Nautical Way of Life, LLC — Local services in Bartow

Update: 10/28/25,

Will be filling suit! Still no refund or contact. Attorney will take over!

Mr. Harrison, thank you for your response. I want to clarify a few points from my perspective.

I personally brought my boat key, wallet, and phone into your office when dropping off the boat. Your initial claim that the key was missing, and subsequent explanations, were confusing and unprofessional. I was forced to sign paperwork and pay in full before I was even allowed to see my boat or inspect anything.

You assured me that my boat would be fully inspected and ready by mid-week. Repeatedly, your staff provided conflicting information, and I was told on multiple occasions that no one knew what work was to be done. I was ultimately informed that you were on a cruise, which delayed the promised service without prior notice.

Per our agreement via text, the balance was supposed to be $140. You charged my credit card an extra $10, which I wouldn’t have minded, but your team then disabled the boat, disconnected wiring, swapped my batteries, and left the boat in a complete mess, with items thrown around and cabinets disorganized. You attempted to sugarcoat the damage, but the condition of the boat speaks for itself. I could provide pictures to show the state it was left in.

My review reflects my actual experience as a customer, including communication failures, mishandling of property, and unresolved refund issues. I remain open to resolving this professionally, but the facts of my experience stand as described.

Photos attached to show honest feedback!!

Secondly I suggest you remove your slander!

⭐️ Horrible Experience – Stay Away from Nautical Way of Life (Bartow, FL)! ⭐️

I would give this place zero stars if I could. I contacted Nick for a quote on my boat, and he told me it would cost $150 for the service. He assured me the boat would be fully gone through and finished by Wednesday or Thursday at the latest.

So, I drove my boat up to him. When I arrived, I went into the office with my boat key, wallet, and phone. Later, Nick and his staff tried to claim I never brought the boat key inside. Nick’s immediate response was, “I’ll just charge you for a new key switch and throw one on there.” I repeated several times that I had brought the key into the office. After going back in and looking again, suddenly the story changed—Nick and his worker claimed “the cat must have gotten ahold of the key.” Completely unprofessional.

The boat was dropped off with the expectation that it would be ready mid-week. When I called Thursday, the office staff told me they had no idea what was supposed to be done to my boat and that Nick never told them anything. I asked to speak with Nick, and when he finally called back, he admitted he had “forgotten” and said he’d have someone look at it on Friday.

By Monday, after Nick had promised me a call, I discovered he never had any intention of calling—because he was on a cruise. More lies, more excuses. By Tuesday, still nothing. Finally, by Wednesday, I got some vague explanation about issues and additional services being recommended. When I went in person to talk, Nick changed his story again and suddenly said the additional work wasn’t worth it—completely contradicting the paperwork and what he had previously recommended.

To make matters worse, I discovered that Nick and his staff had disabled my boat—wires were cut, everything disconnected, and my boat batteries were stolen and swapped out for bad ones. On top of that, my boat was left a complete mess. Items I had stored neatly were thrown everywhere, and my cabinets were completely disorganized.

After catching him in these lies, Nick promised via text message that he would refund my credit card for the $150. Unsurprisingly, that refund never happened.

⚠️ Bottom line: This business is a scam. Nick is dishonest, unprofessional, and untrustworthy. He makes promises he doesn’t keep, damages property, and even tampers with or steals parts off your boat.

👉 Do yourself a favor and stay far, far away from Nautical Way of Life in...

Took my boats to Nautical Way Life In Bartow Fl to have motors switched and to take a power pole off of one and install it on the other boat I waited about 4 weeks to get this service done then took him the boat when he called and said he was ready to do the work . He had the boats for about 3 more weeks before he started to do the work then he called me and said the drain plug had not been pulled (I have worked at two places that worked on boats and they checked the plugs) the boat filled up With water and they called me and said some wiring had been burnt (this melted part of the console and a place in the carpet by the dash. He called me and seemed frustrated that the plug had been left in the boat and I told him the boat was on his property and he was responsible for that and he said he would put on his check list so it wouldn’t happen again with anyone else He told me he would get the tracker done first which he did not and I picked that boat up and he started the work on the tracker ( I think it was about 2 or3 weeks later when he finished the Tracker so I picked it up and he showed me where it had burnt the hole in the dash when it had the short (before this I never had a problem with any fuses being blown) it was probably about two weeks after I got the boat back I tried to use the power poles and neither one would work . I took it back to him and he said that one pump was bad and the other one needed a circuit board and wanted about 1500.00 to fix that. After we had a disagreement about the hole job and he said to take the boat home and get somebody else to work on it. I have talked to another mechanic and he said the circuit board not working was probably it had been under water So after I have paid him 1500.00, now have a burn hole in my dash and neither power pole is working he wanted another 1500 to fix them (possibly on count of the water being in the boat) he told me to take the boat home and get someone else to fix it Would not recommend taking any boat to the Nautical way of Life to get any repairs or...

NWOL did an extensive amount of rigging on my recently completed 30' CC build which consisted of "hull only" meaning hull, leaning post, t top, and console. When NWOL got my boat there was no piping, wiring, holes, fasteners, or electrical components - nothing but a fiberglass hull. NWOL planned, designed, and installed everything from power supply and distribution, all pipe/valve/fittings layouts, complete Garmin electronics package including radar and AP, hardware including rod holders and trolling motor, lighting package including underwater lights, audio package, and much more. Why did I go with mom and pop in Polk County over someone like Outboard Specialties or one of the larger well-known rigging outfits on the east coast? It wasn't for convenience or price. NWOL might not have the fastest turnaround, they probably aren't the cheapest, and they might not have a multi-million-dollar climate-controlled facility. The simple reason was because I was convinced Nick (owner) had my best interest which, at the end of the day, he did and still does. If that's what you're looking for, I...