Port Barrington Marina

Recently we have had a tremendous amount of bad luck with our boat. Several aborted launch attempts to get it in our slip (fuel pump, etc), but finally last weekend we got it out ! We spent all day on the water, but our trim was stuck all the way up at the locks coming home. Something blew, so it would not work and we could not move. Ended up giving a tow, and called several marinas to see who could help us out.

Ended up that Port Barrington answered, and just said to swing on by. I waited until they brought in a customer's boat, and they quickly jumped in to take a look at it.
Turns out it was just another breaker I could not find on the engine. He reset it, got the trim working again, and shook my hand (called it a favor).

Nicest, most genuine and coolest people on the river. Highly recommend their integrity and compassion. Will plan on looking to shifting us to their marina in the future.

Great marina !! Super helpful staff. Great location and they also have winter storage which is really convenient.

First off, Jim at Port Barrington seems like a really decent guy, and was very accommodating in the service he provided. Down to earth operation. He was timely, took his time to even send me a picture of the boats storage location since I was concerned about the sun beating on an all black hull all winter, (since the boat was only a year old with roughly 30 hours I was pretty particular with its treatment). So I really appreciated that.

Getting the boat ready for pick up, he offers only a standard oil for summerizing after storage... eh...ok , with new engines, maybe be nice to have the option for semi synth or full synth, but fine, I drove out there an hour each way to drop off semi synthetic oil recommended by Mercury to ensure I don't run into any issues.... I left enough for almost 2 complete oil changes (because bottle come in odd denominations) and they kept the rest of the oil, which I had assumed he would have left with the boat. It was expensive semi synthetic oil, but okay- I wasn't going to split hairs here since he was a decent guy and he's priced very fairly in my opinion, and I thought the boat was well taken care of... (See below)
He had the boat ready on Friday- Again I was appreciative of him helping us get out on the water for the weekend. (Too bad it turned rainy and cold)
He called me complimenting the boat, saying they laid out towels, and took good care of it, removed shoes on the swim platform, so we are ready to go! I was sure I found my new go to place for winterizing storage and annual maintenance.

Now anyone who knows what boats cost these days to buy and maintain, can probably take a stab at the cost on a new Chaparral, and why I am a little anal about its care. On top of that the boat has an all black hull and all white interior- (maybe a choice I'd make differently in the future)

We get home and uncover the boat- Not only did all of the seats have feet prints, they were SHOE prints. The boat was walked across all of the white cushions with shoes on, and then LEFT that way for us to find it as we prepared the boat to take out. It's beyond me that anyone in the boating industry finds that acceptable to walk on white cushions on a brand new boat with shoes on ( let alone being on someone else's new boat with shoes on at all). Do I think Jim was walking on the seats? Absolutely not. But as a business owner myself, I also recognize you take ownership of anything that happens to a product or service under your care.

I contact Jim and let him know I was very frustrated by this, and his response was that "it must have been the guys that shink wrapped and I hope it cleaned up okay, it should" No apology, no what can I do to fix it or make it right...

First, I think- well shouldn't his guys who were summerizing have seen that since they would have been changing the engine oil, and cleaned it up then? Then I thought... does it matter if the owner isn't that worried about it, there's no way an employee would be (again I know this all too well). I think that was kind of the cherry on top.. If that's okay practice, what else is...I then also learn by the dealer, as well as most popular opinion the oil should be changed BEFORE storage, which I had suggested to him based on my previous services, and was told that's not the right thing to do... which adds slightly to my concern level, although I don't necessarily know if that's game changing.

I think Jim is a good, guy, I think Port Barrington is a decent shop, but I wouldn't take my brand new boat there again without the confidence of knowing the owner takes "ownership" of his operation, and when there's an issue, asks how he can fix it, not "I hope it cleaned up okay, it should" and doesn't hold his subcontractor accountable for an issue like that.

Quite honestly If I still had my 1988 Checkmate, I would bring there every year, but I can't possibly risk damage to our new boat, cosmetic or mechanical based on what I feel is a little bit of a loose attitude towards an issue and it resolution.

If you are looking for the best Marina friendly, caring ,family oriented. this is the one for you affordable and a great place to do your boating I can guarantee you will not find a better Marina. My family and I have been with Jim And Jt for the past four years and we love it here it's beautiful with the kindest down to earth people running it Jim And Jt are wonderful. We highly recommend if you are becoming boaters for the first time or are pros at it you will absolutely love boating here it's are happiness work hard play even harder.

These guys are straight, honest, and very fairly priced. Also they are Great Mechanics and run a solid business. I highly recommend them and they have helped me out of some pretty rough situations a number of times and are the best! The owner Jim and his son JT are top notch guys!

Highly recommend! The owner Jim and his son do an awesome job running this marina! I've referred many people to them because their pricing is fair & they treat you like family. We were 1st time boat owners & Jim thoroughly looked over our boat & advised us what it was worth & the things we'd need to do down the road on the boat as far as repairs which was very helpful. They were always prompt with having the boat ready for us when we got there & when I called them to pull us out of the water they'd be there waiting. Excellent service!

The reason I continue to boat on the Fox River/Chain O Lakes is because of Jim Forbes and the Port Barrington Marina!

I have kept my boat here at Port Barrington for the past 5 summers utilizing the in & out service. Jim Forbes, the owner of the marina, has owned and operated the marina forever. The land has been in his family for generations dating back to the late 1800's. The land has always been used for boating, whether it was building wood boats back in the day or maintaining them, as they are now.

When I am ready to go out on the water, I simply give Jim a jingle to let them know that I am making my way over. By the time I arrive, my boat has been pulled out of the shed where it is kept out of the elements in the summer and winter. I choose to take advantage of Jimmy pulling my boat in and out of the water, but customers are welcome to store their boat indoors or outdoors and drop it in on their own. I like when we are coming back in, we just give him another phone call and he is waiting with the trailer for us to pull onto.

The best part about the service here is when you have problems with your boat! We all know that something is bound to go wrong at some point with our water toys! Jimmy has well over 40 years experience on all types of engines.

I can remember my second time out where I had left the battery and blower on all night ...BIG MISTAKE!!...and he was right there to put in over an hour looking at it and got us back in the water on a busy Saturday

Over the years, I truly feel like the guys (Jimmy, JT & Terry) are part of my summer family. I look forward to the stories that they share and just how warm and friendly they are to anyone that comes out for a day on my boat. That sounds cheesy and corny, but it is the truth!

As long as I am boating, I will be using Port Barrington Marina!!

Jim and JT are very knowledgeable folks, I just started using their services this season. Jim goes above and beyond for his customers! Honesty and integrity goes a long way....very reasonable prices! I definitely recommend them, 5 *****

We've been using PBM's in and out service for few years now, and wouldn't consider any other marina. Yesterday our boat blew a fuel line and we were dead in the water on a Saturday night. A local boater was kind enough to tow us to another marina and Jim drove down and picked us and our boat up with the trailer and drove us back after closing hours! Thank you Port Barrington, Jim, and JT!

Jim and JT are truly amazing. These guys will go out of their way to make sure that the customer is happy. They have an endless amount of knowledge and I could not be happier with PBM. If you are deciding on a marina to store and/or service your boat, look no further!