# Strongarm Products ??



## anytide (Jul 30, 2009)

no


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## EasternGlow (Nov 6, 2015)

He's starting back up again under the name "skiff tec" and I believe he will just be making tiller extensions. I purchased his prototype extension for my Yamaha 20. It has worked out great so far.


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## Whiskey Angler (Mar 20, 2015)

EasternGlow said:


> He's starting back up again under the name "skiff tec" and I believe he will just be making tiller extensions. I purchased his prototype extension for my Yamaha 20. It has worked out great so far.


Do you have current contact info for Skiff Tec, or is it available via a google search?


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## devrep (Feb 22, 2009)

took me 2 months to get a grab bar from him that was paid for up front. Got a little nervous but I eventually rec'd it after many phone calls and emails and its a decent product.


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## predacious (Sep 1, 2016)

I would NEVER do business with bob reeves ! he's a liar !
he makes a million excuses - he's done that to MANY,MANY people ! the stories are endless,and all the same !
strongarm products - these were built by others,NOT bob reeves ! he couldn't weld - had no shop,no welding equipment,and again,he COULD NOT weld !

he eventually got a shop,not sure if he welded,or had a welder working for him,either way,his reputation for collecting payment,and having the client wait for months and months,that continued - some NEVER receiving,what they paid for !
he claimed health problems were the cause - well....you make that decision: he's opened up another shop,called"skiff tec"

sounds to me,he's trying to hide from his terrible track record - wonder if he'll use the "health problems" excuse again ?

wouldn't deal with bob reeves,on a bet !


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## Hardluk81 (Jan 3, 2016)

(Easternglow) how does that attach to the rubber grip on the tiller handle? I only see two screws on the back of that extension w/ no pics of the inside.


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## EasternGlow (Nov 6, 2015)

It's a little sleeve that tightens down on the rubber tiller arm. Driving back from flamingo now and it was great all day on a 40 mile trip. So far, after about 10 trips with it, the screws haven't loosened at all. Vibration is minimal as well. Don't know about the negative post above (I heard about issues with strong arm), but my experience was pretty good with him (took about 2 weeks) and this was before he started producing them.


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## EasternGlow (Nov 6, 2015)

And to whiskey angler, I found his number by googling strongarm and his number was still there and working.


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## AfterHours2 (Aug 2, 2010)

The older versions required the rubber grip to be removed from the tiller handle. I bought one, removed the grip and had to buy another grip so I could use a Carbon Marine. The strong arm extensions in anything longer than 8" just weighs too much for my liking. A longer version will also take a toll on your tiller arm bushings. That I know for a fact..


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## EasternGlow (Nov 6, 2015)

He told me this new extension is a different design from the last one. I definitely didn't have to remove the rubber on my tiller arm. Just took thirty seconds two put in two screws. He also told me the focus on this new version was weight. I've made multiple long runs so far and it hasn't been uncomfortable at all. I'm not trying to sell this extension, hell I don't even know if they're in production. I'm just very happy with mine so far.


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## EasternGlow (Nov 6, 2015)

Haha not even close. I just read some of the bad stuff said about him and all I'm doing is sharing my experience. You think I'm affiliated because.... I had a good experience?

Guess I won't give out any more review of this product.


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## predacious (Sep 1, 2016)

EasternGlow said:


> Haha not even close. I just read some of the bad stuff said about him and all I'm doing is sharing my experience. You think I'm affiliated because.... I had a good experience?
> 
> Guess I won't give out any more review of this product.




trying to promote someone who's a liar,and has ripped off more than a few people - that may not be the smartest move

do a little "search" here - there's a lot more good than bad,concerning strongarm

last thing I heard from him,he was closing his "shop" due to health problems - guess he recovered quickly ?

seriously,there's a million aluminum fabricators out there,taking a chance and wasting time and money on strongarm isn't the best approach

you want to promote someone who's ripped off people and lied to them ? bob reeves is a bad man,best to steer clear !
he'll NEVER run away from his reputation as a liar


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## Whiskey Angler (Mar 20, 2015)

EasternGlow said:


> Haha not even close. I just read some of the bad stuff said about him and all I'm doing is sharing my experience. You think I'm affiliated because.... I had a good experience?
> 
> Guess I won't give out any more review of this product.


I, for one, appreciate the review, and I hope its a good product that is backed by fair customer service. I was just wondering the other day if the Strong Arm tillers were still available. 
Thanks.


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## jmrodandgun (Sep 20, 2013)

I had one of his casting platforms crumble under my feet from bad welds. Upon further inspection the poling platform appeared to be welded by the same person. Both pieces had to be cut apart at every weld, cleaned up, and repaired. The poling platform was so bad that when we took it off the deck, the only thing that was holding it together was the tension created from bolting the flanges to the boat. When I contacted strong arm he said I was shit out of luck. 

Knowing what I know now, I do not think I would feel comfortable using anything from strong arm or skiff tec unless it was a cup holder or something that won't hurt when it falls apart.


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## texasag07 (Nov 11, 2014)

I have casting and poling platforms on my skiff made by strong arm. The casting platform is fine the poling platform not so much. The welds cracked on the platform and the top ripped off going down the highway.

I would stay away from them in my opinion.


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## AfterHours2 (Aug 2, 2010)

Does anyone know who Ankona uses for their builds now days? They used Strongarm during the early years but it seems they have no relationship anymore. Interesting..


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## jmrodandgun (Sep 20, 2013)

I thought Ankona had their own tube guy in house but maybe not. Whomever they are using is damn good. The Ankona I saw over the weekend had top notch tube work. The forward casting platform was one of the better ones I've seen.


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## anytide (Jul 30, 2009)

predacious said:


> trying to promote someone who's a liar,and has ripped off more than a few people - that may not be the smartest move
> 
> do a little "search" here - there's a lot more good than bad,concerning strongarm
> 
> ...


calm down rambo


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## noeettica (Sep 23, 2007)

I trusted him ... NEVER Again ...

Weird crap circulating in the " microskiff " community you tell one person 
something in confidence ...next thing you know the emcee is describing
you as a trash talker !!! and they don't need to mention any names !!

Its like a bunch of School Girls !!!


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## noeettica (Sep 23, 2007)

Skifftec is NOT a legit Florida corporation !!! RUN like the wind !!!


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## paint it black (Nov 3, 2007)

AfterHours2 said:


> Does anyone know who Ankona uses for their builds now days? They used Strongarm during the early years but it seems they have no relationship anymore. Interesting..


Ankona never used Strongarm products to make their platforms. They were simply a dealer for his tiller extensions. Ankona has always used another commercial welding company to build their platforms. I haven't spoken to Bob in years, and cut all ties with him after he opened his shop in Homestead FL. 

It's actually pretty sad what went down with Strongarm Products, as the company had promise; but poor management made the company crumble. 

The death of Strongarm Products was partially due to Microskiff.com, and I will explain why. 
Bob Reeves started Strongarm Products with the best intentions. It was a hobby, something he did after work just because he enjoyed building up Gheenoe's. He would buy a Gheenoe, design some aluminum work, drive to the welding shop down the road and have the guys there weld up some parts for him in raw aluminum. He would then go back to his garage and grind them, clean up the parts, send it off to get powder coated and get back and deck out his Gheenoe. His passion was rigging Gheenoe's. So he would build one, fish it for a few months, get the itch to build another, so he'd sell that one and start again. After building a few, there was interest from others on his aluminum parts, so he decided to come to market with these accessories under the name "Strongarm Products". After a year or two into making these tiller extensions and small Gheenoe accessories, people with other microskiff's wanted some parts. So back to the drawing board went Bob, designing bigger platforms to have the welding shop down the road build. The demand for his products became higher than the welding shop was able to put out for him on a regular basis. That welding shop did stuff for many, not just Strongarm. Then came a few but very vocal forum members on here that started bashing him saying he was robbing people, because he was just a "middle man that didn't do his own welding". You are right, he didn't do his own welding. He had a professional welding shop down the road doing the welding. But for lack of better judgement, all the bashing got to his head. Now he wanted to prove to people that he wasn't a scam artist, which he wasn't. Even with him sourcing his welding (just one step of the process), he was still able to bring the public a quality product that was priced better or competitive than every other option on the market at the time. But he wanted to prove to others that he could do this, so he opened a shop, hired a welder to come in and weld and build parts out of his own shop. The problem was he bought a tig welder that was not quite a commercial grade welder. This is a common thing I have seen working at numerous welding shops. For comparison, some guys think that if you buy a Lincoln Mig Welder at home depot, it will hold up to the workload of a Miller. It will not. There are plenty of welding machines on the market that are for the guy who will weld something at home, on the weekend, for a side project here and there. Then there are welding machines made to weld nonstop year round. A home-welder will work properly under light use. But put some real man hours on that welder and the welds will get weaker, the machine can't put out the right amount of power to get a proper weld. 

The more flack Bob got from people, the more bitter he became. He had a very negative outlook, which is why he and I broke all ties. Over a year later, I was on my way to Flamingo to go camping and my trailer axel snapped a block away from his home. It was a Friday night, around 11pm; I hadn't spoken to him in more than a year and I randomly gave him a call and explained my situation. He told me to get the skiff to his house, and he would have it towed to his shop and put a new axel on there for me. I got it to his house, and he took care of it over the weekend. I got my skiff back in perfect shape. I inspected the welds and they were perfect. I myself used to weld steel commercially. But he used a MIG welder to weld my axel, instead of the recreational TIG welder he used for the platforms. 

The quality of his products diminished. He began to dumb down his designs based on simplicity of building stuff himself in his shop. The welding got worse, designs became basic, and Strongarm Products became nothing. 

I haven't spoken to Bob since the day I picked up my skiff from his shop with the new axel; it's been over a year. 

A few weeks ago, I got an alert from Twitter saying "your friend Bob Reeves joined twitter as SkiffTec". I honestly think he can put out a quality product if he goes back to just being a designer and finisher of the parts, and leaves the welding to the professionals. Hopefully his hiatus from the industry has helped out his character, as he became very bitter at one point. He used to be a much happier person when it was just a hobby.


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## jmrodandgun (Sep 20, 2013)

paint it black said:


> Ankona never used Strongarm products to make their platforms. They were simply a dealer for his tiller extensions.


To say Ankonas relationship with strongarm was simply them pimping his tiller extensions is disingenuous at best, but whatever.


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## AfterHours2 (Aug 2, 2010)

I wasn't trying to bash Ankona by any means with my statement. I've been out of the skiff loop for a while. But, to blame the Microskiff community on this mans lack of business structure is completely wrong on every level. There are business men and hobbyist. The majority of us that have been around this forum for a while also know that he was more than just a tiller extension supplier for Ankona. There are tons of images out there of Suv's, Copperheads and SC's that validate my statement. The products may have never been made in house but they damn sure were considered a option to customers. Sorry to have struck a nerve..


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## LowHydrogen (Dec 31, 2015)

@predacious
Spring shackles are welded to the frame rails, spring perches are welded to the axle, spindles are welded into the axle tube on both sides, torsion axles often have perches/brackets welded on top for mounting
@paint it black
Duty cycle of the welder is what you're referring to. Even a lowly Precision Tig 185 can weld 1.25*.125 AL tubing., Heat input, travel speed, and deposition rate are what makes a solid weld, it would be nigh on impossible to reach the duty cycle limit of even a modest modern heliarc rig on poling platforms and such, there's just not enough weld metal to deposit, especially without, getting excessive heat input, and having to reposition the piece of fabrication.

Damn I love talking welding. Wait..... This isn't the welding forum...??


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## predacious (Sep 1, 2016)

LowHydrogen said:


> @predacious
> Spring shackles are welded to the frame rails, spring perches are welded to the axle, spindles are welded into the axle tube on both sides, torsion axles often have perches/brackets welded on top for mounting
> @paint it black
> Duty cycle of the welder is what you're referring to. Even a lowly Precision Tig 185 can weld 1.25*.125 AL tubing., Heat input, travel speed, and deposition rate are what makes a solid weld, it would be nigh on impossible to reach the duty cycle limit of even a modest modern heliarc rig on poling platforms and such, there's just not enough weld metal to deposit, especially without, getting excessive heat input, and having to reposition the piece of fabrication.
> ...



"Spring shackles are welded to the frame rails, spring perches are welded to the axle, spindles are welded into the axle tube on both sides, torsion axles often have perches/brackets welded on top for mounting"

axle replacement - 9 out of 10 times,there's no welding involved with replacing an axle - it's a matter of removing bolts and dropping the bad parts....


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## paint it black (Nov 3, 2007)

Many years ago, I was rebuilding a skiff. You can find the old build thread on here somewhere. It was a project trihull skiff. I needed an axel so I went to the local marine shop and ordered what I needed. They charged me $280 for the axel and I had to wait a week till it came in. When I picked up the axel, it was the wrong length, about 16" too long. So I took it back to exchange it, they said I needed to wait another week for a replacement in the proper length as I ordered. But at the time, I worked at a custom shop, welding steel, mostly on car chassis. I noticed the axel was 2x2 box tubing, with spindles inserted and welded in. So instead of exchanging it and waiting a week or two, I returned it, and bought the same spindles they had on their shelf. I went back to the shop and welded the spindles into 2x2 box tubing at the proper length. It actually saved me a couple hundred bucks and I had my axel the same day as I did the welding myself.


That is the same thing Bob did for me on my trailer, as I suggested. quarter inch 2x2 box tubing will NEVER fail. Unlike the standard 1/8th pipe with spindles that will fail. This trailer had leaf springs, I wouldn't suggest that on a new trailer, I am all about torsion bar axels these days.

Like I said, I am not defending the guy. He did me dirty like he did many dirty. I am just saying at one point, he made a good product. I just honestly feel he got in WAY over his head, and kept digging the hole deeper and deeper and deeper rather than being truthful and coming out of it. 

And there were a lot of guys who would pick up their skiffs from Ankona with no metal work, then take it to him to have it outfitted. I had his casting platform, and backrest on my Gen 2 Copperhead, and I had a casting platform and tiller extension on my Gen 1 Copperhead. I got both directly through Bob, not through Ankona. They may have had his product as an option at the time, but they weren't forcing people to use his platforms, they've always had other guys do platforms for them.


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## LowHydrogen (Dec 31, 2015)

predacious said:


> "Spring shackles are welded to the frame rails, spring perches are welded to the axle, spindles are welded into the axle tube on both sides, torsion axles often have perches/brackets welded on top for mounting"
> 
> axle replacement - 9 out of 10 times,there's no welding involved with replacing an axle - it's a matter of removing bolts and dropping the bad parts....


You're right, I won't dispute that if you're a diy guy at home who ordered the axle, but @paint it black said it was fixed over the weekend by a shop and he said it was welded, so.....I concluded that it was replaced quickly with available parts (something other than what was there to begin with necessitating welding). A regular leaf spring over hollow tube axle is just a piece of pipe or square tubing with axle stubs welded in each end that the spindle mounts on. I've made a bunch from scratch for myself and my friends. There's actually quite a bit of welding involved... I promise if you go to the axle bay at a boat trailer mfg you'll see welding. I recommend a shade 9 for observation....
Can we talk about stress corrosion cracking, or delayed hydrogen cracking of welds, axles aren't what really blows my hair back
LH


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## anytide (Jul 30, 2009)

pib
i stop reading half way thru your post and have not read any of the following post yet.
when you take money from people and dont deliver things go south for obvious reasons.
customers that just let it go and took it as a loss were just contributing to the problem.


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## paint it black (Nov 3, 2007)

Listen, I am someone who dealt with him in both lights. Both the positive and the negative. I am someone who always tries to find a positive in a situation. Sadly, not everyone in this world see's the cup half full. I am writing on my experience. Not hearsay what I read on a forum, from people with no identity, just screen names. And I myself had more invested than just a hundred bucks here and there, as he used my artwork to represent his business, and I vouched for him and I got burnt in the situation. My reputation was on the line, and I had to cut ties when he pulled some of his nonsense on me. I am just saying, at one point, he made a good product. whether or not you choose to believe that, that's on you. Way better product than their plastic counterparts.

I don't see myself ever buying any of his products again, no matter what name he goes by. I am not vouching for the guy. He dug his hole. I am just stating that it's sad, because his company had promise.


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## EasternGlow (Nov 6, 2015)

Alright I think everyone's point has been made (understatement). I bet the OP is thinking "what the hell did I start???"


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## Megalops (Oct 23, 2011)

"Sweep the leg, predacious!"


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## paint it black (Nov 3, 2007)

You realize you are arguing with me for no reason, right? I agree with you, yet you keep arguing with me.


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## LowHydrogen (Dec 31, 2015)

Goood, use your aggressive feelings,
View attachment 2784


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## el9surf (Dec 23, 2008)

Still waiting for microskiff to add the popcorn eating emoji...... I would put it right here_______ if it existed.


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## 994 (Apr 14, 2008)

This thread makes me want to learn how to weld.


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## RigaRoo (Aug 14, 2011)

This has been a good read thus far. 

To summarize, don't pedestal products and always deliver on your word.


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## anytide (Jul 30, 2009)

el9surf said:


> Still waiting for microskiff to add the popcorn eating emoji...... I would put it right here_______ if it existed.



View attachment 2803


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## mtoddsolomon (Mar 25, 2015)

So strong arm products were good?


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## yobata (Jul 14, 2015)

Great product OR the greatest product?


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

For Christ's sake, put down your pitchforks and torches! The moderators used to shut down nonsense like this.

PIB was answering to OP's question with his personal experience and the backstory as he understands it. That is why we are on this forum in the first place, not to read spittle-flecked rants. His answer was the most helpful in this whole dang thread due to its detail and clarity. After reading it, it is very clear PIB is not suggesting you buy the products in question. He is just sorry to see the brand fall apart. In contrast, insults, poor grammar and all caps all over your answer coupled with an appalling lack of detail destroy your credibility. If you want your opinion to be respected, act respectable.

In summary, Strongarm once made good products and had a good reputation, but the owner f&@$!d it up. Approach any future products from this dude with extreme caution and at your own risk. Nothing else needs to be said.

Nate


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## noeettica (Sep 23, 2007)

I have the first grab bar he _*(had)*_ made before he introduced "The Brand" It is very well made ...

But the stress of rapid growth can take a toll ...

And Stress is a Medical Issue 

If I could do a FTF exchange product for cash who knows 
maybe ...

But this "New" company hiding behind a "Cloak" IS a HUGE RED FLAG !!!


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## zthomas (Jan 14, 2014)

WhiteDog70810 said:


> spittle-flecked rants


Nice turn of phrase — spot-on


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## jmrodandgun (Sep 20, 2013)

mosquitolaGOON said:


> This thread makes me want to learn how to weld.


I'll help you out. This is what a bad weld looks like. If you're building something people are going to stand on, you should make and effort to inspect welds before the go out the door or someone could get hurt.


























Lesson number 2- Stand by your product. Don't do this...


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## LowHydrogen (Dec 31, 2015)

Pic.1 porosity, lack of fusion, incomplete penetration. Potential problems, insufficient cleaning of the parent material, bad/contaminated/wrong shielding gas, excessive heat input
Pic. 2 same as pic one but more clearly shows cracking in the weld metal. Potential problems, same as pic 1 but shows/emphasizes excessive heat input.
Pic. 3 weld is tied in and has decent profile but shows multiple "fish eyes" (the little pin hole in the center of the crater. These are caused by improper bead/weld termination. They are caused by stopping the weld without trailing out of the weld puddle. The weld/heat stops then the molten metal cools too rapidly, and often without protection of the shielding gas, and causes a crater and pin hole or "fish eye". This pic also shows a squirt gun weld (mig, likely spool gun since, the overall quality makes me think this shop would not have an expensive "push/pull" gun) it looks like it was welded with 5356 due to the color, profile and spatter, I've never liked the 5356, even though some say it's better for marine application, I prefer 4043, because it doesn't matter how great the filler material is if you can't make it weld.
LH


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## jmrodandgun (Sep 20, 2013)

LowHydrogen said:


> Pic. 3 weld is tied in and has decent profile but shows multiple "fish eyes" (the little pin hole in the center of the crater. These are caused by improper bead/weld termination. They are caused by stopping the weld without trailing out of the weld puddle. The weld/heat stops then the molten metal cools too rapidly, and often without protection of the shielding gas, and causes a crater and pin hole or "fish eye".


Just for shits and giggles, this was his response to pointing out the pin holes.


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## LowHydrogen (Dec 31, 2015)

Welding anodized aluminum is more aggravating than bare, but more to do with problems at the toe of the weld. It doesn't want to tie in as nicely at the edges. It's always best to wire brush a little bit with a stainless wire brush, wire brushing with ferrous metal brushes creates other problems.
LH


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## t1ightl1ines (Mar 5, 2016)

Everyone has a different experience. I deal with him now as someone who enjoys what he does and is not building stuff for 10 people at a time. I think his work is good but i have a 2013 16 shadwocast with all his products that he installed in 2013 and bought it recently and fished it hard for 7+ months and all is good.. 




predacious said:


> I would NEVER do business with bob reeves ! he's a liar !
> he makes a million excuses - he's done that to MANY,MANY people ! the stories are endless,and all the same !
> strongarm products - these were built by others,NOT bob reeves ! he couldn't weld - had no shop,no welding equipment,and again,he COULD NOT weld !
> 
> ...


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