I've used two Chronarch's for the last two years troublefree. Although I must admit I use them mostly for summer-run drift or float fishing, and they have never seen the salt. My experience has been the opposite of Parkers. For me they seem to throw the lighter weights farther and with more accuracy than a Curado.

As for John's Sporting Goods, I no longer seek their services for reel repair. I started using them about five years ago for servicing my Calcuttas, and I had no problems paying the fees, which averaged about $25. But last year I had a bad experience, similar to Brian's. I took in a brand new spinning reel for a warranty repair on a defective part. What they did was send it back to the company for a new one. When I went to pick it up, John charged me $25 for the new reel. It seemed odd that I would be paying so much for an exchange covered by warranty, but I paid it anyway. When I got home I opened the box and found an invoice that read "$3.00 S&H." I haven't been back since.