DR Marine alternatives?

[Brianl289]

Hello everyone,

I am trying to finish up my DS1 restoration and placed an order with DR marine a few weeks ago. I requested some help choosing some parts and the owner called me about a week later to discuss and send a quote, but never got it. I've called and spoke with what I am assuming is a receptionist or office manager and asked for follow up a few times but I never heard back from the sales person/owner and I've talked to to her probably 3 times now over this time period. I am not sure what else to do but try and find another parts source as its been about a month now. I currently need quite a bit of OEM parts and other items like lines and misc rigging parts.

Does anyone have a different source for oem parts? Thanks!

-Brian

[tomodda]

Brian:

Rudy is usually great to deal with. First step I'd take is call them back, specifically tell them that you've been trying to reach Rudy, your whole story, and you're looking at other vendors. Want to work with him, but... etc, etc.

That being said, except for standing rigging (mast, boom, stays) and centerboard parts, you can easily find what you need elsewhere. I'm very partial to R&W Rope on the East Coast and Fisheries Supply on the West Coast. But I've sourced parts from everywhere ... Ebay, England, Geneva, Germany (Toplicht Schiffsausrüstung, gawd bless them!), Craigslist, boat recyclers (nandjmarine), swap meets, my local metal fabricator, you name it. Parts scavenging is half the fun! Google is your friend....

Good luck,

Tom

[GreenLake]

What Tom writes.

[tomodda]

I bought my rudder (still going strong!) out of some guy's trunk, cash. Friend of a friend of some guy at the local sailing club. What do you do till you find your "perfect part"? You make do.... my old rudder was screwed and glued into the rudder cheeks (thank you, past owner!). I lived with it but it would come off the pintles if I grounded, not good. The trick is to know where to cut corners/make do and where not to, here's where experience helps.

#1 rule, DON'T SKIMP ON YOUR STAYS. The stays hold up your sails, the mast is just to keep your stays and the sail track up in the air. #2 Rule, make sure your boat floats. Almost everything else is negotiable.

ALMOST everything else..... the spreaders, for instance, are really part of the stay system, you need strong ones and the right length. This to say think carefully about what you're doing, where you are using non-OEM parts. Sometimes you can get better than OEM (Rudy's re-enforced aluminum spreaders are great!), sometimes you'll soon regret your choice (cheap Chinese snap-shackles). Don't hesitate to ask for opinions here on this forum, but realize that they're worth exactly what you've paid for those opinions. Do your own research, testing, and thinking.

Anyway, call Rudy again.

Tom

[Brianl289]

When I spoke to Rudy he was great, very helpful and very knowledgeable, overall really great experience. But that's where it has left off unfortunately. I have done what you suggested about 3 times now, so I was not sure where to go next. I will keep trying!

He was very helpful because I basically told him what I had and what I needed and he filled in the blanks. Really excited to get the boat up and running since I had to put it on the back burner during the pandemic. It's all painted up now so the parts are all I need to set sail. Getting close and really excited to finish her up.

[GreenLake]

It's so unusual, one wonders whether there's some issue. If you get some person on the phone again, you might do a query about general circumstances.