Sources for Boat Parts
After a couple of hours and a wallet-busting visit to Defender today, my thoughts turned to sources for boat parts, because it’s not only about the biggies. Sure, you can go to Defender or West Marine. There’s also Hamilton Marine (based in Maine) and Fisheries Supply (based in Seattle, Washington). Jamestown Distributors, once THE place to buy fasteners and quickly becoming a place for paints and such. Is that all?
Any guesses as to what the big purchase was today?
No. Of course not. What follows is a list of some of our favorite places to source materials for boat projects, whether parts or supplies.
The local hardware store. Hurds, in Deltaville, is part of the True Value chain, with an incredible selection of marine paints and epoxies, at fabulous prices. That it’s a small local establishment with a knowledgeable and helpful staff is part of the appeal. Now that we’re in Maryland, with a land base in Centreville, we’ve found the same at the local hardware store here (an Ace). So first off - check your neighborhood spot!
Ebay. We’ve found excellent marine products at various vendors on Ebay, including a lot of our electrical components and plumbing parts. I’ve written a blog post on how to be a savvy Ebay shopper too.
Hodges Marine. Quickly becoming our second (after Defender) place to check to run a price check, Hodges Marine has been the lead source for a lot of stuff lately, and not just electrical items. The tiller pilot we bought before the Pelagic, the Andersen winches. The radar mount, for example, was half the price of what we found elsewhere. We got Mischief’s new big bilge pumps there too.
GPS4US is where we found the new toilet, for a couple of hundred dollars less than anywhere else. Bizarre, I know.
There are more mundane sources, of course. Lowes and Home Depot, for construction/templating materials like plywood, pvc, and Formica. They also can carry a good selection of stainless fasteners. Amazon for little things.
Boat parts don’t always have to carry a “marine” label (though sometimes that’s definitely the way to go). Similarly, you don’t always have to go to a known “marine” store to get those parts!