Reviews: Stivers Seneca Marine

Reviewed by: Fred Seip on Jul 11, 2017
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 31'
Draft: 5.6'

Rating: 3

I hired Stivers to put my mast up on my sailboat. I called in advance and explained, to Gene the manager, the details of my boat and stated that I was new to sailing and had never seen a mast stepped. He reassured me that they did this type of work all the time and that it would be no problem. He explained that I would have to put my sails up but that they would make sure that the boat was safe to travel Seneca Lake. I asked him if I needed to hire someone else to help but he assured me that they did the work. He quoted me a price that seemed reasonable so that is where I went.

I showed up early and did a pump out and fueled up and expected to have to wait until their crew was finished lunch. There was no waiting! Two men helped me tie up and promptly started to work; fueling and pump out was completed in about 30 minutes. They immediately started to put the mast in place.

The mast slid in easily and they proceeded to connect the rigging. There were some issues, some of them my fault and some of them theirs. I should have had all the turnbuckles spun all the way out (my fault). They twisted some of the stays and didn't realize that the turnbuckles weren't out until the mast was up. All in all the crew worked at a nice steady pace and were very friendly.

I was a little suspicious when Gene would walk over to Bob (the owner) and whisper to him, but that was it until I was settling up. Gene informed me at checkout that there would be an additional charge for labor. He explained it was because of the 2 additional workers (Gene and Bob) whom I thought were mostly instructing the other workers. Gene also stated that because he had to use a wrench it was above and beyond what I paid for. All of this would have been easier to swallow if he had been up front in the beginning.

I paid for fuel, pump out, transient slip (1 night), 45 minutes of mechanic time, stepping the mast and additional mast stepping fee (which was almost the same price as the stepping). All fees were reasonable with the exception of the last minute additional charged.
It is sad that something that could have been such a good experience left such a bad taste in my mouth.

I say to you, as I have told everyone that has asked me about Stivers, I was satisfied with the work; just be careful about what they quote you.

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