I came to Boat Specialists to purchase a new trailer. Not only did they have a great selection of trailers, they had them IN STOCK which is unheard of in these times. Kyle, the sales person I was dealing with is fantastic. He has a great attitude, very knowledgeable and extremely responsive. Kyle got my trailer all taken care of on the business end and then turned me over to the service department to complete the work. Everyone in the service department is top notch. This has been the only boat repair service that I've ever left happy. All of the guys in the service department are very helpful and friendly, which I am not used to when dealing with boat people. They gave me a tour of their entire facility which is new, indoors and quite large. All of their repairs seem to happen in a large, clean and fully stocked Costco sized warehouse. They even have a fiberglass shop and paint booth. This place is fully stocked with Outboards, general boat gear and everything you could possibly need. It's extremely clean and well organized. Like anywhere else that's top notch, you might pay just a little more but it's definitely worth it. Worth it enough that I was inclined to write this review over a boat trailer. If you want a quality product with quality service to back it up, these guys are definitely who you want to go to. Also, they also included a complimentary torque wrench to keep the wheels properly torqued. They'll show you how to use it if you don't know how. read more

See all

*** Some parts of my experience here? Terrific !!! Some parts of my experience here - not so terrific YMMV Purchased a new, (smaller) Zodiac as a tender Thought about a purchasing a "larger vessel" here, pivoted to another option Ventura is fortunate to have this showroom and dealer in town. . .. ... read more

Boat Specialists - Boat Repair Near Me - Ventura, California

Terrific showroom and service in new warehouse section off Victoria and Olivas. Kyle very well informed and super friendly...inspired my buyer confidence. read more

Ordered a Zodiac Dinghy with Kyle Smith when they ran a special just before Christmas. I had to wait for the shipment to come in, but anytime I called the staff new about my order and gave me an update. Finally I got the call from Kyle that it arrived and I mad arrangements for pick up. Kyle got me loaded up pretty fast and did all the DMV paperwork for me. Good communication, thank all of you at Boat Specialist. Bob Restivo, Santa Clarita, CA. read more

Great shop, fair pricing, amazing customer service! I got the privilege of coming here today to pickup a new outboard for my Boston Whaler. Everything about the process was seamless. Kyle in sales was great, everyone was so friendly to me, and I am thrilled to be a Boat Specialist customer. I drove 2+ hours each way from Long Beach and I am so happy I did. Kyle mentioned that they ship all across the country, and with the size of their operation and the friendliness of literally everyone I met today I can see why! I can't wait to come back to Ventura and go shopping. Best experience I've ever had buying a 10,000 plus piece of equipment. Worth the trip if you are anywhere within driving range, and if you're not... just call Kyle and he will take good care of you! -Tell him "Ryan sent you!" Lol. read more

See all

I am 3100 miles away on Cape Cod, MA from Ventura, CA where Boat Specialists are located. It was a leap of faith to spend almost $200,000 buying a boat from that far away, but their price was unbeatable anywhere else in the country. Kyle made it all easy by doing all the paperwork and arranging my purchase of a new trailer, hiring drivers to transport it, etc. and getting the boat to me in top condition, ASAP. I can't say enough positive about purchasing a boat from Boat Specialists. Their only concern was that I be happy, and they bent over backwards to achieve that. Yes, you can take advantage of their great prices (they publish real numbers and stick to them) even when you are across the country! -Jerry read more

Boat Specialists - Boat Repair Near Me - Ventura, California

Excellent customer service from all departments! Quality products and service, they deserve more than 5 stars. Kyle is exceptional!

Wish I could give 6 stars, James and the whole crew is super helpful and has helped keep my boat in mint condition. Couldn't recommend these guys enough for anyone in the 805 or farther it's worth the drive. read more

We purchased a 9' 6" inflatable and Honda 15hp outboard from Boat Specialist. Kyle in Sales worked very hard to find the right boat and outboard for us. He was very knowledgable and had great communication skills. Adam in Parts was also great! We worked with him to purchase a floating dock and all of the boat/outboard accessories. James coordinated the delivery and was able to get everything delivered on the same day. Trego delivered the boat and outboard to the boat launch and was waiting for us when we arrived early. We really had a great experience with everybody at Boat Specialist. It's very refreshing to receive this 5 star service. read more

I have purchased 2 outboards and 1 inflatable. The pricing and service is excellent. I drive up from the LA area and it is worth it. The company is easy to work with and everyone is knowledgeable. read more

The team is great , starting from the repair technicians to the owners , especially Matt service manager , his personal attention and meticulous supervision with my recent extensively glueing restored 15 years old Zodiac to seaworthiness from beyond repairable ..( unfeasible damage) .. and at a best price ....His thoughtfulness included closed Labor Day weekend where he made sure to open and and I got to enjoy my boating thx again. And yes they are worth the trip from Newport read more

Boat Specialists - Boat Repair Near Me - Ventura, California

See all

Boat Specialists and in particular Elaine Palmer took excellent care of me. They had by far the best price of any Honda Outboard dealer in Southern California and Ms. Palmer was able to bring the small 5hp engine into the shop quickly. The guys in my area (Dana Point) had the engine in stock but wanted a premium price for the motor AND prep. The drive from OC to Ventura was well worth the effort...Ms. Palmer even took me to parts to make sure I got the proper external fuel tank, hose and fittings...I cannot recommend her or Boat Specialists enough. Ten (10) STARS. read more

Great customer service. I bought a Zodiac boat off craigslist with no title. I tried to register it at DMV but they wanted me to provide a Manufactures Statement of Origin. I looked up my local Zodiac retailers and found Inflatable Boats. Seeing how I didn't buy the boat from them, I expected to be brushed off. I spoke with Kevin over the phone and to my surprise, he offered help without any hesitation at all. He's probably one of the nicest person I've talked to over the phone. Emailed some documents and he responded right away. I couldn't be happier with my experience with them. They for sure have a customer for life. read more

Professional and friendly sales and service from the folks at Boat Specialists. They helped with my new outboard and my boat and I are both very happy! Kudos to Jenny, James, Joe, and everyone. Thanks again! read more

I have purchased three outboards from Boat Specialists in Ventura. Always a very positive experience. I recently purchased a Torqeedo electric outboard. Kyle was great to deal with. He knew his product and called Torqeedo to get my free TorqTrac app. I go to Boat Specialist because Kyle knows his product and offers great support. You can't get that online. read more

Very expensive. I had 2 outboards serviced there and the cost was nearly 1/2 the price of the engines...and this was for minor repair. Called there today for a small Yamaha outboard and was quoted $1600. Defender sells the same outboard for a $1050. No thanks! read more

Every year my girlfriend and I mainly overland adventurously off the grid for 7 - 21 days at a time deep into Baja Mexico exploring the Sea of Cortez and after our 4 year old PVC glued seamed boat, which shall remain nameless, literally fell apart one afternoon, we decided to upgrade. Living in San Diego we thought it is was a slam dunk, but no. We spent a week calling and visiting several inflatable dealerships here looking for a new ride. What we found was a lot of places with a lot of boats and sales reps with not a lot of knowledge of what the boats were for or capable of. It appeared we were just as confused as some of the sales reps we were talking to. We expanded our search as far as Ventura which leads us to Inflatable Boat Specialists. After a few minutes of introductions and the sad saga of our PVC boat, Mark didn't push a boat out. Interestingly, and a first time event for over a week, Mark simply asked, "First, before we get into inflatables, tell me your typical day to day adventures of the Sea of Cortez for the week involving a boat? What you do, what you pack, amount of water time, how far from shore, what size motor, short shaft, long shaft?" WOW, no one had asked those questions. So we began our story. When it was over, Mark stated, "The exact boat you need for what you do is a utility boat. Achilles SGX 122 is your boat!" After a few minutes of understanding we realized Mark knows his boats. In addition, Mark suggested we talk with Adam in parts and pick up a pressure gauge. Just as Mark knows his stuff so does Adam. These two guys knocked it out of the park with patience, knowledge, and understanding. We picked up a low pressure pencil pressure gauge designed for the Achilles rubber boats and 5 days later were on the water in Baja. The Achilles SGX 122 was everything and more than what we had wanted in a boat. We truly had a refreshingly wonderful experience with Inflatables Boats and their staff. read more

See all

Our old dinghy finally has seen it's last time with us. Two points I want to review here. We used these folks to service our old dinghy and aside from the motor they completely revitalized our 20 year hypalon boat. It was amazing. Now we have just purchased a new dinghy. The sales department was informative and attentive. These folks are great at adding whatever it is that you need to make your boat custom for your needs. They have a different department that deals with the extras. And it is a cool place as they have a lot of really cool well customized boats to look at. read more

I purchased a inflatable boat and motor through The Boat Specialist. Working with Dustin and Jennifer has been a pleasure. I purchased an 9.8 outboard motor for my dingy and turned out to be too much for me to handle. I called Dustin and and explained to him my concern . I asked him if I could trade it in for a 6hp . He said no problem. We swapped out motors and refunded me the difference between the 2 motors. I could not be happier with my new purchase and the help from Jennifer and Dustin!!! read more

As a buddy & I were driving along the coastal road near Ventura Harbor, we noticed a sign listing the business name "Inflatable Boat Specialists". Being the curious sorts that we are, we decided to take a look at their inventory of inflatable boats, kayaks, and assorted boating-related sundries (see photos). It's not a large store by any scope of the imagination, but in addition to a nice selection of inventory, this store has a professional sales staff that is relaxed, very informative, & more-than-willing to deal if one was in the market. Since I'm not currently in the market, I can't state with any knowledge about the relative fairness of their pricing, so that's up to you to do your research. I can tell you, however, that these are decent people with which to work out a deal. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/XqLdCMPrC8KyxHVCucnFbA?select=bDKh1ZKR0tuohB4VmCY9fA read more

See all

Just wonderful guys! Always clean work and very time efficient. When we are taking our families out on the water it's nice to know we have someone that we can trust. read more

Boat Specialists - Boat Repair Near Me - Ventura, California

See all

Just a shout out to Thomas of Boat Specialists who stopped to help us along the freeway today when our tire blew out. He took his time to help us with his jack and compressor to fill our temporary tire. Auto Club didn't get there in 1-1/2 hours and he stopped to help. What a great guy! Good Samaritan award. Top notch people working for this company. Thank you, Thomas! read more

BEWARE OF TRIPLE THE COST SERVICE PRICES Seriously people? I've reached the last straw when it comes to your costs and pricing for services. After spending TENS OF THOUSANDS of dollars with your company, you try and hit me with over 2200 for an upper and lower oil change? I mean, wtf are you guys using gold parts? Even if it takes your service deparment ALL DAMN day to complete this task at door labor rates it should NOT add up over 2200 bucks. My family and I along with several other local boaters cant for the life of us figure out who's doing your costs analysis. I called 5 other places in southern California and each marine facility quoted me upwards of 70% less that you. and yes that's WITH PARTS AND LABOR. FYI-they sell a 100 hour service kit for 165.59 online, times that by 2 and you get 331.00 for ALL PARTS AND OIL. so that means for the remaining 1868.82 is for labor? at a 125.00 hourly rate that means it's going to take you 14.96 hours to complete? I'll be taking to social media to let everyone know how you treat your "clients" you all should be ashamed of yourselves for ripping people off. read more

I am writing this short review to let everyone know who is looking to purchase a boat or has a boat that needs repairs that Boat Specialists is the only place to go. I bought a Zodiac RIB boat a few years ago and they not only kept it in tip top shape but when I was ready to sell it they bought it from me. I bought a Zodiac NZO 680 used from them last spring and they have worked on it over the last few months taking good care of it as well. This company has the absolute best customer service anywhere. Trustworthy, professional and always willing to go the extra mile. The entire staff is like family and they do business the old fashioned way. Person to person without any BS. Do yourself a favor and check with Boat Specialists when looking to buy your next boat or repair your current one. read more

I Purchased a new Yamaha 15 hp outboard last summer from Boat Specialists. I took it to lake Casitas and it was hard to start and keep running. This happened two more times. So I took it back to their service department. The service manager said he would look at it, but if it was not covered by the warrantee it would be $50. When I picked up the outboard and he said there was a problem with the carburetor, which he said is not covered by the warrantee. He said he would be happy to repair it for $350. I told him the motor was like that since I bought it and he said "Sorry, would you like to buy some parts?" That's the last time they'll see me or my outboard. read more

This was my first boat purchase, but I have to say they did an exceptional job. I would really like to thank Kevin for his all of his time and energy, taking the time out to answer all of my questions in detail which i really appreciated. I do an extreme amount of research before making any purchase, so i came with literally hundreds of questions and more email threads on specifics that would probably drive anyone crazy. Kevin really took the time to understand exactly what i wanted, and worked very hard to make me happy, going the extra mile that you don't frequently see with other businesses that are just eager to make a sale. If they were unsure of something, they would double check it, and get back to me timely. Quality employees and just good all around people. Thanks for making the experience worth it! read more

Such nice people and great selection. I can not say enough about Mark and how everyone treated us so well on a small dingy purchase.

Dustin Mcarthy in sales is great. I emailed about a new Zodiac Open & and he emailed back quickly (same day)answering my questions! Thanks Dustin read more

I was looking for a particular inflatable RIB boat and outboard motor. I called all around the country and no one had a boat in stock. When I tried Boat Specialists, they not only had the boat and motor in stock, they got it shipped out the very next day. Excellent communication, service, and follow-through by Jenny R in Sales. Couldn't be happier with the company! read more

I had my 13' Caribe picked up in MDR by Boat Specialists so they could service my 40 hp Yamaha and repair my Tube. After weeks they finally told me for $550 they could throw the whole thing out as it was all totally unrepairable. I was charged $350 for this experience. I had them return the RIB to me and I took it to another outboard repair shop. They told me the motor was perfect. I replaced the tubes and the Caribe looks and runs better than new. I wasted $350, time and got lousy advice. They are not interested in helping you if you have a problem. read more

To update my review I have sold my inflatable with mixed feelings. I enjoyed it while I had it but one reason I sold it was the poor and expensive service I received from Inflatable Specialist. To add to my previous complaints my last (thankfully) experiences were they charged me $12 for a simple bolt and washer for the motor not even stainless. Checking on the internet I could have bought 8 of them in stainless steel for that price I also needed a new upper drain plug for my Achilles. When I phoned them they told me that it was a 3/4 inch plug. Went there to pick it up only to find out it was too small and I needed a 7/8 inch plug. So it took me 2 phone calls and two trips to get the proper drain plug which costs $25. Too bad they have become what they are. I am not usually this critical but have no choice after dealing with these people. read more

These guys rock! Especially Matt their service manager....he just spoils me with GREAT service! That's why I still use them after moving to Marina Del Rey. They make it easy with weekly pick up and drops in MDR and I trust them. read more

Inflatable Boat Specialist are simply the BEST! Jared,Brad and rest of the people that work there are great to deal with. They are all extremely friendly and knowledgeable ! They're the only ones in Ventura Country that seem to be able to get the job done and are very good on keeping you informed on your inflatable. Thank you Jared for personally taking care of us!!!!! read more

Top notch work all the way around. I feared that we might have been in need of a new outboard, but these guys actually advised against it and brought ours back to life! What a refreshing reminder that you CAN trust a boat shop and that some folks out there are still doing business the right way. We trust them completely and they already saved us major $$. Matt and the boys will take care of you...and they are going to start doing work on Mercs soon, which means that we can have them service the I/O as well. Also, best boat detail around, it turns out that there was paint under all that oxidization! read more

Boat Specialists - Boat Repair Near Me - Ventura, California

Just getting out of the COVID and time to get my Medline (19' rib) and Bayrunner (13' rib) ready for the season and beyond. Couldn't be happier with the service department at Boat Specialists. Josh, Matt and the crew really know boats and how to get them running perfectly. I almost didn't recognize the Bayrunner when I got it back - it was detailed and the white tubes came back like new. Very happy with the customer service, pretty swift turn around, despite it being their busy season and the COVID thing. Been a customer with them for probably 11 years or so now and always very impressed. Thank you. read more

I recently purchased a very nice dingy for my yacht from Boat Specialists. I know boats well, but they really know the boats they specialize in, and their expertise was most helpful in choosing exactly what I need. Mark, Jenny, James, Thomas, and everyone at Boat Specialists provided top notch service and customer care throughout the process, from initial discussion to delivery and beyond. I am 100% happy with my experience, and will look to them for my future needs as well. Highly recommended. read more

We recently purchased a Yamaha engine for our dinghy from Inflatable Boat Specialists. My husband has always been a Merc man but after talking with them we decided on Yamaha. We had it shipped to our office in Palm Springs then drove it to our boat in Marina Del Rey, laying it on the wrong side (which we didn't know) which caused the oil to leak out and we could not get the motor to turn over. Hugely disappointed we decided to get up early the next day and instead of a sailing trip with our friends we drove to Ventura to take it back. When the saleman saw how we had the engine laying in our car the informed us that that was the problem...it was our mistake. Nevertheless, they were incredible, they took the motor back immediately agreed to refund our money, sell us a different motor...whatever we wanted. They were friendly, informative and extremely helpful. We walked out with a new Yamaha, layed it on the correct side, drove it to our boat and happy ever after. We would highly recommend the "Inflatable Boat Specialists" they have the best customer service and a treat to do business with. On a scale of 1 to 10...they get a big 10 in our book! Ed and Desiree Otero read more

Excellent and professional customer service. I brought in my outboard for service. Turn-around time was about a week - 3x faster than I've experienced with other vendors. I operate my outboard in very remote regions, and it was comforting to have superb technicians ensure my equipment is operating reliably. I'll 100% be back again. read more

This is my first Yelp review and I normally don't go around posting reviews for anyone but Inflatable Boat Specialists did such a fantastic job on my repower I wanted everyone to know about this little gem in Ventura County. Here is their contact information: website = inflatableboats.net , phone number = (805-644-6290). I worked with Inflatable Boat Specialists for many months finding just the right outboard for a repower, spent many hours on the phone and in person at their shop (which is really clean and state of the art by the way), and must say that my experience with them was great from start to finish. Their sales staff is very professional and their outboard mechanics definitely know their stuff. If any of you are thinking of a repower or servicing an existing engine, IBS gets my vote. Jared (president) was very gracious with his time and was able to get exactly what I wanted at a very fair price. Normally one of their sales staff works with a new customer but since they were busy with other folks Jared stepped right in to help me. Everything about choosing a new outboard (including rigging, gauges, getting the right prop, service, timing, sea trail) was completely transparent from the start and I always felt confident they were going to do a solid job on my repower. Buying a new outboard can be overwhelming but it turned out to be a very pleasant experience. I'm so happy I found these guys and look forward to bringing in my new outboard for its regularly scheduled service. read more

Called Boat Specialists for the first time, in a pinch to find a part for an old (80's) Avon sport boat quickly. Adam in parts had lots of busy action going on but still took the time (for what would be a small sale at best) to first give me some tips to try and get the old part working. Then I emailed him some pics and he even disassembled a part while we were brainstorming on the phone. He was extremely friendly, knowledgeable, and got me what I needed in time - can't ask for more than that! read more