On Nov 5, 1:41 pm, HK wrote:
wrote:
On Nov 4, 7:30 am, HK wrote:
Chuck Gould wrote:
On Nov 3, 4:29?pm, HK wrote:
Just read that Albemarle was bought out by Brunswick. Another famous
line goes in the crapper. Cabo was sold last year. Sad to see the
independents disappearing, since they build the best boats.
Where have you been, Harry?
Brunswick has owned Albermarle for quite while now. Basically, they
are built by the same group that makes Hatteras. Many of the upper
tier
trademarks built by Brunswick are pretty darn good boats.
I'm sure they were better boats when the companies that built them were
independent. The newest model Albemarle, for example, is wider and with
less deadrise than the model it will be replacing. That's corporate
conglomerate think for you...take a line of fishing boats and turn them
into something less.

People often think that just because something is made by small
independents that it automatically means better craftmanship and
quality, but that just isn't always true. Larger companies have money
to use for R&D and testing, plus the tools to ensure quality control.

It's entirely dependent on the builder.

Yep, there are plenty of crappy small family owned manufacturers out
there.

The "larger companies" in the
boat business seem to blow their R&D and testing budgets on ways to make
their boats cheaper.

That's just not true or pure speculation.

I prefer fiberglass boats built in the old, traditional ways.

I like fiberglass just fine, but am also not afraid of other systems
of hull manufacter.

Proper
mold prep, hand layup of the proper cloths by experienced workers,
correct amounts of chemicals properly applied, enough time in the molds,

Bingo, and that's where a good computerized system can help a great
deal.

quality inspection by old guys who know what to look for,

I'd rather the inspection process involve being able to tell, for
instance, whether or not there are any voids in the hull material,
than rely on some old guy's poor vision.

heavy
hardware, heavy construction, et cetera.

Heavy doesn't always mean better, or stronger.


Hell, a Parker family member
personally took and forwarded to me photos of my boats every couple of
days while they were under construction.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

And just what did that do for the quality of the boat?