Dave Smith

Review of Chester Point Marina

I professionally manage several yachts and winter ...

I professionally manage several yachts and winter store and service one vessel at CPM for the last several years. Most yachts I manage travel south for the winter. To my dismay, I noticed a few negative posts from what appear to be from non-seasoned yachtsmen that should be addressed.

Re snow damage: The policy of every marina I have ever been in the last 30 years is that you are to maintain insurance on your vessel at all times. The CPM storage contracts are very specific and outline that fact in detail. I had to provide proof of insurance prior to arrival. If damage occurs, submit a claim to your insurance company, same as a home or car accident. The yard is liable only under the terms of the contract you signed. You make no mention if the boat was even repaired. Unfortunately, what happened to you is called an accident. Insurance companies/courts sort out legal issues and award settlements/judgements to satisfy claims. Are you stating that CPM actually caused the snow or the damage to the building from the snow? What were the actual conditions? That is all left blank.

To the gentleman with the overpriced (in his opinion) rigging job. Few questions, did you get other quotes for apples to apples repairs? Did you request exact quotes for what you ordered? Are you a marine surveyor or did you retain one for professional guidance? Did you verbally add to any quote without a written estimate or approve change order? Did you monitor the work that was being done and parts ordered? This is what yachtsmen do and we have no surprises. We know exactly what the obligation or and budgeted amount is with the yard and we pay the invoice immediately upon receipt. We request and receive updated status reports then stop in to inspect what we expect.

You make no mention of the condition the boat was in on arrival. Obviously there were several concerns on your part about its prior maintenance history on your watch. It came to CPM for a specific reason. I see the challenge is not what amount was charged, it was the severity of the repair required to make the vessel sea worthy and safely operate again. For the record, I received quotes for work from CPM and went to another yard in FL to do work. No hard feelings, I chose to return to CPM the two past winters and have been completely satisfied. I even came back this week for additional electronics upgrades.

The entire staff is completely respectful to the boat owner requests; they provide excellent and professional service. The pricing is fair, reasonable and customary in scope to other yards. No one or anything in boating is perfect, however, I feel the ENTIRE staff at CPM strives to meet and exceed my expectations. I assure you my expectations are extremely high with decades in the yacht management business I know what to look for which adds validity to my statements.

If you want to have quality work at responsible rates with a team that is trustworthy then CPM is your yard. If your goal is poor work at cheap prices, do yourself a favor and consider a different yard. My mother taught me that cheap service is seldom good and good service is seldom cheap. Boating is very expensive so proactive preventive maintenance is always the wise investment.

One last question. If you had a problem with your business would you ignore it and go out of business or do you fix it and keep loyal clients that value your service and attract more and better business and clients? The owners and management team of CPM chose the latter. There is a gentleman named Jason Hyde there. Please, go meet and speak with him, he will tell you the truth, not just what you want to hear. I see progress every year so will you. Keep up the great work!