About the shop
Owner-run boat repair in Clearwater, FL
Harper Marine Services LLC is a hands-on boat repair and restoration shop on N Highland Ave. Thomas Harper does the work himself, and that is the whole point.
- 5.0-star ratedOn Google, from Clearwater boat owners
- Owner-runThomas does the work himself
- Locally ownedOne shop on N Highland Ave, Clearwater
- Free estimatesHonest scope before anything is cut
Thomas's story
Thomas grew up around Gulf Coast boats and spent years learning the trade the long way — structural glasswork, transoms, decks, fuel systems and finish work, on everything from flats skiffs to offshore center consoles. Harper Marine Services grew out of that: a small, owner-run shop where the person who quotes your job is the person doing it.
Why boat owners keep coming back
The shop has a 5.0-star rating on Google, and the reviews say the same thing: the work is done right, the price is fair, and the boat comes back better than it went in. One customer spent a full year on a complete rebuild of a 25' Hydra Sports — transom, floor, new gas tank, extensive fiberglass and a full interior and exterior paint job.
“I worked with Thomas for a full year on a complete rebuild of my 25' Hydra Sports. He redid the transom and the floor, put in a new gas tank, did extensive fiberglass repair, and painted the entire boat inside and out. Very happy with the results.”
How the shop approaches a job
Most boats arrive with a symptom rather than a diagnosis — a soft spot underfoot, water in the bilge that keeps coming back, a transom that flexes when the motor is trimmed. The first thing that happens is a real inspection: coring gets probed, rot gets traced to where it actually stops, and you get told the full extent before anything is cut. If the honest answer is that the boat is not worth the money, you hear that too.
From there the work is done in the order a boat should be repaired — structure, then systems, then finish. Stringers and transom laminate go back to solid glass, fuel tanks get set and bonded properly instead of patched around, and paint goes on a surface that has actually been faired. On long projects you get photo updates as it moves, which is how a year-long rebuild stays something you can follow rather than something you just wait on.
- No rotating crews. Thomas is the one under the boat.
- Honest scope. You hear what the job really needs, including when it is not worth doing.
- Structure first. Nothing gets glassed or painted over a problem to hide it.
- Local. A Clearwater shop serving Clearwater, Dunedin, Largo, Palm Harbor, Safety Harbor and the rest of Pinellas County.
The work we take on
Full rebuilds and restorations, transom replacement, floor and deck replacement, fiberglass repair, gas tank replacement, boat painting and general repair and maintenance.
Want to talk it over with Thomas?
Call the shop or send a few photos. Thomas will tell you what the job actually takes.