The idea and prospect of the new or even used boat purchase comes with great anticipation and excitement for any boat owner and their family. There are usually great expectations of performance, comfort, exhilaration, and the cost of the new purchase is usually outweighed by all of this enthusiasm. BUT……….. Sometimes all of the greatness is taken away by the fatal flaws embedded into the lack of attention to details.
I am lucky in that I get to run different boats quite a lot. Between the boat school, throttling on poker runs and just helping out my friends I am often at the delivery of the new boat or arrive just after and unfortunately I get to see the deflation of much of the excitement because the new build, new / used purchase or the re-rig, just flat out doesn’t deliver the expectations that were so over stated and obligated and they just don’t measure up.
The cause for this varies and can be the buyers fault to some degree. The rush to finish the build, the economic limitations, but usually it is the simple stuff. Wrong props, wrong drive height, failure to do a complete quality check to verify all that is wired works and works properly, re-rigs that are done forecast outcome variables that require other modifications, such as different transmissions, gear ratios, air to the engine space, and a long list of other things.
During new deliveries,I have run out of fuel with full fuel gauges and have gotten sworn testimony from the dealer that the tanks were full. Interior pieces hitting me in the back of the head at 150 mph, GPS and other electronics falling out of the dash, electrical shocks from trim switches in the throttles, reversed indicators, loose prop nuts, cables linkages, even and yes even the wrong props on the drives, this list could go on and on and I am sure many of you have had similar experiences. The final problem is the training and education, some receive it on delivery, which can range from: “Congratulations here are your boat keys – Go have fun” to “Hold on and let me show you how to break a drive!”
The solution in my mind is to take some very good and credible advice from groups like the Marine Manufactures Association and have a quality assurance program that verifies the boat is the best it can be before delivery. The other key component is to credibly train the dealer sales staff, and not rely on opinions stated on experience but really verify the sales staff knows what they are talking about.
But who knows this is just my opinion and I am a terrible salesman, I just tell it like I see it and also like I know it.
