Morning from chilly (37) Jacksonville, I cant' agree any stronger than I do with Bill's letter below. Hinckley in Savannah was the most professional group of individuals I have ever had the chance to work with. I won't go into details about our electrical fire but I can promise you they tracked down the issue, got right on the job, and did wonderful work. They are not cheap but I can't help thinking that they weren't anymore expensive than those "wanna-be" mechanics who take twice as long working on an issue and then bill you for all those extra labor hours trying to figure out where to start. Mike Pranschke (912-629-2400) is now the Service Operations Manager Bill is spot-on about his experiences @ Hinckley! Todd & Brenda Lanning Life's2Short 1985 40' Oceania Trawler btlifes2short@aol.com Check out our blog @ _http://btlifes2short.blogspot.com_ (http://btlifes2short.blogspot.com/) Currently: Headed south from Jacksonville, FL on the ICW "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away!" Message: 4 Date: Mon, 02 Mar 2009 12:32:53 -0500 From: Bill Donovan <trailersource@mindspring.com> Subject: Re: GL: summer storage on the hard in lower Georgia/Savanah area To: Wayne M Barski <wbbar@earthlink.net>,foreveryoungboat@aol.com, great-loop@lists.samurai.com Message-ID: <E1LeC0c-0000cU-TU@elasmtp-banded.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Wayne, et al: Wow! I guess Wayne had a shocking experience.... So, I will wade into the fray with a little more positive review of Hinckley in Savannah. The Savannah Hinkley Yacht Services is perhaps the most professional yard I have ever had the pleasure of dealing with. Dustin Hartley, the service manager is an energetic, enthusiastic, knowledgeable and very helpful professional. He is an accomplished former "Coastie" and one of the best boat handlers I have ever witnessed. The service staff obviously respects him and they seem to enjoy working at Hinckley. The Hinckley technicians are excellent workers who obviously enjoy their work. The estimates I was given for a variety of (extensive) jobs were very close to the final cost (they were "estimates," not "quotes"). I was never charged a dime for dockage or use of the facilities (showers, restrooms) while there for some 5 months. By the way, they do have limited transient space, and at a very good rate. No fuel or pumpout. Yes, the work seemed expensive, but I have learned that marine work IS expensive. Hinckley charges a labor rate that varies by skill set, and all seem to be fair. And, no, they don't want you to do any significant work on your boat while in storage on the hard (insurance reasons, no doubt). If you are to be in Savannah, the only yards that can haul you would be Hinckley or Thunderbolt Marine -- only a mile apart on the Wilmington River. I never have had Thunderbolt work on my boat. You may want to call each one and talk about your needs, then decide. Bill **************Worried about job security? Check out the 5 safest jobs in a recession. (http://jobs.aol.com/gallery/growing-job-industries?ncid=emlcntuscare00000002)