Three Lakes Steel

My tilt and trim went out on my 1989 pontoon boat (40hp Johnson outboard).  I couldn't get the hydraulic cylinders to repair it as they don't make them anymore.  A local Outboard Marine shop told me they could get an aftermarket hydraulic unit that would work with any outboard and install it.  I also needed the transom rebuilt on the boat, which required new steel and quite a bit of welding.  The marine shop quoted me a price of $1350 for the repairs.  Before giving them the OK to go ahead with the work, I checked with a friend and he told me to check with Three Lakes Steel in downtown Three Lakes, Wi.  I did so and they said they would do the work for $1125.00.  I took it there and they ordered the parts, did the necessary metal fabricating and had the job done in 4 days.  A couple of weeks later, the trim stopped working so I called them and they told me to bring it back in. They were swamped at the time (this was a Wednesday), but Karl (the owner) said he would do his best to look at it and get back to me by the end of the week.  He called me on Friday and told me it was ready to go.  I asked him what it was and he said the unit came with its own toggle switch but they thought I would prefer to have them hook it up to the original tilt/trim switch that was on the side of the accelerator handle.  That old switch had given out, so they mounted the toggle switch that came with the unit into and old cigarette lighter that no longer worked anyway and was in a handy spot on the dashboard.  I asked him what I owed him and he said "No charge".    I gave him a $20 bill and had to insist that he take it.