you get here. From the moment I called, I was impressed by how friendly and helpful they were. They took the time to listen, explain what needed to be done, and even gave me some great maintenance advice for the future. You can tell right away that everyone there takes pride in their work and knows what they're doing. When I dropped off my boat, the shop was clean, organized, and well-run. They walked me through everything, kept me updated on progress, and never tried to upsell or rush me into anything unnecessary. The transparency and communication were excellent the entire way through. Their service work is top-notch -- they pay attention to every detail and do things right the first time. My boat now runs smoother than it ever has, and I couldn't be happier with the results. They also have great options for storage, detailing, and all the maintenance you could ever need, which makes it super convenient to keep everything in one place. Captain Dave and his crew are the kind of people you can trust. They genuinely care about the quality of their work and about keeping customers happy. It's clear they have years of experience and truly love what they do. If you're looking for a reliable, honest, and high-quality boat service shop, Midwest Boat Service in Woodstock is absolutely the place to go. They go above and beyond every single time -- highly recommend to any boater who wants their vessel treated with care and expertise!

I have dealt with capt. Dave and his crew ..Bill and Anton a few times over the past couple years…read moreand I can say nothing but positive things I've had more than a dozen boats and campers and I can honestly say these guys are top-notch and worth every dollar you spend you can always find somebody to do it cheaper And the quality sacrifice will not be worth it so make a smart call and show up here

Having Zack come to the house for our JD LX266 tuneup was a great choice! Saving us on transport…read morefees! And did a great job on the mower, also diagnosing our push mower issue! Definitely will use Zack again for any repairs and regular maintenance.

save your time,if you want something done , dependable service look for somebody who is taking…read morebusiness seriously, somebody who will answer your call or at least call you back, keep looking this guy is not your business partners,

Exceptional service, after calling several places in a 20 mile area for an oddball part I needed,…read morethey not only had it in stock but were nice enough to stay 45 minutes after closing to allow me to have my part in hand today. Thanks so much to Gary for going above and beyond with customer service. A+ experience

Gary is so helpful and knowledgeable. I would not go anywhere else for my boating needsread more

Took an old 1930's outboard to these guys, and within three hours of shop time they not only had it…read moretuned up and purring like new, but took an extra 45 minutes to explain - and demonstrate, right there in the Fox River in mid-November - how to operate it. They seem to be constantly storing / repairing an incredible number of antique wooden boats... and their work appears to be top notch from what I could tell: pieces were in various states of re-chroming, varnish, and new transoms were being installed while I was there. The owner, Tom, is as nice a guy as you can find. I would absolutely use Fox River Valley Boats again.

Joe is one of the few boat mechanics on The Fox that truly knows his trade. Great service and he &…read morehis wife are super nice!

From the owner: Quality Boat Service & Repair…read more DeMar Marine Services Inc. is located Holiday Hills, IL. We are a full service marina servicing all stern drive, inboard boats, and some outboards. We also do wooden boat repair and refinishing. The owner has over 40 years' experience in the marine field at this same location. We offer slip rentals, in and out storage, winter and summer inside and outside storage, winterizing, and shrink wrapping.Our certified technicians are trained to do quality work:* Boat engines* Comprehensive checks* Tune-ups* Outdrive repairs* Minor maintenance* Hydraulic steeringOur knowledgeable staff is ready to assist you. Our goal is to make your entire relationship with us as smooth and convenient as possible. We're confident that we have the experience, tools and dedication to exceed your standards.Call DeMar Marine Services today.

Mike is very knowledgeable, honest and his prices are fair. I took my 2023 Yamaha 250 hp SHO to him…read moreto get fixed. He ran Yamaha diagnostics on the engine and fixed it within 24 hours. Boat runs great. I will definitely use Baltic marine services again in the future.

If you have a boat and need to get it fixed, do it here. They will take care of all your needs.read more