Noreast Marine Systems

I haven’t been able to figure out whether these people are incompetent or unethical — but they sure earn «unresponsive to customer complaints.» And probably, indifferent to their errors.
Four years ago, the Adler Barbour refrigeration on my 1981 Ericson 38 suddenly died — started blowing fuses. I called Noreast and they told me a mechanic visit to my boat 2 miles away would cost $ 180. The mechanic declared I had a «blown compressor.» Replacement would cost over $ 1000 for the hardware and a lot more for installation.
With a 30 year old boat, that was too much — so I began searching for a used replacement on eBay. I found one, had it shipped to me, and took it to Noreast Marine for testing. They declared it also had a blown compressor, which really angered the seller, because he swore it worked when removed from his boat, and suspected that Noreast might have blown it if they tested it without hooking it into the evaporator.
So for 2 years my girlfriend and I schlepped ice and made do as many boaters do. We were not happy. But I never gave up my quest — and kept Googling until I found Kollman Marine in Fort Lauderdale. Bob Kollman was, alas, retired, and no longer servicing marine refrigeration — but he had a full inventory of used Adler Barbour parts, 30 years of experience — and was totally honest.
«In all my years of servicing Adler Barbour, I’ve seen only two blown Danfoos compressors,» Bob told me. «Send me your control unit (small electronic box on the side of the compressor unit) and $ 40 and I’ll send you a used tested unit. You don’t have a blown compressor — you have a blown control unit. If it’s not the control unit, send it back and I’ll return your $ 40»
I did as Bob said, and sure enough, as soon as I installed the $ 40 control unit, my old Adler Barbour fired up and worked as well as it did the day it was installed in August 1981. And now, almost 2 years later, it’s still performing as good as it did then.
I wasn’t so angry at Noreast Marine at misdiagnosing my problem — incompetent mechanics are a way of life today — as I was at the effort and needless inconvenience of 2 years trying to put ice into a small box in which there was still an evaporator. I faxed them twice, called on them in person once («boss isn’t around») in a quest to get back my $ 180 for their useless and incorrect diagnostic visit. Never a response.
I’ve been in their shop 3 times, and I must admit that they clearly have been trusted by some people who spend many tens of thousands of dollars on custom yacht refrigeration systems. Perhaps they thought they were doing me a big favor by driving 2 miles to inspect my little boat unit, and that if I expected to be a customer of theirs, it had to be worth their while — and to be that, they’d have to replace what I had. Or perhaps they know only big custom yacht systems, and look at my 30 year old small boat system the way a Bentley mechanic would look at a 30 year old VW Microbus.
I’m in the medical business, and after 40 years of dealing with doctors and surgeons, I’ve discovered something about great diagnosticians — they pay as much attention to the people with small complaints as big ones. They are as comfortable prescribing aspirin and exercise as with a total knee replacement — whatever is in the patient’s best interest, after equally careful evaluations.
Noreast is the kind of doctor I’d never trust.
And so, my suggestion — if you have a problem with your small-​boat refrigeration, look up Bob Kollman on the Internet, and phone him and discuss your problem. And stay the hell away from these Noreast Marine people.