Jim was just six weeks old when he first went sailing.  Since then he has enjoyed club racing, the IOR Lake Erie Circuit, and several Port Huron to Mackinaw races.  Jim got his diesel training at the Ohio Diesel Technical Institute, and from there worked in both Texas and Ohio as a truck and engine re-builder and a fleet manager. In 1988 working out of his garage on a part-time basis, Jim began rebuilding the diesel engines for the many Tartan Ten fleets found along Lake Erie.  One thing lead to another and a decade latter in 1999 Jim started Great Lakes Diesel Incorporated. From a garage cluttered with engines and parts to his brand new facility in Vermilion, Ohio, Jim Zima has built a reputation as a solid mechanic, businessman, and instructor along Ohio's North Coast.