Originally Posted by Double R Performance

I have been wanting to get this off my chest for a while but I have been BUSY. Imagine that. A boat dealer being busy. Frankie (sellsman11) had a thread with this tone on OSO about a week ago. Terry from NT had some great comments as well. Kudos to them. I am going to take 20 minutes out of my busy work day (yes I am working on Saturday) and let it all out.

Like any other, the boating industry is cyclical. The industry certainly is not in the boom period of the cycle. I am sure that whatever industry you are in may be a similar part of its cycle.

I keep an eye on these boards because they are industry related. 90 percent of what I have seen on SOS and OSO has been negative for weeks.

Guys... Boats are your release. I am sure you face enough negativity in your job. Have fun on here. Everyone is fighting. I am pretty sure that whoever doesn't like someone else is public knowledge by now. Let's get back to having fun on here. I am sure that's why you joined these forums in the first place.

What really bothers me is the speculative threads about who is going out of business. Thank God we have not been on the recieving end of one of these vicious, malicious, fabricated, stupid attacks.

Before you come on one of these boards and say "I heard ____ is in trouble," think for a moment.

You may not like a certain boat brand. That is fine. But do you have grudges against the good men and women working in the glass shops, interior, parts, rigging, service, dealerships, cafeterias, clothing, marketing, accounting and maintenance departments? These people are working hard to feed their families and you are threatening their livelihood for your entertainment. It is pure schoolyard. If your BS thread stops one person from ordering a boat, you are taking food off the workers tables. Times are tough for some builders and they need help, not hinderance. I know for a fact that a relatively healthy builder lost a build because of a nasty, malicious, totally false rumor about their finances. I am sure that is not the only boat that has been lost to this garbage.

The next time anyone wants to start a thread on "my sister heard XYZ Powerboats has cash problems," I urge you to do one of two things:

A) Think of how much you enjoy boating. Share a great boating story, maybe even some pics with all of us. I guarantee that the rest of us will enjoy the thread much more than ANOTHER BS thread.

or

B) Take the 10 or 15 minutes you were going to use to "stir the pot" and make a few extra bucks at your job to take advantage of the great boat prices or some of that cheap fuel we can buy now for our boats.

Let me repeat one thing: If you start or spread a BS rumor about a builder, you are taking food off hard working people's tables.

Read it again. Let it sink in.

Great. It's off my chest. Time to get back to work.

Originally Posted by Mentalpause

My point, as much as I like this site - I'm not sure it is where to go for people in the know anymore - seems like it is more of an ill advised rumor mill these days.

I'm not trying to stir the pot here - just reflecting on what appears to be happening.

Originally Posted by Mentalpause

I had a friend that sent me an email this week that there was a rumor that Merc was closed down for awhile, and not answering the phone. Without even looking on this site, I responded that it sounded like something on OSO. He replied "where else."

I had a merc tech go to my dock at LOTO 2 weeks ago and he upgraded Axius in my boat. Brought his own master keys, and did the 6 hour upgrade without requiring me to be there. Also gave me the standard Merc number that can get to their techs.

When I got the message from my friend, I called the Merc number - they answered on the second ring, no messages, no menu of options, a person answered.

My point, as much as I like this site - I'm not sure it is where to go for people in the know anymore - seems like it is more of an ill advised rumor mill these days.

I'm not trying to stir the pot here - just reflecting on what appears to be happening.

Originally Posted by Mentalpause

I had a friend that sent me an email this week that there was a rumor that Merc was closed down for awhile, and not answering the phone. Without even looking on this site, I responded that it sounded like something on OSO. He replied "where else."

I had a merc tech go to my dock at LOTO 2 weeks ago and he upgraded Axius in my boat. Brought his own master keys, and did the 6 hour upgrade without requiring me to be there. Also gave me the standard Merc number that can get to their techs.

When I got the message from my friend, I called the Merc number - they answered on the second ring, no messages, no menu of options, a person answered.

My point, as much as I like this site - I'm not sure it is where to go for people in the know anymore - seems like it is more of an ill advised rumor mill these days.

I'm not trying to stir the pot here - just reflecting on what appears to be happening.

Originally Posted by Jassman

You stir the pot I agree, way to much B.S., speculation, and chest thumping..Winter, along with the doom and gloom threads are here... the last 2 month's I just browse here..OSO, BoatFreaks, Thehulltruth..there is very little knowledge to be gained from these site's anymore without someone bashing or turning a informative legitimate good thread into sh*t...that's what I miss...anyways, I'm spending more time constructively doing other things..Jeff

Originally Posted by DollaBill

You just have to know "who" is posting the info. Sometimes it's BS and sometimes it's not .

As for Mercury, it's a FACT they are closing down until January.

Originally Posted by DollaBill

and other economic conditions