Raymond Kidd found his love of boats as a kid growing up in Zimbabwa. His
father owned five boats so there was always lots to tinker with. He spent
most weekends and vacations with a boat on the water. After high school,
Raymond wanted to pursue the craft more seriously and after much research, landed @ AMI in Daytona, FL.

Once completing the program, he worked for Walker Marine which dealt with boats $300,000 and above. They closed their doors in 2006 and Kidd found his place at Reeves Marine as Head Technician the following 3.5 years where he worked purely on outboard motors. Seeing the writing on the wall, he moved to Bayou Outdoor Supercenter in 2009 and quickly learned how to work on additional marine motors and shortly was promoted to Shop Foreman.

As with most mechanics, he started doing odd jobs on the side and ended up joining up with Mr. Free who continued to encourage Raymond to take the leap and open his own business. The business started in February of 2014 with an official opening in April and once the word got out he started getting flooded with customers. Within a few short months, he realized he needed some additional assistance in the office so his father in law came out of retirement to help. Not long after that, he hired another employee who didn’t work out and eventually decided to bring his brother, Kevin, over from Zimbabwa. His business has now doubled in size.

Something Raymond is very passionate about, aside from boats, is that he doesn’t want to get too big in the service side because he strives for 100% satisfaction. At The Boat Shop, they want to create a superior marine service experience, from initial contact and throughout the “life” of your boat. He is a Certified Mercury Technician and a Certified Yamaha Master Technician. He’s (thirty-four) also continuing to get more re- quests for lake calls and considering having a dedicated mobile unit in the near future.

Their current offerings:

• Dockside Services – They can come to you!
• Complete Boat Detailing
• Custom SeaDek Installations – Official dealer for the area
• Valet Services – They’ll pick up and drop off your boat
• Early morning and late evening pick up/drop off times
• Service on all marine engine brands (model year 1995 or newer)
• Hassle free marine service schedule
• Boat Trailer Service and Repair

Have your boat winterized NOW!

Whatever your Marine needs,
The Boat Shop can handle it!