I think the pros involved in fishing and boating tend to be better about fulfilling those criteria than most professions. I’ve got a personal list of “The Best” pros I’ve dealt with in decades of fishing and boating. Now I’ve got a new addition to the list: Mike Flavin, owner of Master Repair in Stuart. 

I had been hearing about Mike and Master Repair since moving back to Florida eight years ago. The participants on the various forums on Florida Sportsman’s website spoke glowingly of him. When I bought my little Hewes Redfisher a few years ago, I began to think about how I wanted to eventually outfit it. It already had a trolling motor installed by Master Repair. I was thinking about a push pole and a Power Pole (more about both of those items in another post) and, judging by the forum chatter, Master Repair was the “go to” place to get those things done. Trouble was, Mike and Master Repair were down in Fort Lauderdale and I would have to borrow a trailer to haul the boat all the way down to him. It just never seemed to be the right time to undertake that kind of project.

Then a year or so ago I was pleasantly surprised to learn on the forum that Mike was shifting operations from Fort Lauderdale to Stuart. Now, Stuart is a whole lot closer to Vero Beach than Fort Lauderdale and when Christmas came around this year I decided I had been a good boy and needed a reward. I called Mike just before the holidays to inquire about how to get on his work list and how to best get the boat to him. “I’ve got a trailer you can borrow and you can just keep it over the holidays,” he said. “We’ll be back at work the day after New Year’s Day and if you can get the boat to me then we’ll get started on it.”

Master Repair specializes in outfitting flats boats and Mike has seen them all. The moment I pulled in with my boat he looked it over, noticed that the foam grip on the trolling motor he had installed two years earlier was badly frayed and said he would replace that at no charge. He also noticed that the forward navigation lights hadn’t been sealed and would eventually become contaminated with salt water. That, too, went on the work list. Then he outlined the general plan for installing the push pole holders and the Power Pole.

A week later I went back to Stuart to retrieve my boat. The push pole was in place, the Power Pole was mounted on the transom and the boat was immaculate. Mike and his crew had debated the exact positioning of each item to insure that the push pole had enough bend in the holders to keep it firmly in place while keeping the holders out of the way of my bare feet when I was fishing. The push pole also was positioned to clear the Power Pole when I actuated it and both the push pole and the Power Pole were positioned to give me the clearance to hook up the lift wires for the davits on which I store the boat. It was a perfect installation.

I had told Mike that if he would drop me and the boat at a nearby boat ramp I’d drive the boat home. “That’s a long ride,” he said. “Why don’t you take my truck and get the boat up to Vero on the trailer?” It was a tempting offer, but it was beautiful day and I didn’t mind a two-hour boat ride. The last thing Mike said as I set off homeward was that he wanted me to call him and let him know if everything worked correctly.