Reel Southern Marine, LLC

James is extremely knowledgeable and is absolutely great with his services! His prices are more than fair and the work he has provided for my customers is top notch! Over 20 customers that are completely satisfied with his work and communication! The only marine mechanic that we trust in our marina with our customers!

After telling the mechanic were the problem was he still looked for an hour in other places. When he finally looked where I told him to he found the wires that had been chewed by the mouse that got into the center console by chewing its way in through the hole that all the wires run through. 1 hour later and it was fixed. I'm a master mechanic and was a racing crew chief for 21 years so most of the time I know what the problem is. Had 2 operations on my back so I didn't fix it myself. All an all he did a good job on the splicing of the wires. Thanks

I'm very particular and it usually requires a memorable service or experience that I feel compelled to write a review, good or bad. This is one of those great experiences. I can't say enough about how awesome James is when servicing my pride boat, a 2018 50th anniversary limited edition Ranger 521L ICON. Having two boats I always find getting marine service is tough enough, but getting great trusting service is rare. This was my first experience getting it here after recently moving to Hernando County. I had two issues one with my Mercury outboard and the other with my trolling motor. The solution to my Mercury turned out to be an easy one and he didn't hesitate to point it out while the trolling motor issue took a seriously skilled technician. He dug in and pulled the entire unit apart, identified and spent the time explaining to me the two compound issues between shorted out components in the pedal and also uncovered then repaired stressed connections to the bow GPS node. He hunted down and ordered the exact Minn Kota parts needed, came back days within getting them in and repaired the entire thing in hours of his on-site return. He kept me updated on status and was always responsive to my questions. My Ranger is back in 100% flawless operation and I can't be happier with his professionalism, passion and highly skilled work. I highly recommend.

James has an incredible customer-service attitude and a high degree of excellence in the way he does his work!

After learning that my former marine shop no longer worked on my engine, I was referred to James by my marina. This ended up being a god-send. No more waiting for the shop to have a trailer available to come pick up my boat...James comes right to the marina.

My first call with him was for the engine running rough...making some funky noises and lost power. I had issues with my injectors. He gave me a few options on how to resolve it, including finding a rebuild that saved me thousands of dollars.

Later, when I had wrecked my lower unit, I called on him again. Again, he came through, able to locate a rebuild that saved me thousands of dollars. (I also had a friend looking for me, who ran a boat rental service...James was able to find a part that would be available in a week while my friend could only find parts that were months out.)

Lastly when my oil reservoir warped and started leaking, he was there again...had me back on the water in under a week!

A couple of things to note:

1. Communication - I really appreciate it when a vendor over-communicates. James sends detailed pictures of all the issues he sees and provides updates on what's going on. His invoices are incredibly detailed, which I appreciate as it will help me with my record-keeping on the maintenance.

2. Professionalism - he runs the business like a business, not like a hobby or a side-hustle. Electronic scheduling of appointments let me know exactly when he's be at the boat. (Useful to tell the marina when to put it on the maintenance rack.) Electronic invoicing and payment processing made it easy, too. Seems a lot more secure than reading out my credit-card over the phone for someone to write down and run later (like I experienced at other places).

3. Customer Service - he always treated me like I was his friend he was trying to help. He knew when I was expecting to have company come use the boat, and when he could, would hustle or rearrange so my boat would be ready on time.

I can't say enough about James and Reel Southern Marine. I would highly recommend him.

James did amazing work and was not afraid to tackle the job! James has the knowledge, experience and correct tools needed to install the custom exhaust on my 2021 Sea-Doo RXP. The job was done professionally and extremely clean and when finished it looked like it was done from the factory. Couldn’t be happier highly recommend him for all your marine services.