Brightside Marine Services

We took a 1960 Old Town runabout to Brightside for renovation and installation of an Elco electric motor with lithium batteries. Although the boat looked great after the restoration, it took far longer than it should have and we had numerous issues with the boat and the owner. We gave the owner $20,000 up front that was to be used for an Electric motor and lithium batteries however he used this money for other projects and then lied to us about why he didn’t have the batteries. We waited for more than a year after the restoration work was done for the purchase and installation of the batteries. At first he said ELCO didn’t have the parts due to the pandemic but then he admitted he lied and said he used the money for restoration work on another boat. He told us he could not purchase the batteries until he sold something. When Brightside did deliver the boat, it had never been sea tested, the steering cable was too long, the boat leaked, the lithium batteries malfunctioned, and the motor was installed so that it coulld gouge the transom if it was off center when raising the motor. It took Brightside over a year to fix the leak and they mucked about with the batteries for over a year but never fixed the problem. We eventually gave up on them, took the boat to a different shop and purchased brand new batteries. The work was done in less than 2 months. We paid Brightside about twice what the estimate was, but that can happen as you take a boat apart. Besides lying to us, the owner Shawn frequently shouted and hung up on us when we called him for updates. On the positive side, the boat looks good, the paint and varnish and renovation work appears to be OK. And the wiring for the lithium batteries and motor were done well. Some of the staff has changed since we took the boat there, so perhaps things have improved, but don’t pay them the last installation until you have tested the boat. No matter if they tell you they can’t make payroll without it. You need leverage.