Testimonials

Accolades from our Clients

Jim Patrick

I recently needed a repair that involved a haul out of my boat. The staff at Charlevoix made me feel as if my problem was the most important job they had that day even though it was easy to see that they were extremely busy. Roger handled my multiple calls before taking the boat in with professionalism, knowledge and above all friendliness that made me very comfortable with the work to be preformed. That repair was completed on time, with a through explanation of the repair- and even gave me the old parts to inspect! I thought that kind of service was long gone. I am very happy to leave my boat with you for storage and more work this off season. I mentioned Roger, but Lisa was very helpful and everyone that I had any contact with at the facility was friendly, professional and helpful. In my opinion you are “doing it right”.

Kurt and Pamela (from their Blog)

Irish Boat Shop is the PLACE! We knew it when we first arrived and could see dock hands sprinting for our dock to receive us. When you are approaching a marina, observing from a distance, sometimes through binoculars, it is hard to discern someone standing at a dock. But a running dockhand in a bright red shirt is EASY to see and thus was our introduction to Irish. Sophie rocks!

Everyone we met at Irish from dock hand, to customer service to technician was not only an expert in their field, but also skilled in teaching and explaining, taking time to share extra tips that would help us down the road far from Lake Charlevoix. In short, these folks were an absolute delight to be around, which is good since we were around them all a lot.

Further assets for the marina include a great grocery store a half mile uphill, but seems much shorter on the way home, even with provisions. We also spent a lot of time at the park next door enjoying its nice sandy beach and lots of grassy areas for long dog walks. While we were there they had a “cigarette boat” Cruise-In down the lake and we saw more than a hundred of these sleek machines racing up and down the Lake Charlevoix. One of the boats has twin helicopter engines that run on jet fuel and they had to go to the nearby airport just to fill it up.

One of our last days at Irish, we came into the marina from a late afternoon sail, after the shop was closed and dock hands had left for the day. We weren’t sure where or how we were going to dock and there isn’t much room in there for last minute decision making. We saw a few boaters unloading at the public boat ramp when a lovely young woman separated herself from the crowd calling out, “Do you need some help? I’m the harbor master here!” She left her friends and ran to help us on the dock. As she helped secure our lines she explained that she had been working there for seven years. Her parents also worked in the shop as do the parents of most of the dock hands.

The folks at Irish Boat Shop are a hard working family operation. And even if it was only for a week, we were happy to be a part of that family. Thanks for everything, guys! We will carry a part of you with us wherever we go.

We got lucky. Pamela and I looked for 4+ years for our home and one time about 3 years ago we drove 8 hours one way to Charlevoix MI to look at an overpriced complex english yacht by Oyster. There we met Jeff Glenny from Irish Boat shop. He knew this boat was not for us but still encouraged us on our dream and occasionally checked in with us to see how it was going. He told us of his own adventure sailing in the Caribbean and I vowed then if I could ever do business with Irish Boat shop I would. It was his kind nature and respect he paid us for honoring our dream about the impossible. Sell it up and move aboard. Well guess what? We did.

Well that time was the last 3 weeks. They are from top to bottom a service driven organization that has a shared common bond of friendship and loyalty to the boating experience with a good bit of cache. Pamela wrote of our experience with them so I won’t bore you with too much detail but let me say that they welcomed us, made us feel confident in their ability and delivered the goods when the time came. It was the time between the work that made us so much appreciate our time in their boatyard. Passing the time with Carlos the guy who repaired our bimini on 1 days notice and returned it the same day, about our shared interest in soccer. Or Jeff and Roger about their teenager’s summer camp – a right of passage in the Midwest. Or Bill, the lifetime gear head who started out as a river guide in the Teton’s about the same time as Pamela worked out west. He was cautious to take on the Davits project and after three deliveries of parts from China he had to make a part by hand to weld from ½” stainless stock and polished it to look just like the the radar post installed originally and installed them in a half day on a Friday! Or Tommy the affable tech who when I showed him the hand-made work of art dish rack that was made ½ inch too narrow for our poles to mount said “no problem” and proceeded to install it like OEM. Or Lisa in service who sits out front and had to hear me come in 3-4 times a day for a week and ask if they could help with another project- always with a smile and cheery “let me see who can help”. Or Sophie the confident young woman who ran up and down the docs meeting new boats arriving and even running me up to the grocery in irish’s electric cart. The list goes on and on.

Davey Vanderhyde

Rock Stars! We recently ran our boat up to Charlevoix from Gr. Haven. On the way up, the stainless retaining clip on the port side K-Plane broke, causing the plane to malfunction. We visited Irish / Charlevoix @ 8am Monday morning looking for help. They immediately removed the hydraulic cylinder and sent it out for rebuild and secured the plane so we could still use the boat. Thursday morning they re-installed the rebuilt plane and we were on our way, saving our vacation. Prompt, courteous, and professional; I can’t say enough good about Irish Boat Shop. Thanks Irish!

Thane Pressman

Simply the best marine sales and service operation in Northern Michigan, with a national reputation for sailboat maintenance, customization and race preperation. including fabrication, joinery, glass and brightwork, rigging, electronics and electrical. Irish also offers complete year-round care for your sail or power boat up to 60+’from launch and commissioning to winterization, and storage with multiple options — outdoor plus indoor cold or heated.

Georgia A. Abbott

I wanted to send you a quick email of complete “WOW” and complements to both John & Brian! As you know, our batteries went dead and we were just headed out of the valet for a spectacular, sunny boat day on the Bay.

Brian calmly and swiftly tried to charge them up, but as that wasn’t going to work, got John involved. John’s only comment was “don’t worry…we are going to get you out there today”.

John installed a loaner battery, and while we were out playing, he tested our battery to see what was up. We had a great day out on the water and then we received a quick quote and the assurance that two new batteries would be put in the following week.

Irish Marine treats us like kings and queens… This is why we have referred and referred again your great company, great people and great service.

Andrew Maez

First time boat owner/buyer about 3 years ago. I had a lot to learn and had many first-timer questions (that many marinas acted as though they didn’t have time for). Worked with Joe Herzog. Despite the fact our first time purchase wasn’t a big ticket item for Irish Boat Shop, Joe took the time to answer all my questions and make sure I felt at ease with this purchase. We traveled almost 300 miles from South Bend to Charlevoix to buy the right boat from the right shop. Three summers later, hundreds of trouble free hours on the water, and our lil SeaRay has made us lots of memories. I’d highly recommend Irish Boat Shop!

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