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#21
posted to rec.boats
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Another quality boat manufacturer sells out.
Wayne.B wrote:
On Sun, 04 Nov 2007 21:12:19 -0500, HK wrote: Properly protected wood is just fine in stringers, bulkheads, transoms, et cetera. But that wasn't what was being discussed. Hulls were. THe hull is more than just topsides and bottoms, and the transom is part of the hull also, last time I looked. Encapsulation and strength of core material is the key but I agree that the bottom and hull sides should ideally be uncored. If you do that however, you have to stiffen them up in some other way, and increasing the thickness of the glass laminate is an inefficient way to do it. The traditional way is to add internal structure, typically encapsulated wood, another form of composite construction. That's an area of agreement, previously acknowledged. |
#22
posted to rec.boats
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Another quality boat manufacturer sells out.
On Nov 4, 8:12 pm, HK wrote:
Wayne.B wrote: On Sun, 04 Nov 2007 12:10:43 -0500, HK Does that high transom, dead transmission RV of yours have wood in its hullsides or bottom? Well, hopefully if it does, it isn't balsa "Balsa" = "Bayliner" |
#23
posted to rec.boats
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Another quality boat manufacturer sells out.
On Sun, 04 Nov 2007 20:32:58 -0800, Tim wrote:
Does that high transom, dead transmission RV of yours have wood in its hullsides or bottom? Well, hopefully if it does, it isn't balsa "Balsa" = "Bayliner" Quite a few supposedly high quality sailboats have also been built with balsa cored hulls. Many of them have turned into expensive junk. |
#24
posted to rec.boats
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Another quality boat manufacturer sells out.
Wayne.B wrote:
On Sun, 04 Nov 2007 20:32:58 -0800, Tim wrote: Does that high transom, dead transmission RV of yours have wood in its hullsides or bottom? Well, hopefully if it does, it isn't balsa "Balsa" = "Bayliner" Quite a few supposedly high quality sailboats have also been built with balsa cored hulls. Many of them have turned into expensive junk. I'm sure Chuck will tell us of the virtues of balsa as a core material. I wouldn't even consider buying a boat with a balsa core. I also don't buy into the boat broker b.s. that osmosis blistering is no big deal. Those guys will do anything to move used boats. I don't want a boat whose bottom is as pustuled and pockmarked as a $3.00 whore. |
#25
posted to rec.boats
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Another quality boat manufacturer sells out.
Tim wrote:
On Nov 4, 8:12 pm, HK wrote: Wayne.B wrote: On Sun, 04 Nov 2007 12:10:43 -0500, HK Does that high transom, dead transmission RV of yours have wood in its hullsides or bottom? Well, hopefully if it does, it isn't balsa "Balsa" = "Bayliner" When did Bayliner upgrade from cardboard coring? :} |
#26
posted to rec.boats
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Another quality boat manufacturer sells out.
Gene Kearns wrote:
t. Hatteras hasn't been Hatteras since the High Point, NC factory closed and the "Hatteras Collection" has "evolved" to the point that it has as much in common with sportfishing as a metrosexual does with a salt water tackle box. OUCH, now that was below the belt, Hatteras may never recover from that blow. |
#27
posted to rec.boats
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Another quality boat manufacturer sells out.
Gene Kearns wrote:
On Sun, 04 Nov 2007 08:23:55 -0800, Chuck Gould penned the following well considered thoughts to the readers of rec.boats: Why would every boat in succession always have to be narrower and with a deeper V than previous models? Perhaps the new model is intended for slightly different conditions. Is it possible that the same changes that make the boat less "fishable" in your estimation might make it better suited for cruising and exploring or some other purpose? Unless Brunswick was lying through their teeth (which I find imminently possible), their news releases at the time of purchase gave the reason that they were targeting the sportfishing market. Albemarle builds boats that range up to 40-soome feet in length, and not all are intended exclusively for use by the weekend or retired fisherman. It may be that in order to increase total overall appeal and sales of the new model Albemarle decided to make it slightly less specialized......don't know this for a fact, simply stating a possibility. Indeed, they have taken a local boat, built for local conditions, and corporatized it to sell in a broader market. To build a good case for a decline in quality I think it takes a lot more than the appearance of a new hull design with different characteristics. Why not check out one of the new boats in person and see if fit, finish, hardware, workmanship aren't still up to traditional standards? It was a boat designed for certain local conditions. It now, regardless of fit and finish ranks little above the mongrel stage. I'll be getting underway on one of their new boats, just over 30-feet LOA, in the next week or so. Thus, it wouldn't be prudent to say anything disparaging about the bread and butter, eh? The brand doesn't have the long history in this region that it enjoys back on the east coast, The reason being, pre-Brunswick.... it wasn't designed for or marketed to that region. so I can't say that I will be able to compare it knowledgeably with the pre-2005 produciton- but a pretty thorough at-the-dock examination of one of the current boats a few months ago revealed no glaring defects or cheap-cut aspects- I thought the boat was pretty impressive overall and I am looking forward to the opportunity to learn even more about it. You might as well concede to Harry then, as you are making the argument for him. (The "Hatteras Collection" includes Hatteras, Cabo, and Albemarle. The Harrell family sold to Brunswick in 2005). Albemarle and Hatteras were originally designed as sport fishers for the North Carolina coast. Hatteras hasn't been Hatteras since the High Point, NC factory closed and the "Hatteras Collection" has "evolved" to the point that it has as much in common with sportfishing as a metrosexual does with a salt water tackle box. What the hell would Chuck know about Atlantic Ocean sportfishing boats, based upon an "at-the-dock" examination that "revealed no glaring defects..." How would he know what a "glaring defect" on a sportfishing boat might be? Whenever a corporate conglomerate takes over a boat line, I'm reminded of what happened to Harley-Davidson when it was taken over by AMF. |
#28
posted to rec.boats
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Another quality boat manufacturer sells out.
On Nov 3, 6:29 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. I can't say I blame them, with the price of fuel, the future is very cloudy. Powerboating was very much a middle class activity. Sure, the really big boats are owned by the wealthy, but the vast majority of boat owners are middle class. Crazy fuel prices are starting to push the middle class out of boating. If I owned a business that was very much dependant on middle class incomes. And the business started to change, pushing the operating cost of my product beyond that which my customer base can afford, driving increasing numbers of those customers away. And someone came along and offered me a good price for that business, I'd probably take the money and run. John |
#29
posted to rec.boats
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Another quality boat manufacturer sells out.
Capt John wrote:
On Nov 3, 6:29 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. I can't say I blame them, with the price of fuel, the future is very cloudy. Powerboating was very much a middle class activity. Sure, the really big boats are owned by the wealthy, but the vast majority of boat owners are middle class. Crazy fuel prices are starting to push the middle class out of boating. If I owned a business that was very much dependant on middle class incomes. And the business started to change, pushing the operating cost of my product beyond that which my customer base can afford, driving increasing numbers of those customers away. And someone came along and offered me a good price for that business, I'd probably take the money and run. John Oh, I don't *blame* Albemarle for selling out, but the likelihood is that the product that emerges in the years to come will no longer be an "Albemarle." It'll be the product of the MBAs and accountants, and therefore the probability is, it will be crap, because that is what MBAs and accountants produce. Some decades ago, an ad and pr company I worked for had a client that, at that time, was the largest and most successful FHA-VA mortgage banker in the country. We liked the company and its management a lot, so much so that the owner of the company and I (I was the chief account exec and writer) bought some stock. It was traded O-T-C at the time, for about $4.00 a share. Lo and behold, a giant NY-based financial institution offer the founders $35 a share for the stock. Too good an offer to turn down. We all cashed in to the limits of our holdings, of course. I made a few bucks and was happy to do so. Well, the new owners simply didn't understand the market for the acquisition and in a few years, it sold the company off to someone else, after most of its value (which was mainly in good will and very competent staff in about 20 U.S. markets). The company disappeared, along with the service it had provided. The big institution's MBAs turned the mortgage company into crap. The family that started the mortgage company, the guys who cashed out, stayed active in business. A large regional bank in our market was about to be shut down by the FDIC, and the guys, over the course of ONE weekend, put together enough cash to take over the bank with the FDIC's blessing. Bank opened Monday with a new name and new management. No MBAs involved. Hatteras no longer is a premier manufacturer of top-end sportfishing boats. Cabo no longer has its edge. Albemarle is going to become just another nameplate. Sad to see, whatever the reasons. |
#30
posted to rec.boats
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Another quality boat manufacturer sells out.
HK wrote:
Capt John wrote: On Nov 3, 6:29 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. I can't say I blame them, with the price of fuel, the future is very cloudy. Powerboating was very much a middle class activity. Sure, the really big boats are owned by the wealthy, but the vast majority of boat owners are middle class. Crazy fuel prices are starting to push the middle class out of boating. If I owned a business that was very much dependant on middle class incomes. And the business started to change, pushing the operating cost of my product beyond that which my customer base can afford, driving increasing numbers of those customers away. And someone came along and offered me a good price for that business, I'd probably take the money and run. John Oh, I don't *blame* Albemarle for selling out, but the likelihood is that the product that emerges in the years to come will no longer be an "Albemarle." It'll be the product of the MBAs and accountants, and therefore the probability is, it will be crap, because that is what MBAs and accountants produce. Some decades ago, an ad and pr company I worked for had a client that, at that time, was the largest and most successful FHA-VA mortgage banker in the country. We liked the company and its management a lot, so much so that the owner of the company and I (I was the chief account exec and writer) bought some stock. It was traded O-T-C at the time, for about $4.00 a share. Lo and behold, a giant NY-based financial institution offer the founders $35 a share for the stock. Too good an offer to turn down. We all cashed in to the limits of our holdings, of course. I made a few bucks and was happy to do so. Well, the new owners simply didn't understand the market for the acquisition and in a few years, it sold the company off to someone else, after most of its value (which was mainly in good will and very competent staff in about 20 U.S. markets). The company disappeared, along with the service it had provided. The big institution's MBAs turned the mortgage company into crap. The family that started the mortgage company, the guys who cashed out, stayed active in business. A large regional bank in our market was about to be shut down by the FDIC, and the guys, over the course of ONE weekend, put together enough cash to take over the bank with the FDIC's blessing. Bank opened Monday with a new name and new management. No MBAs involved. Hatteras no longer is a premier manufacturer of top-end sportfishing boats. Cabo no longer has its edge. Albemarle is going to become just another nameplate. Sad to see, whatever the reasons. Who is the premier mfg'er of top-end sportfishing boats who has retained it's edge. |
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