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BM
08-01-2011, 06:57 AM
G'day all,

Interested to know if the Sunshine Coast is well catered for in terms of marine mechanical services or are they lacking a reliable, reasonably priced business?

cheers

Smithy
08-01-2011, 09:01 AM
Noosa would be or maybe too many dealerships for the size of the place. Caloundra probably is too. Mooloolaba/Maroochydore only really has a Merc/Mariner and Yammie dealer. Recently a Suzuki dealer at Caloundra and an OMC/Bombardier dealer at Maroochydore have gone bust. There are a couple of smaller dealerships/workshops and some good mobile mechanics out there. Most of them are in the Macoochy-Warana stretch. Hard question to answer.

Top of my head you'd have:- (people can add to this list)

Noosa - Ray Scholes (Quintrex/Yamaha), Laguna Boating (Suzuki), I think there is another one up there too.

Maroochydore - Victory Parts (servicing/wrecking/after market parts), Barefoot Marine (might have picked up Bombardier from the one that went bust and all his mechanics are there), Dolphin Marine (Yamaha)

Kawana/Warana - North Coast (Merc/Mariner/Stacer/Honda?), Port O Call (servicing etc.), Solas (props and parts), Seatow (associated with Lawries Marina)

Caloundra - Caloundra Marine, Caloundra City Powerboats (Merc?), Custom Craft Marine (Bombardier).

Nambour - think there is a mob there or there used to be.

Spaniard_King
08-01-2011, 09:43 AM
Smithy, don't think Kawana/Warana are Honda agents

Breakaway Marine at Noosa is tho

BM as always it will be tough starting out until your name gets around... would be plenty of work around that neck of the woods.. have thought of moving up around Bribie island myself a while back.

Stuart
08-01-2011, 01:15 PM
BM

Like any business, if you provide great service and great prices you will do extremely well no matter where you go. If you have a mobile service attached to your shop you will do even better. I have lived and worked on the Sunshine coast for 25 years of which most of my time was spent on charter and commercial fishing boats. Most marine dealer back then where arrogant and provided just above average service at the best of time in my opinion. Offcourse most have changed but not from every marine shop, there are still some shonks around the Sunshine coast.

Stu

Chamelion
08-01-2011, 01:58 PM
I'm pretty pleased with north coast boating for mechanical work.

For hull repair Elva Craft in Wurtulla get a HUGE HUGE thumbs up from me.

Homer_Jay
08-01-2011, 06:55 PM
Hi BM,

You know my thoughts on Mercruiser repairs and service on the sunshine coast!

I no longer have my mercruiser, pulled it out and put an outboard on after being ripped off too many times. Used North Coast Boating for my last service on the outboard and they seem ok.

I think there is a market for someone who services sterndrives here on the coast. (someone who does a good job and doesnt rip people off) I do not mind paying a reasonable price, even top dollar if I get good service.



Cheers
Aaron

BM
09-01-2011, 12:24 PM
G'day guys,

Thanks for the replies thus far. I am considering (again) the prospects of relocating to the Sunshine Coast. Wanted to do it for a long time. Don't even know if I would stay with marine or something else.

Aaron, are there many mercruiser guys on the Sunshine Coast? (I do recall your dramas)

Gary, you work the Gold Coast area don't you? I presume there's more boats in that region than on the Sunshine Coast?

I'm coming up for a holiday about March so will have a good look around the area when I come.

Cheers

Homer_Jay
09-01-2011, 06:30 PM
I think there is 2 Mercruiser dealers on the coast now.

There are a lot of mechanics that say they are experts on them, but when it comes to the crunch, it is obvious they are outboard specialists. (ususally dont find this out until they start and all you end up with at the end is a big bill and the same problems).


Like any business, it would take time to earn a reputation in a new area, but if you do the right thing, word spreads fast.

BM
09-01-2011, 06:35 PM
PM me your contact details Aaron and I will hook up with you if you like when I come up there in March. Thanks for the info mate.

Cheers

hunge
09-01-2011, 07:03 PM
give duane deans from superiour marine a call he's a local mobile guy he does an awesome job he does most of the commercial guys and goverment boats on the coast 0422742284

Lovey80
11-01-2011, 02:34 AM
BM mate welcome back!

Just do it mate you know you want to ;)

Dont suppose you want to stop into Callala bay (just south of Nowra) on the way up and do a survey for me? ;)

Look forward to meeting you when you get on the coast.

Cheers

Chris

BM
11-01-2011, 07:21 AM
G'day Chris. I do want to! Always have. Got to convince the bride to return to her home state though. Shes not that keen on the heat.

I'll have a better idea of things when I come up in March for a holiday and a look around.

Wonder if the plane could divert to Nowra???? lol

Lovey80
14-01-2011, 03:12 AM
You dont want to do something silly like taking a plane do you?

I have found that the heat in Vic is far far more harsh in the hot months than the sunshine coast. Those sea breezes seem to keep everything bearable for the most part. Nothing like Melbourne around Australian Open time. And it gets no where near as cold!

BM
14-01-2011, 04:35 AM
True enough our summer heat can be harsh but the constant humidity in Qld is pretty tough too. And yes, I could happily do without the cold, particularly where I live which is colder than most parts of Melb.

OPTI
14-01-2011, 05:33 AM
the marine trade in general is doing it really tough now,many long term existing dealerships have closed down,even the mobile guys i know are struggling atm ,this weather we have had all summer isnt helping either.
seriously if you were moving up here ,you wouldnt survive on your own ,you could get a job at a dealership or marina, maybe ,if your good you might hold on to that job .but at the end of the day a marine mechanic doesnt get paid too well either.personally id look into doing somethin else.

PADDLES
14-01-2011, 11:08 PM
Hi BM, I'm a mercruiser owner at Beachmere and currently tow my boat to Northside Marine for servicing/repairs and will probably continue to do so because they have been really good so far and their prices have been reasonable too. One thing that is lacking in our area (Caboolture/Beachmere/Bribie) is mercruiser mobile techs, there's a few mobile marine mechanics that service our area, some are total cowboys and are no good and the good ones won't touch mercruisers (i found a real good one when i had an outboard). Locally, there's a mercruiser agent/workshop at Spinaker Sound and obviously Northside Marine who are 40km's away (who do have a mobile service) but there's no mobile mercruiser techs in our area. Food for thought?

Smithy
15-01-2011, 04:52 AM
Paddles,

Captain Rednut on here does legs. Based at Burpengary. Aqua Mobile Marine, 0418748023.

On the coast here I guess Seatow would have the most to do with legs being based at Lawries Marina. I'd say there would be a fair few leg boats on the water in Pelican Waters at Caloundra (Mustangs and Bayliner etc. turtle crushers) and the same at Noosa in the canals up there.

BM
15-01-2011, 02:44 PM
Thanks for the input guys. Much appreciated.

Not fussed if I didn't turn spanners at all if the industry was that quiet up there. I doubt I would turn spanners for someone else however. No money in that and no point.

Paddles, one of the reasons I started working on Mercruisers was that I discovered not many wanted to so it seemed an obvious direction to go in.

I'm not a fan of mobile mechanical work. Obviously with larger moored cruisers there isn't much choice but in general terms mobile is not as profitable as having a dedicated facility. Reason being, you cannot carry everything in vehicle that you "might" need, nor can you predict the problems you may encounter, which often translates to repeat visits to a job, lots of lost time and income.

Much easier when the boats are at your business premises, all required tools and equipment are on hand and the next job can be started whilst waiting for the parts for other jobs.

Having said that, its something to assess really on location.

Smithy, you mentioned Seatow. That would have to be the towing mob from the US? Are they doing mechanical repairs also? It would make sense as towing alone would probably see you broke, but picking up repair jobs from the tows would be a much better financial model.

Cheers

Smithy
15-01-2011, 07:40 PM
BM,

They were Seatow but sold the boat a little while ago. It is actually for sale on EBay again. It is a good looking though yellow Powercat but the new owner let the survey lapse. Anyway they have kept the whole Seatow look and colour scheme etc. but call themselves Sealube. They are in the old Dolphin Marine shed at Lawries Marina. They alwasy seem to have bigger moored boats there in the workshop.

Dunno how successful they were as Seatow as the Coastguard here are pretty good and if you are a member you are entitled to a free tow out to 25Nm every year. I did have a mate get a bottle of 2 stroke oil run to him with Seatow and as you could appreciate it cost him an arm and a leg.

BM
15-01-2011, 08:57 PM
BM,

They were Seatow but sold the boat a little while ago. It is actually for sale on EBay again. It is a good looking though yellow Powercat but the new owner let the survey lapse. Anyway they have kept the whole Seatow look and colour scheme etc. but call themselves Sealube. They are in the old Dolphin Marine shed at Lawries Marina. They alwasy seem to have bigger moored boats there in the workshop.

Dunno how successful they were as Seatow as the Coastguard here are pretty good and if you are a member you are entitled to a free tow out to 25Nm every year. I did have a mate get a bottle of 2 stroke oil run to him with Seatow and as you could appreciate it cost him an arm and a leg.

I remember reading an article about Seatow's intention to expand into Australia and were looking for franchisees. At that time I thought no way will it work in Australia, simply not enough population.

Cheers

PADDLES
17-01-2011, 06:57 AM
you'll probably struggle with a dedicated facility in our area, we've had plenty of blow ins come and go and probably ruin it for anyone else starting up a genuine business. people have long memories and will just go to the more established business before trying something new, you have to expect it to take a long time for a new marine business to become viable here.

hey opti, we're just simple boat owners here, if you've got something to say (and i suspect you do) then come out and say it, don't be shy, but don't be rude either!

Lovey80
20-01-2011, 01:57 AM
Ok something is fishy here. Posts have been deleted me thinks. Where is mine and Opti's posts gone? Are we being sensored here? whats doing?