By Tanya Rabe
I had heard that Horizon Shores was a good place to go to get your boat repaired: short-term berthing options, fairly priced marine mechanics, and beautiful areas to explore nearby. After four hours of sailing, we knew we were getting close. There were several moored boats scattered around, mangroves with buoys bobbing around them, masts from ships at dock, and sheds that I knew our boat would eventually see.
After checking in at the office and getting to our berth, we decided to go for a walk. We stumbled upon Horizon Shores Boat Sales and popped in to get an estimate on the worth of our boat, and to get some recommendations for repairs we could make and what vendors to use.
Luke, who owns and manages Horizon Shores Boat Sales, was a really friendly guy who was genuinely excited about working with us and helping estimate our repairs. The three of us walked down to the boat. After about an hour of chatting and looking over the inside and outside, we walked back to his office and discussed his opinions and recommendations. He said the boat was in pretty good condition, but needed a few things to make it more reliable, comfortable, and profitable.
Luke pointed out, for starters, that we needed to replace our engine mounts. He noticed a couple were rusted; if the mounts continued to weaken, then our engine could run out of alignment, which is very dangerous. Next, he suggested that we get the boat out of the water and get it sandblasted, epoxied and antifouled at Morgan Vine Marine. Our boat has a polyester gel coat and while our boat was ok right now, in the long run we would save our boat from environmental degradation if we epoxy it.
Next was the issue with the toilet. When we had the boat up on the hard at Victoria Point, we took the holding tank out and found a few rust spots, which were really weak. We could stick a screwdriver through with a small amount of pressure. We needed a new tank put in. Luke said that Marine Team was the place to go.
There were a couple of other things we wanted to get done, and by then we knew that Luke would know where to go and who to ask. First, we needed a new navigation system. While ours was ok, it was a bit dated and weathered. Luckily, right next to Luke’s business was Marine and RV Technology, which could help us find exactly what we were looking for.
In Marine and RV Electronics, you will find Eddy, who also runs Marinetronics in Hope Island and has more than 20 years of experience in the business. In the store, there were various products from companies such as Raymarine, Victron, Fusion, and Garmin. He told us how important it is to stay in touch with the ever evolving technological world. His confidence and knowledge was reassuring and I knew he was the person to ask about navigation and sound systems. Going through what we want from our devices and how much we want to spend, Eddy helped us work out what was best for us. We left happy and knew we would be back.
Our next stop was Morgan Vine Marine. Morgan specialises in fiberglass, boat repair, antifouling and more. We told him we wanted to get the boat out of the water, sandblasted, epoxied, and antifouled. He jotted some things down and asked us if we planned to get any other work done to it. We told him our plans and he said our best bet was to contact the riggers, and line up all the work for the same time. He was super helpful with quotes and made us realize that we needed to have our repairs all lined up before we got the boat out of the water. It would save us time and money. We knew, walking out, we would be back to set the plan in motion.
Our last stop was Marine Team, where we met Dave and Jane. They helped us figure out the plumbing and holding tank situation. They also offered fibreglass repairs, detailing, antifoul, and much more. Dave told us if we wanted to we could help them with the repairs so we could learn to do it ourselves. We thought that was awesome! He also gave us a few tips on where to throw our crab pots.
We reached the end of Luke’s list and were really excited about our repairs. Everyone we spoke to at Horizon Shores was super helpful and made us feel welcomed. I was happy to be there. The sun was setting over Moreton Bay and it was definitely time to open a bottle of wine and sit on the boat. We would put the plans in motion the next day, but for that afternoon, it was time to relax.
Published in print January-March 2023
