Tom,
Just wanted to let you know all is well with our platform installation.
It really has been easy to use and made our cruising more pleasurable now
that we have freedom with our dinghy
Best Chris and Frank
Susan,
Please let everyone in the office know that the team that installed the
thruster yesterday was outstanding. Not only were they extremely good at
what they do, but they were very personable and a pleasure to talk to.
Being in business myself, I know how important it is to have people out
in
the field that understand and realize they represent the company. If anyone
ever asks me who I would recommend installing a bow thruster, you guys have
the job.
If you ever need a reference, please let me know.
Job well done!
Thank you.
Don Delhome
Dear Tom,
My husband and I were very impressed with the work your crew did. Goose,
Tim and Fred were great! They did the work very neatly and with great expertise.
Both our yard and the boat were left in great condition. Your crew knew
their craft. They were also very friendly and pleasant to work with.
We were greatly pleased with your operation. I know we made the right choice
of choosing Florida Bow Thrusters.
Sincerely,
Janice Shaefer
Mastic Beach, NY
Mr. Wurtz,
Thank you very much for your patience with this job. It was a real pleasure
to work with you. All of your people were very professional and I also appreciated
their patience and help. If you ever need a reference, please do not hesitate
to let me know. Thank you again, Jon Williams, Chief Pilot, Delta Airlines,
Retired
Dear Tom,
Thank you for the "Paid" Invoice. I love the lights! They will be so beautiful
down in the Keys and up in Lake Michigan.
Thank you, Jane
Dear Tom,
After much research, Florida Bow Thrusters was the right choice. The team
that traveled up, "The 'A' Team", both were very diligent and professional
when it comes to putting a hole in your bow. This team was reassuring. They
carefully thought out and measured several times before deciding the most
efficient and effective placement of the hole, tube and motor. I was impressed,
being a Chief Marine Engineer for over 20 years on Fire Boats for New York
City and Government Ferries. They were well equipped and prepared to work.
Their level of expertise was greatly appreciated. They could work with me
nay time. I know they will do the job right an do it on time. It was nice
to see this work ethic still in the marine field.
Respectfully yours,
Ronnie West Chief Marine Engineer Retired NYC Fire Boats USMM / USCG DOT
Tom,
I just wanted to take a minute and say thanks for the great job you guys
did installing my platform and thruster, it was wonderful to see the respect
for my boat that you guys showed and the quality of work performed. Thanks
again and if you ever need a referral have your customer give me a call.
Thanks,
Ernie Albert - SeaRay 460DA
Tom,
I would like to pass along my sincere gratitude for a job well done. My
experience with your company was nothing short of “better than the sales
brochure promised.” I have done business with many companies that make promises
and never live up to them. In your case, you promised a Factory Quality
Installation. I have now had a chance to inspect the work that your team
did and I must say, everything about the install is at or above the quality
of the other Sea Ray installed options. From the glass work to the wiring
is of factory quality. I was most impressed with the time your team took
at the start of the project to protect my boat from the mess that would
be created from the work. My marina was also very pleased as your team policed
up the area of all the debris from the install and even swept the parking
lot around the boat. Tom, in closing, please have anyone considering your
company to give me a call. The quality, craftsmanship and professionalism
of your team is unmatched. Thanks again for a job well done I am looking
forward to many years with my new thrusters.
Regard John Balow,
Owner Muscle Car Restorations
11371 20th Avenue Chippewa Falls , WI 54729
715-834-2223 Office 715-215-1484 Cell 715-834-5994 Fax
Tom and team,
You delivered everything you claimed, plus more. Your team that worked on
my boat was courteous and informative. I appreciate the prompt service you
provided. I can't wait to try it (bow thruster) out. I'm sure that I will
have many more years of boating as opposed to frustration on the water!
Thanks again, you guys are the greatest.
PS - Your price was also the best!!!
Ray Kelly - Silverton 453 Motor Yacht
Hi Tom,
I want to thank you and your company and especially your two sterling employees.
The intricacies of the installation were beyond what I expected. Everything
was neatly done and ship shape. Hopefully I will be installing a stern thruster
some day. Thanks again for a job well done!
Tony Ribeiro - CheoyLee 44
Dear Sir/Madam,
On Dec. 16, 2004 your company installed a bow thruster in our Albin 27 Cruiser.
The temperature that day was 23 degrees F with a wind chill factor of minus
0 degrees. Regardless of that temperature the men worked steadily all day
to complete the installation which was no small feat for two boys from Florida.
They impressed me with their knowledge of their profession and job they
were doing, they were extremely courteous and left the job site very clean.
Ed & Barbi Soderlund - Albin 27 Cruiser
I want to commend the Florida
Bow Thruster organization. The thruster installed on my Monk 36, Drummer
II by the crew was first rate and very professionally done. I got my money's
worth.
Brad Boyd - Monk 36
Dear Tom,
Congratulations! Your team did an outstanding job. The bow thruster itself
is exactly as you described, and what I hoped it would be. My 76,000 lb.
boat is much more agile in tight places, and as you know, will actually
"walk sideways". The big story here is the installation. You and your organization
"WOWed" me. Following is a copy of what I will post on the Hatteras Owner's
Forum.
Andy Dixon --------------------------------------------------------- Bow
Thruster - I have 1981, 56' my (18'3" beam). Between tight transit slips,
docks without pilings to pivot on, and multitude of multi-million dollar
yachts that I must maneuver close to in South Florida, I decided that I
wanted more control around the dock. I asked my wife to workout in the gym
so she could horse around our 76,000 lb. boat with lines, but she said to
come up with another idea. After considering it for nearly two years, I
decided to take the plunge, I chose a 10.5" Vitus, 24v Elect Bow Thruster.
I hope it turns out to be functional and reliable over the long-term, but
only time will tell. Equally important to the unit itself is the installer.
I chose Florida Bow Thrusters. I am sure there are a lot of qualified installers,
but my experience with Tom Gillikin and his company was excellent. They
showed up at my boatyard on time, with everything they needed. Then they
proceeded to spend over three hours covering up the inside of the boat to
keep it clean. Then the moment of truth - I wasn't happy about letting anyone
drill two 10.5" holes in the bottom of my boat, but here goes. It was amazing
to watch. They started measuring and marking, then in less than thirty minutes,
the tube was set in place! The rest of the installation went equally as
smooth. Simply put, "Florida Bow Thrusters knows what they are doing." As
for the thruster itself, it functions exactly as Tom Gillikin said it would.
Control in tight spaces is excellent; the boat will actually "walk sideways".
Now, without the stern moving, I can point the bow wherever I need to go.
Additionally, the boat can be held on the spot while lines are being attached
at an unfamiliar dock. This was a major upgrade to an old boat, but it went
silky smooth. Would I spend the money again? Yep! Would I recommend Florida
Bow Thrusters? Absolutely! Their number is 321-453-7070.
Tom - Thank you very much for
a great job. Please give my name to anyone looking for a reference.
Bob Kopp - Hawthorn Woods, IL
Tom - I want to commend the Florida
Bow Thruster organization. The thruster installed on my Monk 36, Drummer
II by the J & J crew (Jason and Justin) was first rate and very professionally
done. The guys were very knowledgeable and always kept me informed. They
were a pleasure to work with. I got my money's worth.
Brad Byrd
Dear Tom - I wanted to thank
you for all of your assistance in getting us the bow thruster that we needed
for our boat. It works great. In addition we wanted to commend your outstanding
techs for the great job they did on the installation. They were so careful
with our boat from the holes to the fiberglassing to the wiring. They were
exceptionally neat and clean with all of their work. Thank you again.
Dian Warnhoff
Dear Tom - Your guys were here
Friday and Saturday, and did a fabulous job. Everyone in my marina has been
talking about the job they did. Not only were they punctual, but they were
courteous, meticulous, and professional in every respect. They took great
pains in protecting everything on the boat, and went beyond all expectations
in respecting the customers' property. Both our your technicians were a
pleasure to meet and work with. (They worked, I watched). I love my boat
and have every want to keep it forever, but if for some reason I wind up
with another, and it needs a bow thruster, I will not hesitate to call on
you. You and your crew have every reason to be proud of your company and
its reputation. Please feel free to give my name out to perspective customers.
I would be pleased to tell them how happy I am with you.
Thank you for a job well done.
John Kime
Tom,
Thank you very much for the recent installation of the Bow Thruster on my
Boat at Viking Boat Yard. I have heard through the grapevine that your team
went through the entire installation and thought very highly of your work,
something I gather he doesn't give out easily. I look forward to seeing
and using it myself next month.
Jonathan W. Gray
Tom - all went great with install.
Your fellas worked long and hard and should be commended.
Thanks - Gerard Fodera RE: SeaRay 500DA Michigan
Dear Susan,
I wish to say thank you. Your team did an excellent job. They had 1st class
workmanship, excellent attitude, polite and very helpful. They had rain
for most of the installation and cold weather, which was unfortunate. Their
motor in your van gave up and caused a lot of phone calls and extra effort.
They had to rent a van and move everything over. In spite of this they remained
committed to doing it correctly. I am very pleased. Many thanks to Tom.
It has been all he said it would be.
Yours truly,
D.F. Plowright
Hello,
At the end of last August your company installed a bow thruster for my 35
' Chaparral express cruiser. Your company performs excellent work and supplies
a quality product. The workers were very meticulous and did everything to
perfection . My new bow thruster has taken the stress out of docking . I
wanted to personally take the time to express my sincere gratitude .
Best wishes,
Eric Weiss, M.S., D.A.B.R.
Thank you for the quick response
and great job by your crew.
Jeff Jarrett Bay Boatworks
Greetings, Thank you for a JOB
WELL DONE! It was a pleasure working with your technicians. They did an
outstanding job. They were very competent, organized, and showed excellent
craftsmanship skills. I approved the final payment with our corp. and you
should receive it shortly. I will recommend you to anyone interested in
a bow thruster.
Kind regards,
Clyde Peabody Fleet Engineer (Seaquest)
Hi Tom,
Just wanted to let you know that I was happy with the job done by your guys,
they worked well together and were pleasant to deal with. I will certainly
recommend your company to anyone who asks about bow thrusters. If you need
a reference please feel free to give my name and email address.
Thanks again for all your help.
Bernie Caniff
Tom- I wanted to drop you line
and a quick note of thanks for the outstanding job done by your installers
and the entire group there in Florida on this job. As promised, the boat
was ready and turned back over to me in a spotless condition Sunday PM.
We sea trialed it, upon our return to the docks we found the stern thruster
had been wired in reverse. I got on the phone to the guys, and the quickly
returned to correct the error. Even in the reversed wired situation, I successfully
docked the boat effortlessly, and with confidence the first time! Now I
caught a ton of crap from all the guys up here at Marine Max for going to
the extra expense- when they all said practice would make perfect. What
is so sweet about this is that the practice part was taken out and my boat,
and others were not subject to the calamity we all witness when some one
is working with a new boat .. Please don't get me wrong. I have a long way
to go, but with Florida Bow Thrusters, the learning curve has improved 100%.
I would recommend you product to any new boat owner, or others like myself
moving up from occasional boat usage to full time boating enthusiast. I
look forward with confidence to making those extended trips to places I
haven't been before by boat and with your product, it will be a lot more
enjoyable .. Thanks again. I'm placing check for balance in the mail today
.. Please let me know if there is ever anything we can do for you folks
up this way. By the way, the installation guys were awesome; they were very
friendly and patient in explaining the product and showing us locations
for trouble shooting. My hat off to you for sending us the best, again thanks.
Scott Ellis.
Broker/Owner RE/MAX At The Coast
2120 Sea Mountain Highway Suite 2102
North Myrtle Beach , SC 29582
Office-843-663-5663 Fax- 843-663-1155 Cell 843-222-7317
Tom,
I want to let you know how much I enjoy the bow thruster and the professional
work that you guys did. They were great in walking me thru the process from
drilling the hole thru showing me how to operate the thruster. In fact,
he took time today on his way to Myrtle Beach asking me how it performed.
They also, put the boat back in better condition than before; it is as if
no one was ever on the boat.
Regards, Carl Klele
My captain tells me the job looks
great and that you boys were true professionals. We will recommend you to
others.
Thanks, Don Pullen
Hi John,
Blue Skies is back in the water and I have two things to report. The new
thruster does not leak and it makes thrust, lots of it. I estimate, it makes
twice the thrust of the Wesmar Thruster we took out. After further study,
I found that the Wesmar thruster was rated at 8 hp not 5 hp. Since the Vetus
95 is rated at 7.5 hp, I feared I had made a big mistake. But the proof
is in the water. Where the Wesmar makes noise (cavitation) the Vetus makes
thrust. Your guys did a great Job. They showed up when scheduled and completed
the job in two days, amazing. My wife expected the boat to be full of fiberglass
dust. But Dave and Matt did a great job in containing he dust to their work
area. Attached is a picture of the guys standing next to their masterpiece.
Your system of a fixed price and the incentive to finish the work in as
short of time as possible is great. It drives me crazy to get a bill from
a boat yard when they itemize a stick to stir the paint. I got two other
estimates in the same price range but nobody could predict the time it would
take. There were several steps along the way of the thruster installation
where Dave and Matt could have compromised to make the work go faster. But
they didn't, it is quality work that will last, and still they did it in
just two days. I am a very satisfied customer and the Final Check is in
the mail.
Sincerely:
Hugh Hazeltine Blue Skies - Great Harbour 37
Dear Tom ,
I want to thank you personally for your help in getting this job sold and
completed in a timely manner. I also wish to extend my sincere thanks to
both of your technicians for a job very well done. They were helpful, courteous,
and attentive to detail and did an outstanding job. Our mutual customer,
Mr. Clark, was extremely impressed and very pleased. I hope this will be
the beginning of a long relationship between our two companies. I will certainly
give you a call in the future.
Very best regards,
Ridge Gardner Marathon Boat Yard and Marine Center
Tom & Company,
Nice job! Your people did a very nice installation and were very neat and
clean!
Thank you very much,
Bill Mertens
Tom,
Just wanted to drop you an email to say THANKS! for doing a great job on
my bowthruster. Your team did a top notch job. They were on time, very professional
and delivered a great product! One even went out of his way to help me get
my boat launched when I could not be there for the splash. Is rare to find
such service in this day and time. The Vetus thruster works great on my
cat. Very easy to use and it sure made me look like a pro at the dock. I
had a fast outgoing tide with a 15k cross wind and did not even need my
rudders, just thrusted the bow around with a little reverse throttle and
backed her right into my slip.
Thanks again and have a good New Year!
Ted
Tom,
I just want to let you know what a nice job your crew did with my Boston
Whaler. Unfortunately, I was out of town when they were here, so I was not
able to actually see them at work. (Then again, watching someone cut a big
hole in my boat probably would have stressed me out too much, so maybe being
away was a good thing, both for me and for your crew!) Anyway, I was finally
able to get over to North Shore Marina yesterday to take a look. A beautiful
job, as always! Perhaps just as importantly, North Shore's shop foreman
and installer both went out of their way to tell me what a terrific crew
you sent. They were polite, professional, extremely knowledgeable, and absolutely
adamant about cleaning everything up before they left. In fact, the owner
of the marina was so impressed that he was considering asking the crew to
stay over the weekend to install a thruster on his Sea Ray. I suspect that
you will be doing more business at North Shore Marina.
Thanks again. With any luck, the ice will go out this week, and I'll be
able to actually use my new toys!
Joe
To all,
I would like to express my gratitude at the professional manner in which
"team 3" performed their job. I received at least five compliments from
many of my fellow club members, regarding the workmanship of the installation.
Everyone came to see. I myself was very impressed with the top quality of
the installation and the manner in which it operates. I launched the boat
this morning and utilizing the bow thruster made me look like a pro. I am
glad that I choose your company for the installation and want to thank "team
3" personally for their efforts. It was a top notch job.
Again, thank you.
Doug
Tom,
Just wanted to tell you what a pleasure it was to work with your guys. They
walked me through the installation and gave me a little training course
on the use of the bow thruster. We also went thru a series of "what ifs"
that I think will be very helpful as I begin to use the bow thruster. The
staff at Skull Creek Marina also commented to me about their professional
approach to what they were doing and their skill level at executing their
jobs. Very, Very good team you have here. And they have a great sense of
humor.
Thanks again for your advice and the team you sent to work on my boat.
Vince
PS - The proof of course is once its splashed and I get to use the new tool
- me thinks I'll be very pleased - I'll confirm.
Tom,
The installation of the bow thruster on my Eastbay 38 could not have gone
better. I just got the boat back, out of the yard, installed some new electronics
and took it out for a test. Your lead tech was UNBELIEVABLE. So was the
guy with him. They took great care of of the boat, padded and protected
everything. Fantastic job with installation, fiberglass work was beautiful
and the boat was cleaner than new when they finished. I just can't say enough
good things about this project. Best money I have ever spent on a boat project!!!
Please pass on my comments to them and I would be happy to be a reference
for your company.
Thanks again,
Myron Tucker
Dear John and Tom,
It has been a real pleasure dealing with a professional company as Florida
Bow Thrusters. They were an incredible team and did an excellent job. I
hope my boat will be a great advertisement for future customers. Testing
her out the following day in 25 knot winds was amazing. It exceed what I
thought would be her capability.
Thanks again to you and your most capable crew and Susan.
Sincerely,
George E. Gadsby (Parker 2520SL)
Gentlemen,
Reference is made to the recent installation of a bow thruster on my boat
here in Maryland. Working with your team made this a pleasant buying experience,
which is seldom available in these modern times. Matthew Hedberg and Robert
Presby are a credit to your organization. The quality of their work was
excellent. They both spent the extra time explaining the installation and
service availability and were meticulous in their preparation and cleanup.
I would like to express my appreciation to all of you for a job well done.
Sincerely,
Jim Mills
Tom,
I'm really impressed with your company operations. These days and times
we seldom see such good service and professionalism such as what you guys
provide. You made my decision to install a bow thruster easy. And I especially
enjoyed the humorous banter I had with your service guy "Ronnie"
(don't know his last name) The guy made my day and I greatly appreciate
the fact that after long days on the road he made the special effort to
make the install.
Thanks,
Dick Hayes