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D&R Marine

PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 3:17 pm
by Kerrald
Just got back from heading up to DR Marine on their Open House day. Couple things that I'm sure have been said here before:

1) Rudy is one of the nicest and most knowledgeable people I've met in a long time. I pulled out one of my chain plates and he instantly knew it was from a small run of boats where Pearson had some triangle pieces that they just bent in a vice and called chainplates. He had some fantastic advice on everything else as well. "Sage" may not do him justice.

2) His shop is in a gorgeous 18th century barn. Absolutely a fascinating building to see - all the joinery is the old peg style, no nails! And it's on the national historic register.

3) He's got just about everything in stock that you could possibly need. He put together our rigging on the spot and gave us a run through on how this 200lb swaging machine actually works. That thing is a piece of art. They really don't make anything like that anymore.

Honestly, I've never felt better about spending a couple hundred. He does a Saturday morning open house that's worth the visit if you're down that way.

Re: D&R Marine

PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 11:18 pm
by TIM WEBB
+++ 1 on this one!

Rudy is an absolute godsend for anyone who has an O'Day boat, and we are all very fortunate to have D&R at our disposal. Rudy has gone above and beyond on many occasions to help me with questions: one time he called me while I was actually sailing, to ask me a question about an order, and when I told him what I was doing, he laughed and said "Good! Glad you are on the water. Call me back when you are on the hard."

Seriously: we should all do what we can to keep D&R in bidness. Even if it's not an O'Day-specific part or supply you need, please keep Rudy and crew in mind first before you go elsewhere. You'll be doing them and the rest of us huge service ...

Re: D&R Marine

PostPosted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 3:05 am
by jeadstx
You are very right Tim.

John

Re: D&R Marine

PostPosted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 5:33 pm
by Baysailer
A number of years ago, pre-internet days so all business was over the phone, I was sailing a Mariner and snapped a side stay mid season. I called D&R just to get pricing and talked to Rudy for over 1/2 hour. He determined the reason for the failure probably wasn't age but was due to a spreader problem I had, lot of question and answer. He also suggested I replace them in pairs so he costed out upper side stays, spreaders and brackets. We firmed the deal and I told him I'd send out a check in a week. He replied that's fine but he's ship them to me that day so I wouldn't lose any sailing time. He did and I paid him in a week. I never dealt with him prior to that so was a totally new customer but have been a customer ever since. If I'm ever in that area I am going to visit.

Fred B

Re: D&R Marine

PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2015 1:50 pm
by NoCashOnBoard
Since I brought my DS3 home from Delaware, I've been supporting DR Marine. I've spoken to Rudy a few times, usually he's quite busy and I respect his time so I keep my conversation short and to the point. There gear is top notch and best quality.

Re: D&R Marine

PostPosted: Tue Jun 09, 2015 8:14 pm
by Kerrald
He also delivers masts himself. He mentioned that he was up in Maine making a delivery and I had to stop him and ask "Why were you delivering in Maine?" and his response was something like "I wouldn't trust anyone else to deliver them without damaging them." Some serious customer service right there.