Reviews: Washburn's Boat Yard Inc.

Reviewed by: Captain Ryonn Taylor on Oct 11, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 68'
Draft: 6.8'

Rating: 1

Over 1.5 yrs I had 3 vessels serviced there.
1) 72' Motor Yacht: Paint work: Only a portion of the work was done but charged an astronomical amount of money. Vessel returned very dirty inside & out. Took 3 days to clean interior (doors left open during paint sanding) & 2 days to clean the exterior. Vessel owner VERY dissatisfied & expressed: Way over priced for very sub sub-par work.

2) Lcl Work Boat: Repower & R2 Searchlights: Techs assigned repower: Above & Beyond call of duty. Great job. Refused to leave original eng mount gaskets in place (tore up & needed replaced, I have pictures). Management instructed it to be reused. Tech replaced w/new as should have been done. Management provided wiring harness diagram to techs: Drawn on scratch paper, very poorly done. Took techs a day to figure out proper install. They did great overcoming lack of leadership.

Required multiple prop swaps to "dial in performance." Gas Shop Mgr inst'd props backwards.

Electrician: Searchlights: Terrible job w/wiring. Repower Tech redid wiring, looked great after.

3) Lcl Workboat: Bottom paint, Reopen 2 cockpit scuppers, Eng Svc: Bottom paint: Bottom Paint (yard shop) crew: Amazing, leadership: non-existent. Mgmt did not have keel blocks moved to allow painting of those spots. Charged: "Complete Job" but we received INOMPLETE work because of mgmt failure. (Have pictures).

Suppers: Scott assigned: Damaged grab rail, only slapped a splash of paint to cover up damaged he created (have picture). Should have been faired, prepped & painted.

Eng Svc: Manufactuer-Certified tech unable to replace impeller w/o consulting YouTube on eng's he is certified to do service on!

Gas Shop no longer reliable, do NOT recommend any gas work go to there.

Summary: Yard has gone downhill. Hoped to continue to support lcl business but after all that, plus the complaints I'm getting from my associates in the industry, not any more. Will take work elsewhere. It's truly sad!

Diesel shop: Fabulous! Ricky, shop foreman, insane amount of knowledge, but you have to go through the company's mgmt to get to them.

If you choose to risk a visit, good luck. Do NOT leave your vessel unattended w/o closely monitoring the work & making sure your boat doesn't get jumped by "new comers."

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Reviewed by: Andrew D on Oct 9, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 58'
Draft: 5.0'

Rating: 1

I've had an incredibly frustrating experience with this company. My broker initially advised me to avoid Washburns, but despite his warning, I met with them in person, felt a good connection, and decided to give them the benefit of the doubt. I now realize he was right. I'm not alone in this experience—several friends have also reported questionable service from this team.

In August 2023, they replaced the underwater lights on my boat. Several months later, the lights stopped working. However, I waited to contact them until May of the following year because the boat was in Florida. When I finally reached out, they didn't inspect the lights until July, and told me it was a warranty issue, assuring me that new lights had been ordered. In September, I was told on three separate occasions that they were just waiting for the lights to arrive. Finally, after I suggested they refund me, they admitted that the lights had never been ordered and that they now needed to re-inspect the lights to determine if it was even a warranty issue. That level of dishonesty is unacceptable. This process began in May, and here we are, months later, still without a resolution.

On top of the issues with the lights, their handling of my Marine AC and radar systems showcased another layer of incompetence. Their Marine AC technician didn't even understand the basic temperature controls on our chiller, and they recommended running a new cable for the radar when the problem was simply an on/off switch. These unnecessary recommendations and lack of basic knowledge were frustrating and concerning, to say the least.

There's also documented damage done inside the boat while they were working on it. To make matters worse, I was charged hundreds of dollars to keep my boat at a marina next door just so they could perform the work, because they had run out of space at their own facility. Who does that?

It's clear that this company operates with a lack of transparency, follow-through, and professionalism. The level of dishonesty and incompetence I've experienced is unacceptable, and after months of dealing with them, I'm left with nothing but frustration. As an active member of the community, I have a platform to share my experience, both locally and online. I strongly advise others to avoid Washburns.

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Reviewed by: Peter Baumann , Stella Maris, on May 9, 2022
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 39'
Draft: 5.0'

Rating: 3

WBY came recommended to me after a bad experience at Safe Harbor Marina, Solomons island, MD (formerly Zahnisers). WBY did get some of the items on my list done, but at the end of the day, the quality of the work and the costs were a disappointment. Waterway Guide in the first sentence of an article stated (paraphrased): When facing major work on your boat, choose your repair shop wisely and work closely with them. As a transient and out of state during the repair work, you better accept that you are way behind the curve and have to play the cards that you are dealt.

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Reviewed by: Rob Dare , Liberty Call , on May 5, 2021
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 46'
Draft: 4.5'

Rating: 5

Great boat yard. Very knowledgeable, friendly staff that fixed my problem quickly that several other places with factory trained mechanics could not solve. While doing the loop we needed held with a transmission problem, this boatyard quickly fixed our problem when we couldn’t even get boatyard where we are staying to look at.

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Reviewed by: Ed on Feb 25, 2020
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 41'
Draft: 2.0'

Rating: 5

Excellent repair services offered, did fantastic work with haul-out and the staff are well trained and easy to work with. Can't go wrong with Washburn's!

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Reviewed by: Caper Today on Dec 31, 2018
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 45'
Draft: 3.0'

Rating: 5

Good Wifi. No charge for slip while work is underway. Solid operation.

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Reviewed by: Mike on Sep 26, 2018
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 45'
Draft: 2.0'

Rating: 5

Stopped in at Calvert and had maintenance done on boat. Turned out great. Great staff and caters to incoming boaters like me.

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