We are going to be in town Wednesday as we have a red eye flight out of Milwaukee Thursday am. The plan is check out the town all day and stay at a park and ride hotel Wed night.

Have never been to any chandleries in Mil. Any suggestions for helping us spend so vacation money before we arrr off the ground?? I am sure there is a WM, any home town shops?

Thanks Ev.

What specifically are you looking for Ev? Gene's place is worth checking out if for no other reason than to just hang out and talk with him. He's also got a lot of neat boats in his yard. West Marine in Greenfield is a fun place go and drool. There's a place only about a quarter mile from my house called Kendar Marine.

I'm sure there are a bunch of places I don't even know about... This is the exact reason I thought sponsors would want to talk to me I suppose I have to get off my butt and talk to some of these places, but the theory states that if you're in a position for sponsorship, the sponsors will find you.

By Gene do y'all mean Gene Cramer?

He is rebuilding my engine as we speak.

He is super nice.

His boat Lyra is in the "living room" of his shop this year.


If you stop in, tell him Brianna says hi.

Speaking of marine parts, what this industry needs is a national Wal-Mart for boats.

There is no reason a little plastic shore power adaptor has to be $85 and a plastic storage bin for your cockpit should be $125 and a small replacement hatch should be the same price as a large flat screen TV.

I wonder if we could make a co-op that would source stuff. We would probably all get greedy and end up at the same prices West Marine charges. Ha ha ha.

Yep, Kendor is a great place for replacement parts/pieces, but don't expect too much to come in a box or original packaging. But if you're looking for something specific and have it with you, they're a great help.
I have to get down there this winter to find some replacement standing rigging for my Rebel 16. Previous Owner welded up some pieces that are more trouble than they're worth.
As for WM and their prices, I will go almost anywhere else to find what I need. Even ordering online and including shipping is usually cheaper than their in-store prices.
Can't think of any other stores in the area.
Good luck and have fun.
-John

brainula wrote:
By Gene do y'all mean Gene Cramer?

He is rebuilding my engine as we speak.

He is super nice.

His boat Lyra is in the "living room" of his shop this year.


Yeah - Gene Cramer. He used to be a pretty regular poster on this site, but hasn't stopped in for awhile. I'll have to swing by his shop and chat him up for awhile. I have never been aboard Lyra. I was hoping to talk to him about his "living room", or somewhere warm and inside for my boat next winter. I want find a heated storage facility with electrical access to do some refitting of Winsome Wind next season... God I hate that name

Thanks for the replies. Kendors sounds like the kind of place we're after, especially if they have rigging. I am ready to push the button online but if they are close on prices I would rather get it locally. And we need a 3/4" swivel. And....

I have wanted to stop by Gene's for quite a while, almost looked at a boat there a couple years ago. I treat WM like all big stores, look for bargains and leave. We have found some good ones.

Then it's off to Vegas for the week end. Not our choice of locations but it's the bosses ticket. At least it's warmer.

The complaints about pricing on marine stuff are nuts. If you want something that works for powerboats (we are the small 5% of the boating market) the pricing is reasonable.

If you want a rope bin, whose entire national market is about 200 a year, and it costs $20,000 to make the plastic molding tool, it's going to cost the manufacturer a lot. My company buys stuff from China, and their prices are good--in lots of at least 5,000.

Wally World works because they sell high volume stuff.

Ask Gene Cramer how many mooring bouys he sells a year (I bet less than 20). Even Harken, who sell a few high volume products (thousands of roller furlers not tens of thousands) have a catalog with thousands of part numbers, many of which must sell in low quantities.

I spoke with sailmakers at the Chicago show. While the North and Quantum guys weren't talking, The rest of the sailmakers make 2 or three sails a week. What does one have to charge to make a living?

While prices are high to us users, no one seems to be getting rich in the sailboat industry.

Wow, I just read that. WHat a rant. . .

Great post Guy! Thanks for putting it into a different perspective.

I agree on stuff like roller furlers and masthead caps or anything like that. I would complain about the egregious markup on things that just happen to be sitting in a marine store. The one that gets me is watertight seabags. There is no marvel of engineering there, yet a well made waterproof bag costs over $100. How about a tether or jack line. I understand the hardware at the end of the lines is "special", but it's not any more special than the hardware used in mountain climbing. I think marine proprietors are comfortable lumping in the not-so-specialty items into the specialty items markup bracket simply because it's "marine". Everyone's gotta make a living I understand, but you have to admit some of the stuff in those stores is pretty overpriced.