A new boat supply resource

[Timm R Oday25]

In what seems to be a never ending quest for our boat to be the best version of itself ,
I stopped in a new to me Marine /RV store .
We here in Wisconsin don't have much to choose from when it comes to boating supplies .
Our choices are West Marine ,or the local pontoon boat- bass boat dealer ship .
The sole exception has been Kendor Marine on the very south side of Milwaukee.
There they sell lot's of supplies to repair or build any kind of boat you might think of.
The store I went to yesterday is called Supreme Marine and they are located on the western side of Milwaukee.
The resell a lot of boat makers over stock and out of fashion parts .
New in the box VHF radios ,breaker panels from Tracker and Ranger bass boats .
You get the idea . You have to know exactly what you are looking for ,or know that you can make something work.
I picked up 40 feet of number 6 tinned wire for $20.00 .
I noticed they sell obscenely thick fiberglass very reasonably .
Lot's of stainless steel sunbrella brand Bimini's for $200 or so .
If you are in the area ,they are worth a stop

 

[higgs]

Kendor flashes me back over 20 years ago when I sailed out of Racine. It was a great place to snoop around back then!

 

[Barnacle Bill]

Most marinas have stores with lots of supplies to buy and if they don't stock the item you want, they can order it up for you. Big box stores also sell new stuff. A boatyard might have some useful used stuff. I had a boatyard business for many years with a store. Some of my customers came in looking for parts for an item and not having to buy the new whole damned thing from the likes of the big box stores. We were more like (and a marina the same) a hardware store where we could get you back and running without having to pay big bucks to start from scratch because you couldn't get a part from the BBS. Fore example, someone might have dropped the rubber O-ring for a Metz VHF antenna in the water. You go to WM and all they could do is sell you another antenna. We had the replacement o-rings in stock. As well as the stainless antenna, if that got lost, etc. The list goes on.

 

[jdhohmann]

In my neck of the woods, we only have a couple marine supply stores, the rest are online, but my question is, Where in the heck do you buy the used boat stuff, you know form all the insurance right-offs from damaged boats. I never have any luck finding where this equipment is.
Any help would be appreciated..