Looking for good shop in / near Hampton Roads, VA

I've been doing far more lurking than posting around here which happens to be in direct relation to lack of progress on my '71 V. Well, I'm officially back to restoring the old V and newly inspired. All it took was a trip to the boatshow! It was depressing to see how expensive they are especially since I saw nothing in terms of layout and design was nearly as appealing as my V. So, I'm back at it. At this point I'm just about ready to start begging for help to take the inner liner completely out of the boat. It's detached from the sides and all I have to do now it pop it off the stringers.

My current mindset is once that's done to have a professional replace the transom core as well as the stringers. I'm hoping since a lot of the manual labor is done it wont cost as much. I've seen lots of posts from V20'ers who are around the Hampton Roads area and I'm hoping some of you might have a few places you'd be willing to recomend.

[Airslot]

IF your willing to cross the bridge and drive another 75 miles up the shore, there is a guy down the street from me who does this for a living. His prices are reasonable and his work is very good. Call Perry Romig at 757-824-5580. I think it might be worth the trip.

Airslot

[Franco]

Hey Jeff, do you know where the U Haul place is on Va Beach Blvd in the Pembroke area is. It's just west of Independence Blvd. There is a place back there that does boat repairs, It's really close to Aragona Shopping center. he did the stringers in my V20. I think the name is Sunrise something. Call the parts dept at Lynnhave Marine and ask for Bill, I think he is the one that turned me on to them. They do excellent quality work at a fair price.

[garagenc]

I know another guy in that same area Franco is talking about. If you want let me know and I'll get his phone number.
garage:

[Kajun]

jeff..if ya need help popping off the top of it..let me know..i am free most weekends..i live in norfolk...also there is a guy on willoughby spit that does fiberglass work..i hear he is one of the best in the area and one of the most reasonable..... post this question on tidafish.com on the virginia board and you will get a ton of answers for the local area.

[msbhammer]

Jeff, you did so much work as it is. Keep going, you can do the work yourself I bet. Pleanty of guys here can walk you through each step. Parishht posted a topic stating West Marine has booklets on glass work. West System is easy to use. Hell, if I can do it, so can you.

IF your willing to cross the bridge and drive another 75 miles up the shore, there is a guy down the street from me who does this for a living. His prices are reasonable and his work is very good.

Thanks Air, I'll keep him in mind but I'm going to try to find someone a little closer. The trip alone would would cost 50-75 bucks between gas (I was dumb enough to buy a jeep with a Hemi) and CBBT tolls.

There is a place back there that does boat repairs, It's really close to Aragona Shopping center. he did the stringers in my V20. I think the name is Sunrise something

Franco, could the place be called Rising Sun? Not sure if that's the one your referring to, but they are located off Holland road between Lynnhaven pkwy and Rosemont Rd.

Garagenc, I have a place I want to check out next week, I let yall now how that goes

Kajun, careful what you offer, even with pizza and beer (or whatever your perferred drink may be..ie water, juice, etc.. ;) ) it may not be enough! :o

Hammer, I do plan on doing alot of it myself, but for structual stuff I'd feel more comfortable letting someone who KNOWS what they are doing (vs me who just thinks I might know what I'm doing...) get the job done right the first time. I have a...umm...."gift" for figuring out I screwed something up at the most inconvenient times... :-[ Besides, all the work I've done so far has been with hammers and prybars... ;D

Anyway, there's a place called Cobb's Marine over by Little Creek Amphib base I'm going to check out next week. The bonus to that place is they have space for boat owners to do their own work as well as techs who can do the work. Plus possible access to lifts!!! That'll make taking the inner liner out sooooo much easier!

[msbhammer]

Sounds good Jeff. A place where you can work on it and then have the pro's step in. Keep us posted. SHe's looking good !!.

[parishht]

Here is a link to the topic.

http://www.wellcraftv20.com/cgi-bin/...0906183;start=

That is great to have a place with techs around to help out
while doing your own work.

[Franco]

Yeah man, Rising Sun it is, I left the area a couple of years abo so the may have moved also. I really like what they did for me!