Thanks Absolute Powersports!

I want to take a moment to recognize some fine work done by Kevin Krumenauer and his shop, Absolute Powersports in Chippewa Falls WI.

I met Kevin this spring, as he was the winning bidder for my guided trip on Lake Wissota to benefit the Brandon Rolen Foundation. We got to talking, and I discovered that Kevin owned a shop in town that did all sorts of small engine and trailer repairs. So, as a thanks for his generous contribution to the BRF, I decided to throw a little business his way and get my trailer bearings cleaned and repacked…..after ignoring that bit of service for, oh, 3 years or so.

Turns out that Kevin works on more than just trailers and small engines. He’s also a boat geek, and runs the same boat that I do (Fishhawk 1750). He knows that boat, and many others, inside and out. So, I’m going to dedicate this thread to my recent service experience with Kevin, and show you what Kevin was able to do for my trailer AND for my boat.

First of all, Kevin did a great job replacing my trailer bearings. He didn’t even scold me too badly for ignoring them for so long. The bearings were shot, and Kevin packed and replaced them. Not only that, but he came to the landing later that day, after I had trailered the boat away, to make sure that they were sufficiently lubricated and that the lug nuts didn’t need tightening. Mind you, this is 9:30 at night, and here comes Kevin with his tool bag as I’m cleaning up my boat for the day. When was the last time you received that kind of personal service from your shop?

I was SOOO happy to have this work done before trailering 6 hours (each way) for the FLW league tournament up in Bemidji. And yes Kevin, I will make sure to bring the trailer back to have the bearings cleaned and repacked on a regular basis from now on, I promise!

During the course of our discussions this summer, Kevin and I have talked about strategies for keeping fish alive in livewells, particularly in a tournament setting. Kevin offered a recommendation….install a timer on my livewell pump so I can have the pump run for a minute or two every 5 minutes, rather than constantly flushing out the water in the well. My fishhawk has a pump that is either on or off, with no timer. I tend to ice (and now oxygenate) my livewell water, so I don’t want it to be constantly be flushing through. At the same time, I need some new water coming in, to add more oxygen and to remove fish wastes.

We decided to have Kevin install a timer on my livewell pump. He wired it in, did a perfect install, and the timer worked like a charm up in Bemidji. I filled my well early in the day and then flipped the pump switch to timer. I never had to worry about fresh water for the rest of the day. You can see the switch (labeled well, for dummies like me) here in the middle of my console switch bank.

While Kevin was working at my console, me made another recommendation concerning my locator. As you can see, I run a relatively heavy LCX-25C at the helm. That heavy unit shudders and shakes something fierce when I’m running down the lake, even in a light chop, because its RAM mount is just stuck into the relatvely flimsy console plastic. Kevin runs a 37C, and had excellent results by mounting his RAM ball on the gunwale. I admit to being skeptical, but I had Kevin move my system out from behind the screen out to the gunwale, and after a couple of weeks of running the boat this way, I have to say….I LOVE IT! Not even a twitch up at Bemidji, even in some stiff breeze and “enhanced” walleye chop on event day. The pump timer and the new console electronics mounts are both winners!

One last thing…..during our trip together, Kevin asked if I had done the rigging for my bow electronics (X102C), to which I proudly answered, yes. I had run the power wires up to the bow from the console by running them through a piece of white conduit, really just some plastic water pipe, and hanging the pipe from the underside of the gunwale. Functional, yes, but reliable or visually appealing? Definitely not!

Kevin took care of this for me too. He snipped out my old wiring and ran new leads inside the gunwale where they are protected from the elements and from fishermen. Here’s a picture of the finished bow electronics install.

So, in closing, I would like to recommend that you check with Kevin at Absolute Powersports (715-723-7705) for your next service project. Kevin services ATVs, scooters, and 3-wheelers for your upcoming hunting season needs. He also services trailers of all sorts and personal watercraft (don’t hold THAT against him!). And, of course, he does a great job boat rigging. Kevin has earned my repeat business, and I am happy to recommend him to you as well!

WOW!! That kind of service is far beyond fantastic. The world needs more guys like Kevin from Absolute Powersports.

Nice, I am in the service buiseness and it hard to find people to the extra mile.

Nice!

It is great to have/find a motor/marine place reliable and that gives great customer service like that. Funny thing is they are not easy to find. Seems like Absolute PowerSports is a diamond in the rough out there.

Good post Jason. Looks like you found a good one there!

Someone that comes out to the launch?

Don’t believe you Jason!

So…the question is…do you have him signed up as a member yet??

Welcome to In-DepthAngling Kevin!

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So…the question is…do you have him signed up as a member yet??

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Yessir….Kevin is our own Absolute2ks.

I forgot to add a couple of things:

Kevin also works on snowmobiles for all you sled heads. He did some work on fellow IDA staffer Jason_Sullivan’s sled last year, and I know Sully was more than pleased with the results.

Kevin also have the ability to do light fabrication at his shop. Many of you have seen the rod holders that Kevin has put together for his ‘hawk in this thread.

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Yessir….Kevin is our own Absolute2ks.

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Here I thought is was a member that just liked vodka…A LOT!

Wow!!! Great job and great service! I have a few goblins right now I’m trying to chase down. Jason, you have a pm.

Welcome to IDA.

Jami

Simply fantastic!
Yes those kinds of people are very few and far between. Kevin, any chance you have a clone up near the Twin Cities!

Great refreshing post Jason!

Sounds to me like Kevin’s the man to see! I run a FishHawk 1850, I wonder what he could do to IT!!

Sounds like a great place to do business with. Not many out there that go that extra mile after the money has exchanged hands but there are some as we see here…

Awesome! It is great to have folks like you on IDA!

When your lively hood and fun depend on someone else to keep everything going it is good know who those people are. It sounds like this is a great place to keep all the equipment in top shape.