# AVOID Skiff Outfitter



## LC89 (Sep 17, 2019)

I had a new motor installed by them. Dropped my skiff off May 24th, and picked it up June 23...... I was not pleased to say the least. They also charged me 300$ more than the original quote I was given. Not a great experience....


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## devrep (Feb 22, 2009)

how do these shops stay open?


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## TampaNole8 (Aug 20, 2016)

That is disappointing to hear


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## 994 (Apr 14, 2008)

Skiff outfitters in Holly Hill, or Edgewater?


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## Hayes (Oct 1, 2017)

mosquitolaGOON said:


> Skiff outfitters in Holly Hill, or Edgewater?


It is the same company. They have moved shops like 3 times


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## topnative2 (Feb 22, 2009)

Just the facts and no BS....great job


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## bababouy (Feb 26, 2018)

Might be a good idea to post the address because I.m not seeing a google listing.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Whatever their current address... they won't be there if this is the kind of service they do.... That's why most of us, if we can, want to hear from folks we know that have had good outcomes with a service we need ourselves. Hope whoever you find does a better job...

By the way, over the years I've had many reports of this sort of stuff about one boat shop or other... wish it weren't so...


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## Hayes (Oct 1, 2017)

bababouy said:


> Might be a good idea to post the address because I.m not seeing a google listing.


Yea this is the address of the new shop and where I picked my boat up from.

804 Carswell Ave. Holly Hill, Florida 

The website still not completed says Edgewater but the shop is now in Holly Hill. I’m sure it will change again.


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## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

I had some work done at Young Boats in Inglis. It's probably too long of a drive for the east coasters, but they did some amazing work, did it on time, and for the quoted price. The only problem is the repairs look a lot better than the rest of the skiff. I will definitely be back.


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## backbone (Jan 4, 2016)

Unfortunately, this is par for the course for most of these shops.
Hell's Bay replaced my fuel cell in two weeks, which was an exceptional turn around.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

I think most boat owners will put up with a long wait -to get a good job done... The hard part is that the shop has to be upfront about how long - before they can actually start a job. Giving timeline - after timeline that's found to be false - isn't good business at all...


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## ifsteve (Jul 1, 2010)

Undersell - over deliver. Most people understand businesses like these can get crazy busy. Just give us an honest assessment of the cost and schedule. In this case they did neither.


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## windblows (May 21, 2014)

I appreciate the review as at some point I will be looking to get the same work done to my skiff.


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## texasag07 (Nov 11, 2014)

Aren’t these the guys that were supposed to be coming out with their own skiff soon? If so this doesn’t seem like a good start.


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## DeepSouthFly (Sep 7, 2016)

My experience with getting a skiff worked on..... if you want it done in the time frame you want, take it to Hell's Bay, depending on what brand you have or whatever but you WILL pay more. If you are trying to save some money for great quality work but time is not the issue, Skiff Shop. Tom Gordan and his staff do great work. Tom is not great on communicating but I've watched what all goes on up there in a days work as I was waiting on him to finish a few things and sometimes I don't blame him for not answering his phone. Best thing you can do with Tom is not bother him and let him get to it when he can. He's honest about that. I've done a lot of business with him. I have dropped my boat off, told him I'd be back in 3 weeks, and when I got there he was finishing it up. Never called him until the morning of when I was going to pick it up. 

These companies I feel like you just have to be patient with them.


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## ifsteve (Jul 1, 2010)

If a company is so busy that they can't ever respond to a phone message or text then they need to hire some admin person to do just that. There is zero excuse for not communicating with customers.


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## prinjm6 (May 13, 2015)

texasag07 said:


> Aren’t these the guys that were supposed to be coming out with their own skiff soon? If so this doesn’t seem like a good start.


Yes, and trash talked Glasser as well. How Ironic!


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## manny2376 (Mar 15, 2007)

When I refurbished my Waterman last year, I communicated and tried to line up the work with every shop mentioned on this post, as well as a shop in Islamorada . I wasn’t in a rush, but also didn’t want to be without a skiff for 2-3 months. 

After it was all said and done I ended up at Hell’s bay and had the pleasure of dealing with Paul in their service Dept. In my experience, their price was fair (actually the second most affordable of the 3 quotes I got. Never heard back from Skiff Shop), the work was completed on time, within budget and the skiff was delivered on the date we agreed upon. Instead of months, I was skiffless for 2 weeks. They sent me daily emails with updates and pictures of the work without me having to ask for them. They also found a small crack to one of the strakes on the hull that I was unaware of and we were able to address it, get the glass work done, all without delaying delivery. 

Paul and his crew also took care of a few little details like fresh bungies on the rod holders, new bulkhead decals and even adjusted the skiff on the trailer. All on the house! 

They earned a loyal customer and I highly recommend anyone looking to get work done on their skiff to give Paul and his crew a call.


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## LC89 (Sep 17, 2019)

texasag07 said:


> Aren’t these the guys that were supposed to be coming out with their own skiff soon? If so this doesn’t seem like a good start.


Yes, the boats they are building are "Outcast Boatworks" first model is "The Lagoon 16"


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## dranrab (Oct 9, 2016)

OP, were you dealing with Ben Pickett?


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## mtoddsolomon (Mar 25, 2015)

mosquitolaGOON said:


> There’s a lot of stuff on social media about them and Kacee Bones that made me scratch my head. Not a good look for them as far as I can tell. I think Rick88 also has something to do with Outcast, which explains his prior disdain for Skiff Shop. This shit is like high school now. Do any of these guys even fish anymore?


 that or like a bunch of old southern women, gossiping.


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## Rick88 (Apr 15, 2016)

I was working on Outcast with them in the beginning but I didn’t have time to deal with it having 2 young kids and a full time job already. Carl at skiff outfitters did a great restoration on my Whipray but it took around 8 months.... that being said he was significantly cheaper than hells bay and there were quite a few things done previously to that boat by Tom Gordon that really made me scratch my head. I really think it’s all about what you will put up with / wait for if you can be without a boat you can get a deal if you are in a rush and want a half dozen change orders stuff will either take forever or get real pricey


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## HBFanatic (Dec 2, 2016)

DeepSouthFly said:


> My experience with getting a skiff worked on..... if you want it done in the time frame you want, take it to Hell's Bay, depending on what brand you have or whatever but you WILL pay more. If you are trying to save some money for great quality work but time is not the issue, Skiff Shop. Tom Gordan and his staff do great work. Tom is not great on communicating but I've watched what all goes on up there in a days work as I was waiting on him to finish a few things and sometimes I don't blame him for not answering his phone. Best thing you can do with Tom is not bother him and let him get to it when he can. He's honest about that. I've done a lot of business with him. I have dropped my boat off, told him I'd be back in 3 weeks, and when I got there he was finishing it up. Never called him until the morning of when I was going to pick it up.
> 
> These companies I feel like you just have to be patient with them.


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## HBFanatic (Dec 2, 2016)

Totally agree about Tom Gordon
I’m in NC and Winchell Marine in Wilmington does great work at a reasonable price. Pick up and deliver


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## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

manny2376 said:


> When I refurbished my Waterman last year, I communicated and tried to line up the work with every shop mentioned on this post, as well as a shop in Islamorada . I wasn’t in a rush, but also didn’t want to be without a skiff for 2-3 months.
> 
> After it was all said and done I ended up at Hell’s bay and had the pleasure of dealing with Paul in their service Dept. In my experience, their price was fair (actually the second most affordable of the 3 quotes I got. Never heard back from Skiff Shop), the work was completed on time, within budget and the skiff was delivered on the date we agreed upon. Instead of months, I was skiffless for 2 weeks. They sent me daily emails with updates and pictures of the work without me having to ask for them. They also found a small crack to one of the strakes on the hull that I was unaware of and we were able to address it, get the glass work done, all without delaying delivery.
> 
> ...


The problem is I don't think they will work on my ghetto Maverick product


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

Sound a lot like that guy who waited 3 months to get his 13' skiff rigged.

Truly unbelievable.


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## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

SomaliPirate said:


> The problem is I don't think they will work on my ghetto Maverick product


Nor would you want Maverick that Mickey mouse operation working on it their morons ask me how I know


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## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

Backcountry 16 said:


> Nor would you want Maverick that Mickey mouse operation working on it their morons ask me how I know


The only experience I had with them was when I called looking for a new Coast Guard plate. When they found out my skiff was 18 years old, they got a lot less helpful.


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## K3anderson (Jan 23, 2013)

SomaliPirate said:


> The only experience I had with them was when I called looking for a new Coast Guard plate. When they found out my skiff was 18 years old, they got a lot less helpful.


Are you talking about HB? Paul there is freaking awesome. He's hunted down parts for me, stuff they don't have anymore, and even pointed me to other vendors etc. that "might" have something I need. And I have an '02. Their service is excellent. Guess where I'm going to refinish, buy a new skiff, etc etc.


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## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

K3anderson said:


> Are you talking about HB? Paul there is freaking awesome. He's hunted down parts for me, stuff they don't have anymore, and even pointed me to other vendors etc. that "might" have something I need. And I have an '02. Their service is excellent. Guess where I'm going to refinish, buy a new skiff, etc etc.


No, talking about Maverick! Sorry for the confusion.


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## Zika (Aug 6, 2015)

HBFanatic said:


> Totally agree about Tom Gordon
> I’m in NC and Winchell Marine in Wilmington does great work at a reasonable price. Pick up and deliver


Matt was the foreman on my Bayshore build and years later he replaced the fuel tank and added the teak cockpit. Quality workmanship!


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## HBFanatic (Dec 2, 2016)

Best around. He has finished work that started in Fl shops.


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## Tommy1 (Mar 3, 2016)

Rick88 said:


> there were quite a few things done previously to that boat by Tom Gordon that really made me scratch my head.


I never had/heard of quality issues from Tom’s shop. What did you have him do to your boat?


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## Rick88 (Apr 15, 2016)

The previous owner had a good bit of work done by Tom .. pre skiff shop era but there was several areas repaired improperly that had failed and were part of the reasoning behind me restoring the boat also he left broken off drill bits in the transom after installing a cmc tilt and trim. 

I haven’t heard of people having issues from skiff shop. It seems like having a decent staff has allowed for work to flow and kinks to get worked out


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## HBFanatic (Dec 2, 2016)

Tom is the best in Fl. Just hard to get up with.


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## Rick88 (Apr 15, 2016)

If money was no option my vote would go with Brian Floyd


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## HBFanatic (Dec 2, 2016)

My experience is boat builders get so involved with building boats that restoration gets pushed back. It happened when Tom was building Moradas


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## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

As an small ac business owner my advice is to never pay any money upfront. If you are giving the run around then you can always get your boat back and not be out of any money and if they don't have the money in the business to restore your boat and then get paid than that shop won't be around long.


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## TxHills (Aug 28, 2019)

Hayes said:


> Hey,
> 
> Not really one to bash companies on the internet but after the experience I had I need to put the word out there so no one runs into the issue I had. I plan on just giving facts about what happened vs my opinion and let you take away from that what you want to. I decided to use this company based on some positive reviews from my area.
> 
> ...


Well hopefully you will get the skiff in top condition and get back on the water soon. When your line tightens perhaps some of the bad experience will subside! Good luck and hope the new work is like you want!


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## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

My post about paying a shop upfront is mainly for the restoration process. I understand if your having a boat built there would be an upfront cost to get in line and start your build it's really a tricky situation, I've been lucky and only been screwed on a few jobs and never a substantial amount and putting leins on property is costly and time consuming so it's a crap shoot but I don't do anything without a signed proposal.


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## HBFanatic (Dec 2, 2016)

If don’t have money in business to do a restoration , don’t let them have your boat. Never $ down except in a new build. I gave someone 2500 to build me a boat. He used my money to build someone else a boat. Lost my 2500


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## georgiadrifter (Jan 14, 2009)

I’m not sure what the disconnect is with boat repair shops. Why can’t a customer be put “on call”.....(we will call you when we are ready to begin your repair.) I recently called a Tohatsu dealer to schedule a 20-hour break-in Service. They said “bring it in.” They called two weeks later to say it was ready. WTH? Two weeks for a one-hour service. As a business owner, I wouldn’t want the liability of a customer’s boat being stored in my lot.


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## Lip Snatcher (May 1, 2016)

Hayes said:


> Hey,
> 
> Not really one to bash companies on the internet but after the experience I had I need to put the word out there so no one runs into the issue I had. I plan on just giving facts about what happened vs my opinion and let you take away from that what you want to. I decided to use this company based on some positive reviews from my area.
> 
> ...


Sorry to hear that happen to you I'm in Palm Coast FL and I deal with a company in Palatka FL called Big Boy Play Toys...I've used them on several occasions and I'm %100 satisfied with them... they come highly recommend in this area.....


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## Net 30 (Mar 24, 2012)

Just came across this Instagram last night from a female guide Kacee Bones. Looks like she's got herself a hand full with Skiff Outfitters too......4 pictures of invoices and other stuff.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1pVG78pIOR/


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## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

Net 30 said:


> Just came across this Instagram last night from a female guide Kacee Bones. Looks like she's got herself a hand full with Skiff Outfitters too......4 pictures of invoices and other stuff.
> 
> https://www.instagram.com/p/B1pVG78pIOR/


She was suppose to get the first skiff as I was conversing with Rick 88 as he was involved with them at the beginning of the deal (not saying he's at fault) sounds more like Carl is the problem there. Glad I didn't pull the trigger on a skiff from them because I wouldn't be as nice as she's being. Hopefully she gets some resolution and Skiff outfitters get what they deserve..


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## HBFanatic (Dec 2, 2016)

Just like others. No money to build boats so uses your money to live on. Builders call it float. I calls it fraud.


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## el9surf (Dec 23, 2008)

That's too bad, looked like a cool skiff. That company's reputation is damaged before it ever got started. All their work getting a boat designed and built and they can't get one transaction before running into major customer service issue. It's funny how hard it is to find competent and honest service these days.


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## ifsteve (Jul 1, 2010)

This is why it is so hard to understand why somebody would spend their hard earned money on a product from a new company. Boat, rod, reel, car etc. 

1. Is that product really so technically advanced compared to established companies?
2. Is that product so much less expensive compared to established companies?
3. is that product going to be delivered so much quicker than compared to an established company?
4. Is that product going to be so much better quality for the money compared to an established company?

I am sure there are a question or two I have not thought about but these pretty well cover the thought process involved.


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## Drifter (Dec 13, 2018)

Rick88 said:


> If money was no option my vote would go with Brian Floyd


Yeah this guys great. I had boat issues while I was in Florida and got no help from anyone. Brian basically pointed out all the problems and gave me some free tarpon flies he tied and gave me some advice. I plan on leaving my boat at Brians shop and having him work on it starting this winter when I get back.


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## Drifter (Dec 13, 2018)

ifsteve said:


> This is why it is so hard to understand why somebody would spend their hard earned money on a product from a new company. Boat, rod, reel, car etc.
> 
> 1. Is that product really so technically advanced compared to established companies?
> 2. Is that product so much less expensive compared to established companies?
> ...


I agree. I am a contractor, we do large commercial and infrastructure jobs, it is expected we can basically float the entire job without being paid. When we were a smaller shop we always complained about getting paid but now we have saved and have a large operating account which makes us stable and able to tend to our clients needs without them having to worry about it.


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## Fishshoot (Oct 26, 2017)

@Drifter Brian moved up to nsb area and is building his 10wt skiff there. I am not sure what happened to islamarine if it sold or what. I have several friends who have had work done by him in the past and I’ve heard nothing but good things.


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## Drifter (Dec 13, 2018)

Man that’s a bummer for me! I had such a hard time finding people that would give me a minute of their time. I wonder what’s going on where his shop was. Maybe time for a new profession!


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## Drifter (Dec 13, 2018)

And where’s nsb?


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## Fishshoot (Oct 26, 2017)

New Smyrna Beach. I believe new company is Floyd skiffs. They are on FPB and Instagram. I believe he is skiffmizer on here


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## Fishshoot (Oct 26, 2017)

https://www.floydskiff.com/


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## el9surf (Dec 23, 2008)

I would have no issues spending money with Brian. He is a great guy and does quality work. He has worked on one of my boats in the past. Wish him the best. Hopefully he is still planning on doing some repair work on the side as well.


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## GullsGoneWild (Dec 16, 2014)

Backcountry 16 said:


> She was suppose to get the first skiff as I was conversing with Rick 88 as he was involved with them at the beginning of the deal (not saying he's at fault) sounds more like Carl is the problem there. Glad I didn't pull the trigger on a skiff from them because I wouldn't be as nice as she's being. Hopefully she gets some resolution and Skiff outfitters get what they deserve..


Didn't she have a chittum?


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## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

GullsGoneWild said:


> Didn't she have a chittum?


Not really sure about that


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

GullsGoneWild said:


> Didn't she have a chittum?


She and her husband have/have had several skiffs including Chittum, New Water, Maverick etc.


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## Brad_Torren (Oct 19, 2018)

a friend was recommended this shop by a radio show. long story short, he lost over a grand.


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## HBFanatic (Dec 2, 2016)

I talked to Carl awhile back about redoing Whip that Rick88 had. No gunnel HB. He badmouthed the Skiff Shop And never called me back with an estimate when I told him Tom had done 3 skiffs for me and that I was happy with work and cost


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## FMH (Aug 24, 2015)

I have had several skiffs refurbished by Brian Floyd. Very satisfied with all work he ever did for me. I think he's as honest and fair as they come. Whenever I had a problem he went out of his way (nights and weekends if needed) to get me fixed up. He and his wife Heidi are quality people!


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## Tautog166 (Jul 7, 2018)

FMH said:


> I have had several skiffs refurbished by Brian Floyd. Very satisfied with all work he ever did for me. I think he's as honest and fair as they come. Whenever I had a problem he went out of his way (nights and weekends if needed) to get me fixed up. He and his wife Heidi are quality people!


Bodes well for their new skiff venture. Could be they have a secret recipe for success. I wish them luck. 

Screw the [email protected] shops.


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## Hayes (Oct 1, 2017)

Update

So after just under 3 weeks with the Skiff Shop she is back with me. It looks SWEET, they did a great job getting everything cleaned up and looking like new. They redid the non-skid, buffed and sanded the hull, removed this metal plate and patched the hole that was for a old bass boat seat, fixed the front D ring as after 10 years the fiberglass and gone bad, cleaned out all of my plumbing and hatches, and finally they removed my old QL trim tabs and patched the holes. I will be putting lenco tabs on in the future but needed them to patch and color match the paint.

While I understand that everyone has had their share of bad experiences with boat/motor repair shops, it was nice have this experience with The Skiff Shop. I will be going back to them for any work that is needed as they restored my faith in repair shops.


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## HBFanatic (Dec 2, 2016)

Always did good work for my boats


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