What clients say about The Boat Yard - Marina Del Rey in Marina del Rey (CA)
Updated Review:
Scott was professional and pleasant to deal with. However, my experience with Michael Nagami has been extremely disappointing.
After I posted my original review, he responded publicly. When I later went to the office to speak with him directly about the situation, he stated that he never left the response. That inconsistency only added to my concerns.
Professional management requires accountability and clear communication. Unfortunately, that has not been my experience here. I genuinely hope the owner takes a closer look at how customers are being treated, because management behavior reflects directly on the business.
Based on my experience, I cannot recommend parking your boat here.
In 2022, our boat was put in for the first time EVER after being on the hard for ten years and being built out (we bought it from a shipwright and his family after he passed away but had gotten it to “brand new” and 99% “there”after scooping the hull and redoing everything). We had NO idea if it would even float. Okay, I’m exaggerating
But it WAS nerve wracking and we had to line up “all the pieces” and ensure that if there were problems, we could handle it. Not only were Victor and Scott the best EVER at working with our TRUCKER to get it off the truck and paint the last couple little spots on the bottom, but got us into the hoist, lowered us and when we ran into a problem (STUPID IMPINGER), let us stay longer than we should have been there, let us dock her there overnite on the promise we would be back first thing in the morning and then we took off. The PROCESS was nerve wracking but NOT the Boat Yard. They handled everything like champs and worked with us every stop of the way. We are about to him them up for more work because I know we will be in good hands!
The entire staff at The Boatyard is phenomenal!! Was just in for bottom paint and had the boot stripe repainted. Friendly service and excellent work at a fair price!! I recently moved my boat to one of their slips, their marina is the best kept secret around, brand new docks. I highly recommend the boatyard.
I can’t recommend The Boat Yard enough, especially because of the leadership. Scott and Victor are incredibly knowledgeable and can handle anything you throw at them—it's clear they really know their stuff.
The Boatyard has been a good solid place to keep my boat. It’s a no frills, straightforward experience. Docks are clean and newer. Bathrooms are satisfactory. You get a free haul out every year, which is a great value.
Victor, Scott, and Tony took great care of us and our Swan 56 during our visit to The Boat Yard. Both our haul and launch were completed at the scheduled time without delay. We were in the yard for 3 days to complete a number of DIY jobs including bottom paint, rudder bearing replacement, and bow thruster service. We were provided with 24/7 yard access during our stay. Victor and team accommodated our request for a stand move for painting and allowed us to use the paint shaker during business hours. Our final bill matched their quote to the dollar including haul, DIY laydays, and extra crane time at hourly rate. The whole team was professional and helpful. We would happily return to The Boat Yard for future DIY maintenance. The suggestion I have for future customers is to bring topside covers/pads for the haul operation as The Boat Yard does not provide those for their travel lifts.
Our goto yard in Marina del Rey! They have the best team, timing and quality work. Víctor and Scott are extremely helpful. The team in the yard are knowledgeable and efficient . Our goto every time in MDR.
Hauling my boat out at the BoatYard was quick and efficient. Seamus who I was working with was waiting at the haul out for me right on time. The boat was on blocks 20 minutes later and a team of guys were working on the bottom soon after. The guys were able to get the boat back in the water Friday morning and we sailed her out to Catalina that afternoon.
I would give The Boat Yard 10 stars if I could. I recently had my 2024 Jeanneau 380, Hula Kai, commissioned at The Boat Yard in May. Victor and his entire staff and contractors all treated me like family and took care of my needs every step of the way. I reserved comment until completion of my planned crossing from Marina del Ray to Honolulu because results also matter and as expected all went well! Great operation!
Always do great work. Just had bottom paint, prop speed, through hulls, rudder packing, and trim tab work done. Office staff (Seamus and Scott) were up front, provided quotes prior to commencing work and there were no surprises in the bill. Yard staff did a great job and my boat is dialed now. Very happy with their work.
We had such a stress free and seamless experience with The Boat Yard! Scott and Victor took good care of us, their crew did a great job, prices were reasonable and all the work was done in a quick manner. Scott and Victor are also the most honest and straight forward in the business! We have great trust in them and our choice will always be the Boat Yard!
The boat yard and the team is always there to help my clients with yachting needs from Simple maintenance or trouble shooting larger issues. I highly recommend this yard.
Best,
Ian Van Tuyl / IVT Yacht Sales, Inc
Great experience at this yard. They were professional, timely, and communicative. The quoted price was what I paid. I’ll definitely be coming back for any future haul outs. Thank you!!
It was great to see the boat arrive on Monday and be ready Wednesday. Also all within the quoted price. We actually made a check out for $6.00 over which we were pleasantly surprised. Great quality work done in short timeline. I would recommend this yard if you are looking for a new bottom.
Scott at the Boat Yard certainly has his finger on the pulse of their business. In fact I have dealt with several of the employees, they all communicate with each other. They are efficent and are always making sure the customer feels secure in knowing they will get the job done right.
My wife and I own both a 50' sailboat and a 41' power boat, so we have several jobs done with boatyards up and down the SoCal coast. The Boat Yard at MDR is without question the best boatyard I've ever used. They recently worked on our Hatteras power boat and did an outstanding job on our bottom, rudder posts, shaft seals and gel coat repair. In fact, in our opinion they went over and above what they said they would do, correcting some issues that weren't apparent when we left the boat at the yard, but was certainly noticed by their excellent staff. Scott, the owner, told us exactly what to expect and what would be charged, Victor, the shop manager, was instrumental in knowing exactly what we needed, and even corrected some last-minute details. Victor knows his stuff! He is extremely skilled and experienced in running the jobs and handling new issues. We couldn't be happier with the Boat Yard at Marina Del Rey and will use them for years to come. Thank you, guys!
Excellent Service. Ask for Scott Simmer he is no-nonsense boat service guy. He worked out a budget and he hit the mark every step of the way. I imagined doing a haul out would be a rollercoaster of fees and upsells. Not at The Boat Yard. I would recomend this Boat Yard to anyone needing high quality, cost effective haul out and hull services.
Had sailboat hull and bottom painted. Office personnel very professional, explained, documented process. Yard work, kept me up to date on progress of hull repainting by Jack thru texting and pictures. Pete, travel lift operator was very exacting with haul out and then on splash day took extra time and effort to add extra bottom paint to hull bottom edges. Then very helpful in returning boat to water. He made sure I was ready to go, before letting me and boat go on our way. Very pleased with work done.
Fast bottom paint work, but no sanding or fairing of the old paint. Wound up sanding off the new paint. Sanding the old bottom paint flat and smooth (3 hrs). Repainted myself and got back 4 mph. Make sure your expectations and their expectations agree.
Workmanship is solid. Prices are rather high. They stand by their work after completion. I do find it helps to check along the way to make sure everything is completed as per the agreement.
Work completed: bottom paint, shaft seals, cutlass bearings
Joe and the team here are a wonderful group. Not only are they skilled at all things boat related but they are are also super friendly. I had my boat there for a month on the hard and they were always there to lend some friendly advice for the work I was doing on my own.
But the biggest thing I learned from the experience was to pay the team at the Boaytyard to do the work if you can. Haha! After some failed projects on my own it ended up costing me more than if I had just paid them from the start.
Highly recommend this team. Thanks guys, great working with you all!
We brought our boat here for bottom paint. They do not even scuff sand (per the paint manufacturers procedures) before they paint. All they do is pressure wash then apply paint. They went on and on about how they have been doing this for 30 years, but at the end of the day, our paint was not properly applied and 6 months into the "fresh" bottom job, our paint is blistering, cracking, and peeling. All I can say is this is pure laziness with zero ownership for their work. There is $8,300 down the drain with nothing to show for it.. AND we have to repaint the bottom again. We WILL NOT be coming back here. BEWARE.
I had a negative experience there. The guys are very capable but they try to do the minimum amount of work. I went in for bottom paint yesterday, packaged deal for $2,000 including haul out. Scott is a good salesman, said they would do two hours of light sanding to flare up the old paint. None of this happened. One guy came and plastered two coats of paint. No prep, no wiping, no flaring of at least the most obvious parts where the old paint had separated from the hull. Even one hour of sanding would have improved the quality tremendously.
My advice if you go there is to specify exactly what you expect them to do and watch after them every minute.
Their pricing is not bad but they over promise, up sell and then under deliver. I can not recommend this place at all.
I had a great haul out, they were able take when I arrived two hours early, Scott and crew were great, the office staff were very pleasant and helpful. In and out, hydrowash, for survey. Everything you could ask for.
We had our cutlass bearings replaced and packing glands redone. Victor and the rest of the crew were professional, super friendly and did the work within the estimated time and budget. Highly recommended.
We have had our boat with them for six years and had them take care of the bottom paint twice. They do meticulous work at a great price. They are easy to work with and are excellent at communicating.
First and foremost a huge thank you to Victor Espino who was there for me when my boat siphoned water through an electric toilet. He was willing to haul it out on a weekend night. He worked with the insurance company and made sure my old boat became a new old boat. He worked with me on issues and held my hand throughout the process. A big shout out to Scott & Cody as well who also made my needs a top priority. Thank you Boat Yard for getting me back in the water better than ever..
