Kettle Marine

Purchased a Mercury 450R outboard and had it installed on our 21 Liberator. Drove 14 hours from Virginia to have this work done. No regrets! First time doing business with Kettle Marine - saw the motor posted on Facebook - and closed the transaction via email and phone calls. Al Reeves, the sales representative, was very responsive and easy to work with during the sales process which provided a measure of comfort but we still didn't know what to expect on arrival with our boat at their facility. Was very pleasantly surprised pulling into the parking lot at how large and well maintained the facility is. Largest boat dealership we've dealt with to date. Very impressive facility stocked with hundreds of new boats, motors, et al. Our 4540R was waiting for us in a special Mercury display area off the main showroom floor and was absolutely gleaming, awaiting our arrival! We, of course, had to take several photos to capture the moment. But the best part was the courteous, friendly, professional, and conscientious team that immediately took our boat into the spacious and well equipped service area and began the work of installation. The installation work was led by Scott Bilda, their very knowledgeable and resourceful service manager. Scott personally owns and races a tunnel hull, so he was very eager to tackle this project, the goal of which was to significantly raise the bar on our LIberator's performance. As I reviewed with Scott what needed to be done, I explained that, after much thought, I had decided that I wanted an extra 2" of setback and provided them with a set of aluminum spacers I had purchased from Bob's for that purpose. Scott raised concerns about using spacers with the 450R and recommended, which I totally agreed with, replacing the Bob's jackplate they had ordered for the job with a new one having the additional 2" built in. They ordered the replacement immediately and had it overnighted to their shop for installation the next morning. Amazing service, both from Kettle and Bob's. Since they had never seen our boat and had no prior experience with our as-found rigging, they, as expected, encountered a few issues that required extra attention. They jumped on each one and either came up with an immediate solution or thoroughly researched and explained why there was no solution available. The big one was that my boat has a combination of a touchscreen display (Vesselview) and analog gauges for key engine parameters. Unfortunately, we discovered after the motor installation that the new 450R's have no support for analog gauges, unlike the 300R that had previously been on the boat. Absolutely no fault of Kettle but they researched it and identified possible options, none of which were feasible during our short stay in Wisconsin. Scott had also arranged to have our new Hill thru hub cleaver prop modified by their preferred prop shop. The prop had been labbed prior to our arrival, but the shop missed cutting down the hub as I had also requested. Scott personally drove the prop to the shop an hour away and had the hub modified during the second evening of our time there. Again, outstanding service! The work was completed on the third day and we fired up the motor for the first time. All functions were tested and found to be in good working order with the exception of the analog gauges previously mentioned. All accessories had been installed with great attention to detail and the routing of the fuel lines and wiring was very neat and professionally completed. Several of the staff gave my wife and I tips on what to see and do in the area while we were awaiting completion of our boat and, consequently, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Wisconsin. Cedarburg, a quaint, historical milling town nearby was a huge hit for both of us. The bottom line is Kettle Marine far exceeded our expectations and merits our highest possible rating. We highly recommend this dealership for any new boat or motor purchases as well as service work. You won't be disappointed! Dennis and Mary Ann Derr
Oct 18th, 2023

Awesome place to buy a boat!!
Oct 3rd, 2023

Wyatt and the service team have been very helpful in getting a new boater with an old boat on the water without issues.
Sep 25th, 2023

My first contact with Kettle Marine was via email. After several emails I made contact with Mr. Al via phone. After the emails and phone calls I determined the 3.5 hour trip to Kettle Marine would be worth it. Once I arrived at the front door I was greeted professionally by Mr. Mike. Mr. Al was with a customer and Mr. Mike walked me around the dealership. Once Mr. Al was done with his current customer he made contact with me. Mr. Al and Mr. Mike were able to answer all my questions and also gave me additional information. I also spoke with a gentlemen in the service department and I forgot his name, but he took the time to walk me through the service department and also answered all my questions. I would recommend Kettle Marine.
Sep 12th, 2023

Great experience, thanks Mike and Glen, everything was top notch! Will be back!!!
Sep 5th, 2023