Eric’s Outboard Marine Service has opened a mobile service center and Contender Boats showroom at Black Point Marina, whose waterside location makes sea trials and service easier than ever for customers.
Founded by Eric Raistrick in 1986, Eric’s Outboard is among the top Yamaha dealerships and service centers in the country. Its headquarters in South Dade is also home to Eric’s Contender Boat Sales, dealer of high-end custom-made fishing vessels manufactured in South Florida.
The expansion at Black Point, Raistrick said, marks a significant step forward in customer care, convenience and great service for his company.
“To have a place out on the water is a huge thing to be able to offer,” he said. “We’ve always catered to clients whose boats are hard to get to the shop—we’ve provided trailers, trucks and a location to take the boats. We can still do that, but now we can offer this new option to the residents of Gables Estates, Gables by the Sea, Cocoplum and many other neighborhoods at this accessible waterfront facility.”
Eric’s secured a long-term lease at Black Point’s barn, with boat racks and a lift system that has been upgraded to accommodate the larger boats the company is known for servicing and selling.
Customers who need service need only make an appointment, bring their boat to the dock and let Eric’s do the rest. And for the duration of their service clients pay no daily storage fee, says Eric’s Outboard Chief of Operations Kelly Fullerton.
“The marina’s waiting for them,” Fullerton said. “They can just drop off their keys and say, ‘I’m with Eric’s.’”
Prospective boat buyers can also arrange to take Contender boats out on the water for sea trials, whether for purchasing a used boat or to develop ideas to custom build a new boat to their own specifications.
Contender Boats is a Homestead-based builder of custom tournament fishing boats. Customers have a say in nearly every aspect of construction; with Contender, you truly can build your dream boat.
“Customers love it,” Raistrick said. “Who wouldn’t like being able to pick the color, size, T-top, type of seats and leaning posts? The reactions I’ve gotten are great.”
A Yamaha Five Star Dealer and Authorized Service Center, Eric’s Outboard has the largest on-hand inventory of Yamaha parts and accessories in South Florida.
Eric’s offers a full range of services, from minor tune-ups to major overhauls, all of which can be done on premises or on location by mobile technicians. All technicians—including two Yamaha certified master technicians, of which there are only a handful in the country—receive ongoing training at Yamaha Marine University.
“We’ll go to your house, to your dock or to marinas all over Miami-Dade [County], the Keys and Fort Lauderdale,” Fullerton said. “Our customers are No. 1, and that’s how we built our business: by treating them like family.”
For information or to book an appointment, visit EricsOutboard.com or call 305-251-4067.
