Boats are expensive to maintain, so it's important to trust that your boatyard is reasonable and competent. My boat has been in and out of a number of North Bay yards over the past 30 years, and Bay Marine is the one I trust. Each item in their work orders is either a fixed price or an accurate, reasonable estimate that they usually come in under. If additional work is needed they ask for a change order. Jaime keeps me in the loop as they work through issues. I can get at the boat 24/7 if necessary while it's in the yard. I used to get a bottle of wine along with my bill from KKMI, and it was the most expensive wine I ever got. Bay Marine has good communication, prices no higher than they have to be, and an always filled candy dish in the office. Good enough for me. read more

A big thank you to Rolph my PM on Picaroon. He went above and beyond to help fix a few tricky problems on my Cape Dory CD 30. This is a 1981 boat and new parts are hard to find especially on the Volvo Penta MD7A which they stopped producing in 1983. I'm back sailing and enjoying the bay again .. thanks Rolph. read more

I am very happy with the service I got at Svenden's Bay Marine. From the very first hang and haul for the initial survey, to the follow up initial repairs and maintenance items, to follow up issues. Project manager Rolfe Britain always was very frank with me. As a new boat owner I underestimated the amount of time and effort it takes to get a boat into shape. It's overwhelming. You think you got everything sorted out and then something new comes up. You have no idea really how good or bad stuff is. You get freaked out. You ask questions. You get nervous. You get back to the manager. Rolfe is a good guy putting your head in the right place and giving you perspective. Of course the final bill is well beyond what you initially expected but that is boating. There is always something. But now Ballenita is all ship shape and safe and I can take her out to the Bay. read more

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I've enjoyed boatwork my previous 6 hauls at KKMI Sausalito but experienced substandard work at the last haul in the early pandemic and an indifference to my concerns about problems confirmed by video. So, I opted to try the services OF Svendsen's Bay Marine in Jan 2024 The haul and launch were easy, the staff always very friendly, and they even sourced a difficult color bottom paint that I requested. They addressed my concerns regarding the prop shaft and PYI shaft seal, and didn't run over budget, which is quite unusual. The yard is clean and shipshape/organized and the chandlery and office staff are friendly. I noticed a large number of commercial boats being worked on and this reinforced my confidence in them, from billing to the competence of Rolfe and his team, on my 42' cutter. I recommend Svendsen's Pt. Richmond and will certainly return for my future boatwork! read more

Svendsen's Bay Marine - Boat Repair Near Me - Richmond, California

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I have some engine issues with my boat and I make an appointment to test in Svendsen's. I came at exactly day and time as we agreeing. The person who make me appointment call me the day before and confirm this. when I arriving nobody now's about my appointment?! Finally the engine department manager Mr. Cris Weaver found the time to talk to me. First he notified me about the time when they can look at my problem: two weeks from date arrival?! It was Wednesday. Question: why my boat stay there two weeks? After the argumentation Mr. Weaver promised me to look at my boat next Monday-Tuesday. Nobody called me in time! I called myself and finally have an answer. The complete estimate I received after one week ... Estimate was prepared for other engine! Quality of the estimate absolutely poor.When I came to p/u my boat the keys was missing and answer from reception: go make other one and we pay you the money. The manager doesn't show up. I am so disappointed. read more

Thanks to Svendsen's for helping me out today with marine batteries. Much appreciated. That says it all. Yelp required more text. read more

When your Pirate ship needs the barnacles scrubed off this is just the place to throw the anchor. Eliot and his team of misfit's know there business. Price was as the estimate. This dog will park here again for surr read more

Svendsen's Bay Marine - Dennis is the man! He put the black on the bottom. - Boat Repair Near Me - Richmond, California

I bought an older sailboat that needed many repairs, including replacing the standing rigging. Rolfe, Chris, David, Kim, and Ruby all worked hard to make sure everything got done correctly and timely. Their expertise was invaluable to me. The yard is clean and organized, and there's a chandlery on site. There's food and a hardware store walking distance from the boatyard, too. The restrooms and showers are better than most marinas. If I need to do another large project, I will call Rolfe first. read more

The only place to go for rigging. After chain plate disaster I was referred to svensens bay marine in Richmond. What an incredible my wonderful experience. Chainplate disaster never comes at the right time$. They were true professionals that walked me through the total re rig of my Newport 41 from 1977. Big huge shout out to Tolfe my project manager, Chris the boat whisperer, Chuck who did the final attachment and tweak. I'm embarrassed to say I don't remember the incredible guy who fit and ran the rigging shop. Not to mention the plastics guy I never met and the two hero's that prepped and painted the bottom. My life depends on you in this crazy place we call the San Francisco Bay. Huge thank you. Timely Ian's on budget I will be back and I will be referring my friends. read more

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Thumbs down....If they had zero stars I'd vote that. Careful of the smiling faces at this stop in the marine repair business If you believe the "professional" in their self description on their website and advertisements, you'll get what you get. They have rebuilt my transmission TWICE. Once after 100 hours where they charged easily $10-13K first time for the privilege and when I complained they took it back supposedly did it over. Incredible they challenged me when we contacted them about the almost immediate failure. Bad rebuild, installed old crumbling hoses, didnt even look at the angle box that shared the same oil full of metal and who knows what. Make one want to scream! Installed it after the 2nd "rebuild" and after only 8 hours at minimum (on a trans that has been around the world literally) I have a bearing hot spot indicated by using infrared gun to keep an eye on it during sea trials. With a competent mechanic helping me, we take off the external oil pump that shims the layshaft (forward) and it has 6 TIMES, YES 6 TIMES too little shimming in the damm thing. Needs .0036 and they had in .0006 On top of that they never checked the trans for pressures to keep the clutch locked up and it was running a 100lbs too little to do the job so I have done all this myself. I caught that early and called technical and ordered a new spring and that brought it up to working pressure. More lack of knowledge and checking for proper operating conditions. If you need a bottom job, they have enough talent for that, but transmissions LOOKOUT!!!!!! Worth the $$ to send it to a trained mechanic Total RIP OFF in my estimation. I MAY JUST GO AFTER THE MONEY I WAS SCREWED OUT OF. TOTAL LACK OF PROFESSIONALISM in dealing with this. Incompetent mechanics! They even left the cotter pins out on the headstay clevis! The list is longer, I'll stop now. read more

I discovered Svendsen's Bay Marine when the guy who last painted my boat was vacationing outside of the country, (Lucky him.) A fellow angler recommended Bay Marine; I researched them through yelp reviews and decided to make a service appointment. The receptionist Cynthia greeted me warmly. I need bottom paint and engine service, no problem, she said and set me up with an appointment and a project manager, Jamie Figueroa. Jamie epitomized competence and professionalism; his calm confident demeanor rivaled the bedside manner of a country doctor. His can do attitude and ability to listen made me comfortable and I knew I was in good hands. In my ten years of getting my boat serviced, I have never had an assigned project manager as the single point of contact for all issues related to my boat. Jamie went beyond his duties and exceeded my expectations for service and satisfaction. To say I am satisfied with the service I received is a gross understatement, they go the extra mile. If you need service or paint, I highly recommend Svendsen's Bay Marine. read more

Over the years you end up trying different yards unless you have one where you have had a good experience. I have taken boats to all the major yards in the bay area and tried Bay Marine for a bottom job and rudder bearings, cutlass bearings, etc. I was to have work to be started on a Monday. I told them that I would bring the boat by during the weekend and leave it at their docks and then they could take care of it on Monday morning. I gave them a few days and I called on Wednesday to see what kind of progress was being done and they said they haven't started working on the boat because they didn't know it was there. I told them that it's been on their gas dock since Saturday, they finally got it out of the water and started to do work on it and it took them about a week because they said they couldn't work full-time on that because they had a last minute emergency repair job that they need to do on another boat that came in after mine. When I told them, they even admitted that their customer service was terrible and sorry about the mixup. They didn't give me any kind of break in the price or anything like that. Plus I found over spray all over my railings from work they were doing on the boat next to me. I'm not coming back too many things went wrong, and they were not professional about it to the point of them even admitting that. read more

If I could post no stars I would do it. I ordered 170' of G4 5/16" chain Feb 28. Order placement was pleasant enough although the person on the phone never mentioned chain was out of stock. Called a week later to check on status and was told chain was on backorder but arrival was imminent. 2 more weeks later called and status now was chain is in production being hot-dipped (galv) at the factory on the east coast. "Will ship next week and here's the tracking #". Waited another week and finally saw that the chain was to be delivered the following Monday. This is now 5 weeks. Called 3 times on Tuesday before I could reach someone that knew about my order. Was told "the manufacturer shipped the incorrect chain". Of course they've had my money for well over a month now. Rely on this company at your own risk. read more

I can't say enough good things about Elliot and the crew here. The haul out guys are super friendly and made a stress situation as pleasant as it could be. I had a leak and I was able to get pulled out on New Year's Eve. They were incredibly busy and still found time to help me. All my repairs were accomplished in a timely manor, I don't feel taken advantage of. My new bottom paint looks great! Definitely will use them for my haul outs and work in the future read more

Having previously used KKMI a number of times based on reputation and finding them disorganized, uncommunicative, and performing substandard work, I was very pleasantly surprised with Svendsen's when I recently had two hydraulic cylinders rebuilt. They came in under-budget and ahead of schedule. The Svendsen's yard is clean and organized; the chandlery and office staff are friendly; and they do good work. I can't say much about larger projects, but I will definitely use Svendsen's my next haul-out and bottom job based on my experience with them so far. read more

Svensons fabricated a new heat exchange exhaust system for me. It had to be returned to them three times for welding failure. Finally, after it functioned for 7 months it leaked through the stainless steel itself. Apparently, the metal was too porous. $3500.00 down the drain, though a partial refund of less than $900.00 was returned. read more

Had some fiberglass work done on my whaler. The team there was outstanding. From the day I had it inspected, till the day the work was completed (a week early). my experience was as good as one can expect. I came by a couple of times to check on the boat, and someone always came by and introduced themselves and asked me how I liked the work. I had some minor issue with the insurance company, and I told the person at the counter that I would contact Geico and resolve it. Then I walked out having forgotten to pay. I came right back to pay, and she said 'Oh... I thought you wanted to check in with Geico first'. Who lets you walk out without paying in this day and age!! Oh.. and the boat looks great. read more

I hauled out last week, did most of the work myself (had a little help from my dad) but service wise, meh.. Our troubles started our very first day. We arrived on time (we were told be there before 1:30) but the yard told us "Oh we can't haul you out today". They did take down our mast and charged us for an extra day of mast storage. Why didn't they just unstep the mast the next day, and not charge us for the extra day of storage? Over the next few days my Svendsons experience wasn't that hot. I asked the boat yard manager to install a motor mount for me that I purchased at Svendsons a year ago. I kept having to track him down. He would be at lunch, or he'd tell me "I'll have to have my mechanic look at it" finally ending with "Well, if we did it, it would cost 100's of dollars, and we don't want you getting sticker shock" Who the hell are you to tell me I'd be afraid of the sticker shock? Midway through the week, I dropped $1000 cash at the boatyard office, hoping that would show them "Hey, this guy is going to pay us" Did that help? Nope. I wanted Svendsons to do the motor mount in case of leaks. If I did it, I'd have to pay for haul out again, if they did it, haul out is on them. I guess they didn't want to be responsible for that. Pretty much everything went that way though, our tiny boat to them meant we had a tiny pocketbook, therefor were not worth the time or effort of fulfilling our requests. The other beef I had this week was with the Chandlery. I usually love it when I'm not on time=money mode, but every minute I spent with my boat on the hard was money slowly leaking out of my pocket. There were a few times that week that the lines were long, and I felt that being that I was on the hard at their yard, I should have gotten some priority over the folks gabbing away at the cashiers. Maybe open up another line for boatyard customers, or change the sign that says "Commercial Accounts" to "Boatyard Y numbers only) On the especially busy days, I wound up driving over to West Marine, and paying the extra charge just so I could skip the lines. Overall, I'll still come here as a Chandlery customer. Boatyard though, I'll have to consider going to another one like Grand or KKMI on the next haulout. read more

There's nothing more expensive than a free boat. And a boat truly is nothing more than a hole in the water into which you throw your money. I did a little work on an aging sailboat which was given to my ex. Neither I nor anybody I knew had any experience with with mast rigging, so when an inspector pointed out worn and cracked swages, it was time to get professional help. Here is where Svendsen's comes into the picture. We get the boat to their yard, and had one of their guys check out the works. The estimation that came back was way more than what I had hoped to pay, but frankly, I didn't understand all the work he was talking about doing. So after some discussion, it comes down to this: the estimation was for all the work I had mentioned... not what was actually necessary. He pointed out the things that we, as non-professionals, could do ourselves, and gave some options as to how to cheaply get the professional work done. In the end, only one piece of standing rigging needed replacing. He could fabricate it, and either he or I could install it. (I ended up going with having him install the rigging, as while I wouldn't have minded climbing the mast, I don't have the experience to install the rigging, and my friend who could install the rigging was unwilling to climb the mast.) In the end, Svendsen's got the work done in a very timely manner, professionally, and within budget. read more

Thumbs down to Bay Marine Boat Works in Richmond, CA. They were recommended to me by a friend and unfortunately my experience was not as favorable as the one who recommended them to me. Their customer service at first was excellent. After the boat sat in their yard for a few weeks, I was advised by the Manager "KD" that "they had more customers than they could handle at that time" and "when this happens, some customers get put on the back burner". The manager was referring to me. It's a catch 22. If you don't have the work done, they charge you storage fees for the time the boat was sitting in their yard. Two months later and countless unanswered phone calls to the manager, the work was completed. Some aspect of every project Bay Marine Boat Works worked on was done incorrectly. They painted the bottom of the boat the incorrect color after not properly prepping the bottom. As a result, the new paint began to flake off within 1 week. I had a second opinion from 2 different companies and the paint manufacturer who agreed Bay Marine did not prep the bottom of the boat properly. They installed a new shifting cable which they did not adjust properly and as a result, the shifter pops out of reverse by itself. They installed a new diesel fuel tank over the existing vent line for the fuel tank. We realized this was the case when the diesel began to overflow the deck while we were fueling at the dock. I've attempted to get my problems resolved by contacting the manager and general manager. They refuse to return phone calls, which has left me with no choice but small claims court. I normally would not spend time writing such a complaint but feel it is needed in this case. In the Latitude magazine, Bay Marine Boat Works advertises their attention to good service. I laugh every time I see that advertisement. Bay Marine Boat Works in Richmond, CA should be ashamed of their service and the quality of work they performed on my boat. I hope this feedback helps someone else when looking for a boat yard for repairs. read more

A great boat yard. I've had rigging made here and helped friends work on lots of different boats. The staff are all great and they actually care about boats. The store is a god send for anyone with a boat. The prices are good and the staff is great. Wonder about some of those cool new lights? Just ask them and they will tell you if they work and how people like them. The metal shop is also great. They can make pretty much anything you can imagine and they will help you imagine it as well. This is a great place to work on your own boat and pretty much the ONLY place you should be buying your stuff. With the possible exception of flip flops this place beats out Worst (west) marine by a long shot. read more

I have been a customer of Bay Marine and know a lot of the guys on the yard so I will share that upfront. This is a great group with crappy management, plain and simple. The guy in charge is so far disconnected that many workers on the yard are disenfranchised and worked often to the bone. Turnover is a factor on this yard which means the guys who know their job well have moved on. Pay sucks and put plainly since Obama unravelled his silent deportation their labor force was cut in half! Cut the workers a break. They are there to bust chops on your stinky boat so quit yer bellyachin. All too often i hear from the other side of the coin. You're a boatowner who doesn't know his head from a hole in the ground so you rely on the boatyard for your dirty work. You expect it to be done right which is fair but you drop your boat off and leave with expectations of materials, time, and cost only to return to find your chore was a lot more detailed than originally predicted. Instead if you are a sailor...cause this is a "sailors boatyard"...then you'll do well creating a list of things to complete. Once the work is done you will receive a tally of the labor plus materials. If it's more than what you thought it would be, oh well...go buy a bicycle or walk up to the top stairs of the office and complain. Fair winds. read more

It's crazy to see so many negative reviews on here, but being a repeat client for the past decade I noticed that most of these reviews were at a time when they had a cold/grumpy management team but the service was still stellar to me :) That being said - these guys have not only done my boats personally but I have countless clients and friends that have called Bay Marine there vessels home. -They only hire the best people -They have the best technology and equipment in the industry - Boats aren't cheap! If I'm floating on water, I'm not trying to save a nickel, I'm trying to get the best work done. -EXPERIENCE - These guys are legends and with reason - they've been building and fixing boats for decades at the highest level. Anyways, I was looking for their number and saw the reviews to people that I know shed blood and sweat everyday to do their best so I thought I would share my side of the story. read more

I hate this place and I make every effort to avoid it. Some of the people that work here are very nice and I have had wonderful interactions with them outside of Svendsen's. However, in the chandelry it has been almost impossible to get help. This is especially true of dinghy parts. When asking about them I have sometimes received only an eye roll and proclamation of ignorance. I feel like they resent my presence as a customer. The chandelry is also a rat hole and not very well laid out. So I go to West Marine. Initially I hated patronizing a big chain over a local institution, but the people there are nice and some are actually quite knowledgeable. I think Paul W sums it up quite well at the end of his post. read more

We just had some routine maintenance, and some not-so-routine, performed by Bay Marine Boatworks in Richmond. We couldn't be more pleased! The scope of work included bottom painting, cutlass-bearing replacement, rudder packing replacement, shaft packing replacement, routine engine maintenance, and a new through-hull. We are completely satisfied with the quality of the paint and other repairs. The various workers were experienced and competent. More than that, however, they were friendly, courteous, and never too busy to take a few moments to explain what they were doing and what they found. For the most part, we dealt with the following people: - Rann, our project manager, - Allison, Estimating Specialist. - Greg, the Operations Coordinator - Octavia, chandlery manager - Ingret, front office - Teresa, front office - Dave, engine specialist - David, all-round mechanic - Josh, Travel-Lift wizard - Bernie, yard dog - Duke, senior yard dog All were cheerful, friendly, and willing to go above and beyond to accomodate our needs. We interacted briefly with a number of other workers, and they, too, were pleasant and helpful. Since we live aboard our sailboat, we needed a power connection, which was provided. Also, a set of stairs was provided while Grimhawk was on the stands, a nice, sturdy metal staircase, very much appreciated. No rickety wooden ladders here! Restrooms and showers were clean, tidy, and well stocked. We also appreciated the dedicated customer-lounge area, with comfortable chairs, a desk, power outlets, and a small refrigerator. The wireless Internet connection strong and fast. I see from past reviews that there was some trouble with Bay Marine's management a few years back. I am happy to report that those troubles are a thing of the past. Current management is effective, communicative, and professional. We felt a genuine concern for our boat and our needs. We will be back, for sure! Well done, Bay Marine Boatworks! read more

I have had Svendsen's handling my boat work for quite a few years and I have always been very happy with the quality of their work and their customer service. They painted the hull of my boat about 5 years ago and it still looks like it is brand new! I recently had them do the bottom paint and a few other items on my 42' sloop and as usual, their work and attention to detail was superb! Carston handled the project for me and he was excellent about keeping me informed Also, when I asked them about another possible project, the boat yard manager (Ray) advised me not to do the project since it would be costly and probably not turn out as nicely as I would hope. (How's that for honest business advice?). I regularly recommend Svendsen's to all of my boating friends. read more

I have had Svendsen's handling my boat work for quite a few years and I have always been very happy with the quality of their work and their customer service. They painted the hull of my boat about 5 years ago and it still looks like it is brand new! I recently had them do the bottom paint and a few other items on my 42' sloop and as usual, their work and attention to detail was superb! Carston handled the project for me and he was excellent about keeping me informed Also, when I asked them about another possible project, the boat yard manager (Ray) advised me not to do the project since it would be costly and probably not turn out as nicely as I would hope. (How's that for honest business advice?). I regularly recommend Svendsen's to all of my boating friends. read more

Recently took my old Cal 20 to this yard, and did all of the things I asked quickly and efficiently, and the (new) rigging shop manager pointed some things out that I hadn't noticed...but needed to be fixed. When i retrieved my little boat, it was shiny, sparkling and smooth, and everything worked like it should. I felt like I had a new boat! From refinishing and painting my hull and patching a few dings, to replacing all of those other things that are easily overlooked (but in need of a change-out), I was very happy with the service. Their communications, and the time it took to make things right were very reasonable. And for all that they accomplished, I was was pleasantly surprised that the cost was as reasonable as it was. I will return when "Cal" needs more work, and I highly recommend these guys! read more

We had our Hans Christian hauled in preparation for the Boatyard to instal a new shaft and during this I would put 2 new coats of bottom paint on. When the boat was hauled I discovered I had the "Pox" on the bottom. Thousands of quarter sized blisters filled with nasty liquid. I was dumfounded. the yard immediatly told me my options. They gave me estimates of $ for each and the likleyhood of the blisters coming back with each. In the end I had the entire bottom peeled down past the first 3 layers of glass and they put back 3 layers of glass with epoxy resin. they put the new shaft in and recomended a prop and shaft size change since the original ones were not standard size. I was skeptical about the hours and cost of the bottom job so we kept track of hours worked. they came in about 6 hours under our number. We were skeptical about the explanation on the shaft and prop but found out that this was a common issue with this boat. the guys at the yard went above and beyond what was expected. Everyone was super nice and curteous. the total bill came in about $3K less than we expected. The retail store was fantastic. We could not recomend anyplace higher that we do Svendsens Boat Yard. They are old school stand up people. read more

It was a real pleasure bringing my boat to BMB. I have been in search of a home yard for some time. I've worked with 3 yards before in the Bay Area and have finally found it: BMB. Similar to the previous reviewers here, I too can attest to the fact that any previous misgivings about this yard are not present when I was there at the end of 2016. I worked directly with the following people: Max V, Allison M, Greg G, Rann P and Teresa B. Every single individual I interacted at the yard with was professional, courteous, candid and competent. The workmanship was solid and just in general, I felt like I was at home. The entire process was transparent (e.g. change orders) and progress was clearly communicated. Thank you everyone. Keep it up. BMB is the best kept secret in the Bay! read more

I was so relieved to find this chandlery...I've been having difficulty finding local dealers for Zhik and Gill esp with the Prop 65 rules on boots. they really have a great selection for racing needs w/a restock coming up in a few months. with this said....I would love to see them carry more women's specific apparel. It would also be great if they could carry Rooster and SEA. read more

Returned to Bay Marine Boatworks, now Svendsens's Bay Marine to fix two problems before we depart to cruise PNW. One was a re-do of our rudder packing that has been leaking since installed here in 2017, and the other a perplexing fuel tank problem. Contacted our Project Manager Rolfe Brittain and he promised to get his best man on the job. We arrived for our Monday appointment and Rodney shows up for the job. We discuss what's needed and he gets to work. He was thorough, careful, methodical, and one of the most knowledgeable boat guys I've ever met. He clearly explained the problem and solution, and for good measure threw in lots of great advice and some tricks I've never seen before. His work on the rudder packing was excellent and should hold up for 30 years, and he figured out in 10 minutes that our fuel tank pickup tube fell off and he fabricated a new one by attaching it to the hose fitting, a creative solution which works beautifully and saves me from replacing the fuel tank. Rodney is a friggin genius and we were done and on our way on time as promised. I didn't know what to expect with Bay Marine's merger/acquisition of Svenden's but they got Rodney in the deal and their service from my experience continues to be top notch thanks to Rolfe and his team. read more

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Finally a boat shop that doesn't leave me feeling overwhelmed and ripped off! I've been to the chandlery a couple times now and both times have been stellar experiences. The parts they carry seem to be always just the right ones -- no junk, nothing unnecessary, but exactly what you are looking for. I was super surprised to find they had the right end stops for my 1995 Schaefer traveler as well as all the necessary replacement screws. Randy helped me both times. He was knowledgeable and intelligent. He had some great ideas for the projects I'm working on, and was generally an enjoyable guy. As a new boat owner it is crazy helpful to have someone tell me what I need to buy for certain tasks. I'll be back here many many times. I only wish it were closer to Berkeley. And that I had more money to spend on boat stuff. read more

Svendsen's has a great, clean yard with a very professional staff. They are courteous and very helpful. I have experienced great help from the metal shop, the rig shop and the yard itself over the years. I'm excited to see them team up with Bay Marine. read more

Absolutely awesome! I'm the operator of a Sportfishing charter boat in the Bay Area. This past Saturday our boat suffered a breakdown that would prevent us from working. We brought our boat over to Bay Marine and Sam got us out of the water right away for repair. Sam and his crew took a project that would normally take a week or more and got us back in the water in two days!!!! Great customer service, attention to details and fairly priced. Thanks to all the staff at Bay Marine! We're back after the Salmon tomorrow! Capt. RJ Waldron Sundance Charters Emeryville,Ca read more

Love this place. I could get into trouble here. If you need something that's hard to find, come here.

Good place, really helpful and committed to growing the Bay Area sailing community. One thing that makes them stand out to me is that they have both a rig shop and a well-stocked chandlery. If you need, say, new shrouds accurate in size to a millimeter, with just the right sizes of pins that are minimum size, they can accommodate you. Or if you need some stainless steel parts ground down, they can take care of that too. They also have super knowledgable staff who can make good recommendations on what kind of gear to use, and can often find good products at a low price. I've found them to be a lot -- as in 2x -- cheaper than competitive stores. If you're a boat owner, you'll appreciate how much this can free up your budget for important items to have on your craft (like, say, beer). They unfortunately do not have a great web store. But on the other hand, if you simply call them with a manufacturer's part number they can typically order it for you, and at a competitive rate. Think of it as a really awesome Siri-style voice interface. The store doesn't look as polished as a West Marine, but at the end of the day, you're not buying floor tiles or end cap displays, you're buying gear. read more

After several shopping trips to their Chandlery, Rigging Shop, and Metal Shop - I found Chris - the Mrg. of the Metal shop. This review is about Chris. Chris was especially helpful in a recent problem on my sailing sloop. The metal shop performed some work on my 51ft heavy displacement yawl - which was perfect and the bill was very reasonable. I have had a boat berthed in front of their yard for 3 years and bought many items from their Chandlery. I have not used Svendsen's for a hull-out or any other work - but now I trust them more. I have many sailing decades and 'future boats to own' ahead of me - so this will be very useful. I will always check with Chris on appropriate future projects. read more

Lost my fiberglass hardtop due to rot on a 2005 Bayliner, this was the only place willing to take on a job of creating a new one from scratch and no original to go by, and what a job Chris did. Still amazed at the level of detail that was put into the project, all the nuts and bolts are recessed, all the wires invisible, all the angles carefully thought out for the activities that happen on the boat. Chris had me come out a couple of times to make sure that we make the right decision before the next big step in production is made. My boat was probably the cheapest on the lot but got the same attention as some of the million dollar plus ships in the yard. The end result is light years beyond the original top poorly designed by Bayliner. Highly recommend this shop. read more

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This is a review from Bayport Yachts Inc. a full service boat dealership with locations in Northern California and our Corporate office in Newport Beach, CA. for 30 years since 1987. We took a client's 55 foot yacht in for a swimstep hydraulic hose leak. We asked Rann to pull the boat out and plug it in while we had our Bay area Technician work on replacing the swimstep parts. I confirmed with the office manager that our boat would be plugged in while in the yard. It never was plugged in and we returned to the boat to find a refrigerator defrosted and spoiled food to throw out and low batteries. Second problem: We asked that the dinghy that was in the water, be pulled out and stored on blocks while the 7-10 day swimstep parts and service were accomplished. it was never pulled out of the water. Consequently, the bottom which is not painted had both hard and soft growth on the hull and the tubes. We requested they clean it since they had left it in the water. They did a very minimal and inadequate job of cleaning it. Third and biggest problem: When our skipper showed up to pick the boat up, he didn't inspect it and when our owner saw his boat, he saw 5 areas where the beautiful Champagne hull paint had been damaged/scratched by the yard employees when they relaunched the yacht. These were not there upon delivery to the yard and were very high on the hull primarily on the port side. They were above dock height and more at a hip to shoulder height which indicated the damage was caused when the boat was either dragged through the concrete ways in the launching area or along another boat. We contacted Rann as soon as we were told of the problems. He said his yard could not have done it and said it must have been our skipper. (Damage too high to have been caused by our skipper hitting a dock). Rann did not go see the boat nor did he offer to go and see it. Just said they were not responsible and would not pay for the damage. Over a period of 45 days we worked with Rann, his accounting and then the yard's ownership and none of them would look at the boat or offer any type of help. They also damaged the outboard motor cowling. The way they had it tied up in the water allowed it to repeatedly bump up against some other hard surface which scratched the paint. So essentially they damaged our boat and would not assist us at all. So beware of the promises and take a close look when you pick your boat up. Video your boat when you take it in so you can prove to them they damaged your boat. While all this was happening our customer the boat owner had them bottom paint the boat. This so far has turned out well. read more