They were quick and above all honest. Ricardo is an amazing mechanic. All around it was a pleasant experiance .

WARNING: Poor craftsmanship; appalling customer service. New ownership (Julian acquired this business roughly a year ago) is not reflective of the legacy reviews in my opinion. Julian ranks as one of the more defensive and combative operators I've seen. Our goal was to remove a fiberglass T-top from our Sea Hunt to swap it with a foldaway version to circumnavigate short bridges in St. Pete. After discovering Manatee Marine on the Fishmaster site, I called and spoke frankly to the shop owner, Julian, expressing why we'd remove an expensive top and replace it with a canvas folding version. He assured me his shop was reputable and expedient given our desire to complete the project before Memorial Day. He did deliver on his timing, and I tipped him $200 for doing so as he finished the work in a few days. Unfortunately, now realize why it was so fast. When I arrived to pick up the boat, I inquired how it top folds, to which the shop admitted they did not test it! That's the beginning of the downward spiral. I am no boat expert, but if someone spends $3,500, wouldn't you test the functionality? The shop attendant and I continued to fold the top, and to my surprise the front of the tower hit the bow, leaving the height clearance unimproved. I immediately called Julian to address the issue who was offsite that day and his reaction was "What are YOU going to do"? Appalled at his answer, I said "that's why I'm calling you", and he advocated this was now my problem since I picked out the top. I left without the boat, and he said he'd call me back on Monday. I picked up the boat regardless the following week since we wanted to spend time with the family for the long Holiday weekend cruising around, and Julian was less than accommodating, offering no solutions, apology, or a modicum of remorse. After arriving home, I noticed the following damage: *Jagged cuts on the powder coating, leaving sharp edges, and damage from accidental grinding wheel contact *Unfilled holes left in the helm *Wires cut in the helm -- left bare *No sound out of the speakers *Both port side base legs not properly attached, and loose. The top is unsecure and sways. *Mister hoses sliced and left uncapped (depress the button on the console and water fills the helm) *Spreader light attachment bolts left uncut (kids running around a boat -- unsafe) *Tear in the new canvas top *Snapped the navigation light on the former fiberglass top And to add insult and inconvenience to injury, my boat (detailed a week before arriving at Julian's shop) was covered in grease, debris, and dirt. For contrast, Pro Marine washed our boat after a simple oil change. I texted the shop multiple photos May 27th and never received a response, and then disputed the charges on my credit card three weeks later (I have done this less than 5 times out of thousands of transactions in my lifetime) and received a threatening call from Julian a few days later calling me a scammer and that I don't want to pay my bills. No Julian, you deceived me, blamed the customer for your substandard production, and now left us stuck holding the bag and paying other qualified service providers to clean up your mess, leaving us in a shoddier and more expensive situation prior to your work. We must pay to fix the damage YOUR SHOP caused and start all over with a new fabricator. The company who fixed the stereo wiring stated the inferior workmanship ranked as one of the worst they have witnessed. DO NOT BRING YOUR BOAT HERE. read more

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New ownership, not very impressed. Took my Bass Tracker there and was charged $193 to fix a misfire issue on a 1999 Yamaha. Result was the mechanic said the choke needed adjustment and he reset the idle. Service manual says idle should be set at 700 rpm, he set the idle at almost 1400 rpm and said that made it run better, well have you ever tried to dock a boat with it revving that high? Not to mention it slamming in gear. There was no change in the misfire issue either. read more

horrible service Do not ever take your boat or engine here ever. they lie about warranty, they lie about how long it will be in service, they lie about everything. they threaten me to pay thousands out of pocket on work they did and broke the very next day.this is on a brand new engine. the place is horrible. I was surrounded by a bunch of thugs demanding that "I take my piece of sh*t out of here". absolutely the worst customer service I have ever been involved in. do yourself a favor and save your money go somewhere else read more

Very happy with Ray and his staff. Have had a few small repairs and scheduled maintenence on my etec. All good! Very good communication and flow ups. Would recommend read more

Work was all done on time and a fair price, came right to the dock to do the work.

I am in the marine industry, and my standards are very high. Dealing with Manatee Mobile Marine was an incredibly good experience. Ray, the owner, scheduled an in-the-field visit for my 25' center console with a 300 HP Yamaha, which was breaking up at high speed. He asked all the right questions. Colin, the technician assigned, called me the day before the schedule service to confirm the appointment, and he reviewed the symptoms with me on the phone. When he arrived he was on time. His approach was methodical. He ran multiple computer tests, we took a test run, and he suspected that the spark plugs were a potential cause. He pulled them, and saw the there was some discoloration around each of the bases. He was right. He installed new plugs, and the engine ran beautifully. Colin is a superb diagnostician, and an asset to Manatee Mobile. I have no business or personal relationship with the company, just a very satisfied customer. read more

Whenever I need work done to my boat they always do a great job and get it done as fast as possible! Highly recommend!!

This should be receiving one star but due to the fact that they were able to resolve my issue in the end they gained a star. A customer should not have to be a test dummy for maintenance repairs or anything for that matter. I'm not sure how boat sales are conducted but at this point the servicing department needs to improve a finish product to customer better then give it a little gas and hopefully it should start.... This is my second attempt with manatees marine and it's going to be the last. My first attempt was an older boat with a 40hp outboard motor needing tune up. They completed the work but after receiving it the motor ran more rough than it did going in for service. When I mentioned this to the owner I was instructed to bring it in we will take a look at, no problem but it's a hassle to half to bring a boat in twice they also state that on the website and that they can offer mobile service. Needles to say I never made the time to drop it off I just sold it and moved on. My second attempt is my boat I have now, slightly newer boat with a 60hp outboard motor. Took it in for diagnosis because it turned off 15min after running one day. Manatee Marine came back and said it would need carb rebuild, with a few other parts. Ok cool but only thing was is they were three weeks out because of the start of season so I had no problem with it just have me fixed up. So after three weeks and my first quote $600 and my final $1060.00 the boat was ready, so it seemed. So I made plans with friends that weekend for a fishing trip assuming everything was fixed and ready for boating. Was I ever wrong and shame on me for assuming. The mechanic said it would start up sorta rough which seemed strange because before I was having issues it started right up in neutral with choke no problem. That morning it took ten min just get it to start and that was with the advice of giving it gas not throttle while turning it over. We got half way out and same thing cut out, called manatee marine again bring it by we will look at it. Ummm hello were stuck out in the middle of a river. After waiting 45min it started back up and we headed back and loaded up. Dropped the boat off that Monday got a call Wednesday from the mechanic said he sea tested it and the boat cut out on him to and he was able to determine it was the kill switch .... at this point I owe manatee marine $160 for parts and $200 for labor. I've paid $1420.00 when if they diagnosed it the first time I would have been more like $360. Now they did rebuild the carbs and fixed something that cracked but that was just contributing factors to the problem the main problem was the kill switch. I have found while boating that nothing is more scary or stressful than being stranded on a boat that's encountering mechanical issues and manatee marine did not make my experience very encouraging because every time I go out now I have stress about the service they performed on my boat. read more

Manatee Marine Unlimited - Boat Repair Near Me - Palmetto, Florida

Not trustworthy, their, scammer. Took boat for repairs. Took boat out and was still not repaired. Took back and was told was something different then was told it was something else and would be $1500 to repair. Sounded fishy so they were told not to replace anything. Ray tried to charge me for something that wasn't even replaced. When I caught him in his scam trying to rip me off he got all pissy and told me to pick up my boat and never call them. They do not diagnose issues. They change parts and hope for the best. Stay away. read more

Kept boat for over five weeks. Had numerous excuses. Someone was out on vacation, than someone was injured, than someone was at Yamaha training out of state. Picked up boat in frustration to take somewhere else. On the positive, they waived labor fees for the minimal work that they did. read more

Absolutely a great experience! Would definitely rent from them again! Exactly what we were looking for in a rental.

Enjoy our 150 ho etec and Manatee mobile marine has been only ones to touch it. They did 300 hour service and recently we had an issue with blowing fuses. Colin helped over phone while we were on water, came out quickly and had us back on the water very soon! Took care of all warranty paperwork! Would highly recommend Ray and Colin! We also buy our bulk outboard oil from them at a great price! read more

My dad used Manatee Mobile for a recent repair to his boat and I am writing a review on his behalf because he told me the staff was very attentive and the prices were reasonable. They made an efficient repair and got my dad's boat back on the water in no time! He was super pleased with their work. If dad is happy, I am happy. Thanks! :) read more

Ray Corda, originally from the Philadelphia area, owns Manatee Mobile Marine. His new boat line is Carolina Skiff, and he also purveys Yamaha, Suzuki, and Evinrude outboard engines. Three years ago I decided to re-power my 19' Palm Beach Center Console. I went to Ray because he was the local Evinrude dealer, and this is the outboard manufacturer in which I was interested. Ray had a lightly used 115HP Evinrude available and quoted a competitive price for the motor and mounting. As it turned out, my boat needed a 25" engine shaft length rather than the 20" shaft length engine Ray had. I then secured a new left over Evinrude 150HP E-Tec engine from the east coast of FL and had it shipped to Manatee Mobile Marine. Ray and his staff worked with me and quickly installed the engine at a reasonable price. Additionally, he advertised my old engine and engineered a sale of that motor for 15% of the sale price. The new Evinrude did not require service for three years. When it came time to have the engine serviced, Ray sent me an e-mail reminder. I indicated that I needed to borrow a trailer to transport the boat to his dealership. He advised he had pick up and drop off service for $200. I was able to borrow a friend's trailer, but it was comforting to know that Ray had given me an option if necessary. There was an apparent rush on clients seeking engine service, and it took two weeks for my engine to be addressed. That was a bit long, but the work that was done was appropriate, and the engine actually now runs better than when it was new. If you are looking for a boat dealer for Carolina Skiff (Ray also sells other brands of used boats), or to buy an Evinrude, Yamaha, or Suzuki outboard, or have your current motor serviced, you should check out Manatee Mobile Marine. Ray is a man of his word and it is a pleasure to do business with a boat dealer with this level of integrity. read more

I had a Power Tilt and Trim Motor replaced on my 1992 70 HP Johnson. The work was completed in 3 day and not only was the Motor replaces, but the whole unit was freshly painted and looked new. My expectations were exceeded in terms of quality of work and the price was what I expected. I found a new repair shop! read more

We recently purchased a Carolina Skiff from Manatee Mobile Marine. We had been looking for quite some time and hadn't found anything until we ran across this little spot and we are so glad that we did! They were so easy going and not "salesy" but were right there when we needed them or had questions. The process was so smooth it really made the boat buying experience even more enjoyable. I would DEFINITELY recommend checking them out if you are in the market for a boat!! read more

Rude and disrespectful would be my description for these people. We stopped by at noon on a Saturday to look at a boat. I assume it was the proprietor met us in the drive and told us they were closing but the prices were on the boats if we wanted to look around while they closed. My wife asked him a question about one particular boat and he offered to go read the sigh to us. We were greeted, disrespected, and pi$$ed off all in 30 seconds. If they treat people like this before the sale I don't want to know what they'll do after they have your money. Guess what you can do with your sign A-ho. read more

STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE. They are a bunch of hacks. I bought a new E-Tec from them and they screwed up putting the motor on. They forgot to fasten the low water pressure sensor hose and half way to Egmont Key the boat quit. After getting towed in and paying 900.00 dollars to Seatow. I bring the boat back in and talk to Ray the owner. He tells me they"ll fix it. Ok but who pays the towing bill. He tells me sorry about my luck he's not going to pay it I should of had a Seatow membership. Needless to say the guy is a sheister. Everytime I took the boat to him to be repaired it to 3-4 weeks to get it back and it would just break down again. In the end I had to get an Attorney and file a lawsuit against him and BRP to get my money back. Since then everyone I've talked to has been screwed by this guy. Again STAY AWAY FROM THIS BUSINESS, you've been warned so if you choose to go there and you also get screwed to bad for you read more