TOPIC: A Terrific Restoration Contact

Afternoon All,

Yesterday I drove to VA to pick up my Redfish. The boat had been delivered to the shop of a very competent boatwright in North, VA (close to the VA/NC border) who had decided he needed to thin his fleet.

The artist is named John Lombardi and his number is 804-725-8299. John spent numerous years building very high end yachts for people and is now concentrating on restorations. I saw a late 1950s Larson Sea Lion in his shop that will be nothing less than stellar when he finishes it in the near future. The quality of his work is fantastic. I looked down the sides of the Sea Lion and what I saw amazed me. Whenever you do any type of work on a large surface, you run the risk of waves or ripples. I closed my eyes and ran my hand across the work, nothing but smooth. I swear I didn't see or feel a single wave, ripple, anything but perfectly straight and smooth boat sides. The interior of the boat received the same level of care as the outside. You've got to see it for yourself to appreciate the quality and abilities of this true craftsman.

If you're contemplating an intense job, think about giving John a call. From the work I saw, you will never be sorry.

Sounds great- You didn't happen to get any pictures, did you??

I'm glad that you refer to him as an artist- That kind of work is a true art form. There are plenty who can do it, many that are good at it, but only a handful that are truly GREAT at it- looks like you found one of them!

-Andrew

Todd /The Board , so be it.

Hi Andgott,

I wish there were more people who could appreciate a well intended recommendation, as you have.

Yes, I did get pictures and will gladly send them to your email address, if you'd like. I wouldn't want to offend anyone else by providing proof of a man's great accomplishments and a fellow boater's beautiful boat.

Take care.

Ginger,

There was never an intent to be disrespectful to anyone here on the site. I had the great fortune to encounter a very talented man who can possibly help some of the members here keep their boats afloat. Please explain to me the difference between recommending a certain vendor for supplies and telling others about someone who may he able to help them? My intention was to help others as I have been helped, with advice and recommendations. If the board sees fit, they may remove both my posting and my membership. I thought this site was about helping other people who share a common interest in old boats. If that's wrong, I guess this isn't the place for me.

BTW - did you notice the ad for the book for sale? My question is did you write the board on behalf of every other author who wrote a boating book?

First off guy , you mentioned the ad for this book....( FIBERGLASS BOAT REPAIR MANUAL ) that is for sale on this site , and do you really think .......this site is going to let someone advertise for free , and if so.come on.......

I believe forum rules are against advertising your own business here without paying for an ad. Many of us pass along the info on people or companies that offer quality service, exceptional values on parts, etc. from time to time. Sharing your experiences or "finds" on good deals is not prohibited, it's encouraged. It's for the benefit of the other members, all done in the name of helping each other out. (Bad or negative experiences are also brought up from time to time, but more the exception than the rule.)

Just my two cents worth..............

i have to agree ,it was a high recomendation for a fellow restorer,and see nothing wrong with it,alot of guys dont know who to go to for a good resto.
there are alot of good to great restorers out there but they are hard to find in your area.
i have been here since around 2005,and im pretty sure that kelly and fg doesnt mind a restorer being mentioned for doing good work.
if im wrong please let me know moderators.
this comment was just in this thread and not put up in the advertising section,so wheres the harm.its no big deal,john

ginger i wasnt trying to be rude,but there are alot of great restorers on fg,and they post as they go along,and thats not advertising ,they want to show the work put into the boat,and the how to's of it.
hopefully the fellow mentioned will join and post pics of his progress of the boats he restores,it would sure help me,and others like me to now what to do.respectfuly john

Ginger, Are you a contributing member?
Shipley

it looks like someone edited their post.now it looks like we are picking on him,for no reason,kay sarra sarra,what ever will be,will be.john

Morning John,

My feelings exactly. All I tried to do was share a resource with the terrific crowd here on FG. As soon as I figure out how to post all the pics in one post without it posting multiple copies of one pic, the Sea Lion pics will be on. She's still in primer, but you can still tell the quality John puts into his work.

john_gibson wrote:

it looks like someone edited their post.now it looks like we are picking on him,for no reason,kay sarra sarra,what ever will be,will be.john

So John or should i say Doris ...............now is the time to start being rude, and if i want to edit my post so be it !

ginger,the only thing i did was point out that you were being rude,not only to todd,but to andreas and jim,on the "70's disco forum",i treat everyone here with respect and friendship,at least i try my best.
as for editing your post ,you have every right,and ill defend it,but you must have said something you didnt want the others to see since you deleted it.
the folks here are great folks and i thought you were rude to some of them,and i try to stick up for the good folks that are on this site.
i will treat you with respect also ,you have alot to give to the fg forums,all i ask is do it with respect to others.
ken and the others here if you think i steped out of line ,you have my true ,heartfelt apoligies,enough said from me,john

If someone make a note of someone who does good work, it shouldn't be a problem, unless they do it every two days.........

OMG GINGER...if you think you were being picked on, you should of been around here in 2004-2008. it was A BATTLE ROYAL. believe me i know. as a newbie with a few other northeasters we caused quite a stir with the established folks. i'll admit, a good share was our fault
with our NBR postings on a message board with die-hard "boat talk only" people. i have a lot of those threads saved and i look at them from time to time. yes.. it was quite the circus. ron

For the last year and a half I have been a complete Newbie to this industry in that I have never owned nor done a restoration to a FiberGlassic so to speak. Until then I had never done a lick of fiberglass work, I didn't know what end of a piston to pick up, I thought rechroming hardware was a simple thing to do, I'd never heard of a Dock Buster and I still have to think about the difference between 2 stroke and 4. Since then I have learned 2 things of import. One is that fixing my little piece of the Glassic world up is one hell of alot of fun and two is that FiberGlassics has been a true inspiration for me and I am sure for many, many others. I can only hope that at some point along the line that I can return the favor of passing along good and valuable information with absolutely no agenda whatsoever. Thank you.
Shipley

its not so much that that im saying ginger doesnt have a point,im just saying ginger could have said it alot nicer,and for todd i know he wasnt meaning to advertise for the fellow he spoke of,he was just trying to help.
now maybe the fellow he wrote about will come over to fg and advertise ,its a great place for getting your bussiness seen.
now lets go boating,john

Hey guys .................ha ha ha ha. and the bottom line is ........if you people dont care about Todd , posting a plug for someone who does Fiberglass repair either do i......... considering the man in question is not even a member on this forum........ thus the reason for the edit. Hey guy's you all really need to be a little less sensitive ..............ha ha ha and i really enjoy being the underdog minus that good Karma ..............John , what is the deal with your comment about being a little nicer ...........kinda like ........the pot calling the Kettle black ....yah think. Hey guy's if any of you out there need any help or advice doing fiberglass repair feel free to ask considering i have been in this business well over Forty plus years now doing Fiberglass repair working at many Boat Co's from Skater , PowerQuest , S2 YACHTS ,and Thompson Boats .THE END

Well, so we covered..being Rude...and we covered -kind of- standing for yourself...and edit and rewording post....

So, got one question? you figure out how to post picture yet ginger, dories knows how. I haven't seen any restoration pictures.

like i said ginger you have alot to offer the forum when it comes to boats,but im not going to keep this going,ill be a gentlman and and stop this craziness,and i will also put out my hand in friendship if this is over now.
enough said,john

and ofcourse Houston emerges egging on, yet again, another argument thread going south fast, how sadly predictable

Hi fellow Glassaholics.
Interesting thread.
Sorry I'm so late replying.

I'll answer a few questions:
Advertising on Fiberglassics is affordable, and you can discuss this with us by going here and sending an email:
www.fiberglassics.com/advertise.html

Regarding the sharing of resources, this is encouraged. So yes Todd, you're welcome to tell everyone about your new contact.

John, good show on extending your hand.
Ginger, I'm looking forward to seeing a new thread with some of your glass work. Always good to see tips n tricks from others as there's more than one way to skin a cat. Or a new deck. Or a new transom.

Fall has arrived, and with the cooler weather approaching we'll all likely spend more time here on FG together. In harmony.
Let's all agree this thread has run its course and move on.
That said, how about we all see each other on new threads in the relevant forums here on FG.

Thanks to each and all,
BillR

@ Mad props, really just stating a fact that there no pictures and maybe just maybe some folks would like to see some, it helps to visualize sometimes don't you think, or do you just sit on the porch and talk.

I would hope todd had his camera, and I don't see a problem with him mentioning the guy he met, I personally have mention one or two on here myself, one was a merc mechanic down on silver lake the other a boat restorer out in Hilton NY...

your crystal ball is due for it 100,000 prediction reset it seems, because your 100,001 was a total failure.

Sorry it took me so long. I've been busy trying to finish some work for my BA in history and get the fleet moved around. So wothout further delay, heeeeeeere they are!!! Its just five pics, but what a level of quality. I believe this will be one of the finest boats on the water when its done. Sorry for the darkness, the day was overcast. From the info John gave me, the transom was trashed and needed to be totally rebuilt. You'd never tell from the work I saw.

Nice, real sweet project...is that an old WWII airplane hanger for a shop...(envy..must be nice)

Huston ,This is for you , and everyone else , and i hope this will give you a general idea of the type of glass work i do . www.performanceboats.com/outdrives/51045-32-skater.html and if you l@@K in the wooden boat forum i also have a thread on the restoration of a 1960 Century Resorter . Hey guy's even with all your great Karma i have moved from Junior to Senior Boarder .

Here's hoping for a clean start with a fresh slate as suggested, let's get back to boats.

thank you bill,great pics todd,and mark is right ,lets get back to boats,and harmony as bill said,john

Morning Houston,

That building is right next to a marina but it did have that feeling and may have been moved from somewhere else to its present location. Anytime I get back in a hangar, I feel at home and it was "homey."

I can't wait until John gets to the finish end of the restoration. Even though he's about 6 hours south-east of me, I may make the drive again just to see the results and take more pics.

hee, hee, todd ,could you use john's last name,it sounds like you mean me,lol,and i dont want to take credit for someone elses work,lol.
although it would make me look good,lol jk

hehe.....