Hear From some of our customers!
It is reassuring that the marine industry has someone available with your integrity and work ethic, and knowledge and capability that delivers a quality service on schedule. …enough said
Rick — Thanks for the professional attention that you gave to Satori (Shannon 51 Ketch) after her transatlantic passage, a season in the Caribbean, and a bout with hurricane Ivan. Her rigging and sails have never felt better!
“Zern Rigging is the real deal. They keep our boat sailing at top efficiency and speed. I can’t think of anyone who knows more about boats than Rick Zern”.
Rick is always a great source of advice. He has done rigging on my Pearson Flyer and acted as broker my broker for the purchase if a Morgan 43. It is obvious that he has the experience to back up his opinions.
My wife, Innes and I have always found Rick Zern’s work to be of the highest quality performed in a timely and always courteous manner.
Rick has handled the rigging on our Evelyn 42 and our Pyramid 45. He has always done what he said he was going to do on time and under budget. The reasons I like dealing with Rick is he will take his time and teach you about the job that he is doing on your boat. He is always willing to share his knowledge in order to make you a better informed sailor and sailboat owner.
Rick Zern’s boat work is the best there is. Whether the boat is large or small, racer or cruiser, Rick’s work does not fail. He gets it done on time and in budget. You can trust his advice. I have for over 30 years.
“As a Marine Surveyor, I’ve sailed on several vessels that have been fitted out by Zern Rigging, and feel a degree of confidence in the quality of their work. I’d go offshore in a Zern-rigged vessel; that’s as good a testament of their work as I can give.”
Thanks for all your hard work. You are very professional and prompt, and you do and outstanding job.
Rick –This is just a short note to say thanks. The job you and your folks did on replacing both of my masts and rigging on my boat was super. The patience you all showed in helping me make decisions, the right choices to save money and have the best rig possible for my needs and in working with my erratic schedule was just outstanding. Once again “Tramica”, our Cheoy Lee 41 Ketch, is under sail, and the rig is a dream, easy to sail, well balanced and strong. Thanks for a job well done and your great professional attitude. It was really a pleasure to work with folks like you.
As life long sailors and long time Pensacola residents, we have had the pleasure of sailing with RZ, utilizing his talents as a sailmaker and also having him do rigging work on our boats. Rick is an asset to the sailing community and with his extensive sailing back-ground, all of his boat work is first class. I would highly recommend anyone with any sail or rigging questions on boats of any size to contact Rick Zern for his professional help.
Prior to starting out on our life long dream of cruising we contacted numerous boatyards, lofts and rigging specialists throughout the southeast. We were in need of new rigging, sails and perhaps a new sailplan on our 20 year old sloop. After a years research we went with Rick Zern based on personal recommendations and the job proposal. We ended up with not only new sails, rigging and a sailplan makeover but solutions to a number of previous poor designs on our boat. We couldn’t be happier with the finished product that not only exceeded our expectations but came in under budget.
Zern Rigging has been a key ingredient in helping me create a competitive racing yacht. Rick and his crew installed and tuned a custom carbon fiber mast and boom on my Beneteau First 47.7, “Pretty Woman”. Zern Rigging also supplied and installed Custom Hydraulic cylinders and integrated controls for the backstay, inner forestay and vang, Three Speed Harken Winches and Vectran running rigging and Vectran Backstay. With this setup we were able to win the GORC (Gulf Ocean Racing Circuit), Pensacola Bay Championship Series and our class at Key West Race Week. With all of this success we then selected Zern Rigging to rig and tune our new boat “Wicked Woman”, a Farr 36 OD. We have enjoyed the same level of success with Wicked Woman as we did with “Pretty Woman” winning WFORC on our first time out. All of these successes can be attributed to the care and attention to detail that we received from Zern Rigging. We have had no failures and as a result no DNF’s!!! Thanks RZ and Crew!!
Rick — Thanks for your help solving my main sail issue with my Hunter 38.6. When I purchased the boat in 2002 I knew the main sail was going to be a challenge in that this 38.6 had a roach main and was larger than the other Hunter 38.6. After sailing a awhile and trying to manage securing the main I realized it was close to impossible to single hand. The sail was all over the boat and 2 hands were not enough. I was thinking about modifying the main to a furling system but as we spoke about that solution the cost and loss of sail efficiency (losing the battens) was not the way to go. Your solution of modifying my existing sale cover into stack pack and replacing the main sail track with a Strong Track has work perfectly. With your expert help handling the main is no problem for me now. If Hunter Marine had you designing their rigging systems they would have a lot more us putting the main sail back to bed with ease. Thanks!
Rick Zern is the best all around boat person I have ever dealt with. He is expert rigger, sail maker, boat-sailing consultant, broker, etc. His knowledge and skill in all of these topics is outstanding. Most important, his honesty and integrity are beyond reproach. I would be happy to provide personal reference to any interested party.
I first met Rick in 1985. I needed work done on my Ocean Voyager and Rick came highly recommended. He’s been my man of choice for any of my boats needs ever since. If he can’t do it, he knows someone who can. He’s honest, dependable and does good work. I’m looking forward to many more years of reliable service.