Consignment stores match good old parts to new old boats
Issue 77 : Mar/Apr 2011
Let’s say a part on your boat needs to be replaced. Perhaps the fuel gauge isn’t working. You poke around online for a new or used one. Maybe you’re lucky enough to find one the exact size and style of the gauge that’s not working. But buying something online has downsides. Wouldn’t it be nice to locate a replacement item in a store where you can first look it over before purchasing it?
I had a couple of days of slack time on the East Coast recently before heading home to Michigan and used the opportunity to poke around in a few marine consignment stores. I made several phone calls before heading east. I found a couple of interesting prospects and a few numbers that just rang and rang — the sale of boat parts, especially used parts, is a tough business; many stores are no longer around. However, I came away with two great resources for the do-it-yourself boater: Nautical Traders in Salem, Massachusetts, and Marine Consignment in Wickford, Rhode Island.
Nautical Traders
On Boston’s north shore, in an old-school New England neighborhood where the curbs are granite, is a treasure. In a large white building on State Route 1A, between downtown Salem and Beverly Harbor, you’ll find Nautical Traders.
Linda Corbett owns and runs the shop with help from her husband, Captain James Corbett. The day I was there, Captain Jim was manning the store. As I asked a few questions and tried to stay out of the way, a customer came in and said he needed a fuel gauge. Rather than rack up a quick sale and send the man on his way, the Captain asked, “What makes you think that your fuel gauge is bad?”
The customer explained that it had quit working and he had decided to replace it. Captain Jim described how to test the gauge. “Cross these wires, but not these. If the gauge is bad, the needle won’t budge; still good, and it will read full,” he said. Sure enough the gauge swung to full. Captain Jim sent the customer off to test the boat’s wiring and the tank’s sending unit.
Nautical Traders is the size of a neighborhood hardware store. As you walk in, you’ll see a counter running along the left-hand side all the way to the back. As well as a great selection of all types of surplus and salvage parts, you’ll also find new marine items here. Much of the Corbetts’ inventory is surplus from manufacturers or from marine stores that have closed. Shoes and clothing items with a very good selection of foul weather gear are on display in the center and a large area of nautical gifts and antiques occupies the right front corner. The Corbetts have rented some of their high-quality antiques to movie-production companies for use as props.
The front of the store by itself is like a candy store for any boater, but a doorway past the counter leads to a warehouse area with a loft. Stashed in there are yet more treats for the do-it-yourselfer. This room is mostly surplus with some salvage and consignment items. There are inflatables, kayaks, fenders of all sizes, ports, benches, fighting chairs, stoves, pulpits, masts, booms, rigging, lines, and on and on. The Captain showed me a couple of bronze parts that were a mystery even to him, but he remains convinced of their value. “Someday,” he says, “somebody is going to come in looking for them. And we’ll have them.”
A great highlight of any visit to Nautical Traders is the Corbetts themselves. They have been in the business for 20 years and they are boat people. Former liveaboards, they’ve been there and done that. In addition to their large inventory of quality surplus items, they offer a wealth of knowledge and experience and can help customers with most onboard systems. Captain Jim has a background in electronics design and ran a marine service company for many years. He and his crew did annual maintenance and repairs on hundreds of boats in the area. You’ll likely get an electrical diagram or some other sketch with your purchase.
Nautical Traders has parts for power and sail, new and used, and — amazingly in this day and age — offers tool rentals. They have prop and shaft pullers, temperature sensors, moisture meters, and crimping tools.
I suspect that once you’ve experienced the selection and service at Nautical Traders, you’ll be hooked. Captain Jim told me of a Greek sailor who comes to the U.S. a few times a year on business but doesn’t consider his U.S. visit complete if he hasn’t made a stop in Salem to check in with Linda and Captain Jim at the store.
Nautical Traders is open seven days a week in summer and six days in winter.
Marine Consignment of Wickford
Do you ever take a hard look in your storage unit or that corner of your garage piled high with other boat stuff? When was the last time you were able to park both cars in there? Did you ever consider selling some of the spares you still have from two boats ago?
Marine Consignment of Wickford, in Rhode Island, is just the place you need. They will sell your unwanted marine items for you. Most of their inventory is quality used parts from individuals. The business has moved from its former location in the shipyards and is now in a bigger, better space the size of a grocery store. The Wickford store is easily accessible south of the intersection of Interstate 95 and State Route 4. Sam and Kathy Angelini bought the business in 1998 and now have a location in Mystic, Connecticut, as well.
While I was there talking to Sam, a man came in. From the knees up, he would have blended in with any crowd of New Englanders with his slightly tattered sweater and expensive-looking chinos. However, he was still wearing his sea boots. He brought in a couple of items for consignment. Just standing there, trying to stay out of the way, I could tell he was a regular. He was horse trading for some parts he needed with parts he no longer wanted.
Just inside the front door you’ll find dinghies and kayaks and inflatables. Past them is a selection of line and chain and pulpits. In the back are anchors and electronics. The center of the store is a veritable toy store of fi tings and blocks and cleats and other hardware. Farther on is an area of stoves and water heaters. The far left wall has engine parts and outboards. Way in the back are charts and books and nautical knickknacks. There is plenty here for powerboaters and sailors alike.
Marine Consignment uses great software that tracks customer wish lists. When a “new item” comes in and is entered into the computer, a customer who’s looking for a similar item can be notified. The website is constantly being improved and it includes an online catalog. The whole crew has a breadth of marine experience and even includes a rigging specialist.
Marine Consignment is open seven days a week and shipping is available.
So, before you buy new or go online to search, consider the extra value that comes along with buying parts from a marine surplus store. These establishments are unsung resources of knowledge and expertise. Not only are good parts available for your boat for less money, you can brag that you’ve been recycling and reusing.
Todd Townsend , a sailor and writer, spends his free time working on his Cape Dory 28. He enjoys the support of friends and family like his dad, who retook the Nautical Traders photos.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
