Kachina Boats?
 

Seen their ads and drove by the Factory/Store in Phoenix today and looked at a few they had outside. Nice catchy paint jobs and half canopies and mostly are eye appealing boats.
But does anyone know if they can handle the Pacific or Atlantic or washboard Gulf of Mexico on a ""FUN DAY"?
or are they just a great looking lake boat?

uh........
 

Id say its a value thing over quality-

Do some searching here on OSO
One guy here has a posted pdf of a lawsuit over workmanship
Another siad they splash vs design,
Another guys said their "step hull" was a 2x4 in the mold.

Lots of controversy over this brand.

Uncle Dave

I've insured quite a few of them over the years and haven't had any manufacturer defect issues brought to my desk. All my clients seem to love their Kachina boats.

My 2 cents...

Devin Wozencraft
www.wozencraftinsurance.com

I know they have had some write up in powerboat and Hotboat Magazine.

I have never driven one... but going by design and weight... I would consider most of their models river runners rather than wave crushers. Let's just say that I ain't trading the Apache in on one.... but if I was a Havasu boater... I would be curious about them.

PM MetalBrosRacing, he has a 34....

My .02- I've seen plenty of them and live in the area. Very popular out here but they are lake and river boats. I don't know about the drones but I'd categorize their Enforcer series as semi-v hull. Nice boat and great paint (their specialty) for the money. The only offshore boating I'd do in one is Long Beach to Catalina on a very nice day.

first time i have ever seen these words used to describe a kachina....:rolleyes:

Kachina Boats
 

This is Wesley, General Manager of Kachina Boats. People are correct that there has been bashing in the past regarding our boats but there is always that one guy that you can never please. Check on any other boat manufacturer in the world and I guarantee you will find the same. We have been building and selling boats since 1963 so a couple of disgruntled customers isnt too darn bad if you ask me. Yes there are a lot of Kachinas on Havasu and other local lakes but that is wher the majority of people boat on the west coast. We have many boats in the ocean on the west and east coast. We are the only manufacturer that offers a 10 year hull warranty so we definately stand behind our product 100%!

Just remember that just because a boat has more of a realistic price tag doesnt meen that it is poorly built. Every manfactuers price is based on overhead and absolutely a certain level of profit that they are willing to accept. I can also guarantee that if you look at our standard equipment list, no one can touch us. We also offer full carbon fiber layups and carbon/kevlar hybrids. We are always custom so we build your boat the way you want it!

Please feel free to let me know if anyone has any questions and i will be more than happy to answer.

Wesley R. Metzger

Very true.

Great post Wesley. I think people appreciate a company being open and forward about there business. My experience, through my Kachina boat insurance clients is that Kachina always stand behind their product.

You may want to announce Kachina's upcoming plans to offer Cat-hulls. Sounds exciting to me!

Devin
www.wozencraftinsurance.com

The Camrie family would be embarassed by this classless post.

Is that so?
 

What makes you think you have the authority speak for the Camires?

I did not tell the poster to look at X or Y or "pimp" my pet brand whatsoever but told him to do some research.

Im not at all concerned about the information I forwarded to the poster affecting my relationship with the Camire family. (whom I have known for over 2 decades)

I posted this because I was participating in a thread about west coast boats here on OSO and there was discussion about Kachina and a lawsuit in PDF form was posted.

In this post I am simply repeating what was said and told by others most specifically the poster "Metal Bros Racing"

- I will however stand by my own personal comment I did author, and feel no reason to apologize to you Kachina or anyone else for it. - Regarding my personal experience with a Kachina boat model called the Labala (or something like that) - you can read about that in the prior post if you wish, I dont feel compelled to copy it here.

I chose not to forward that info because I'm not looking to trash anyone, but answer the posters question and tell him to do some reading.

By all means look up the posted info on the thread titled "West Coast 28-30ft" and take a look at the suit yourself.

Take a read on the lawsuit and various statements from former owners and you can come to your own conclusions. Better yet the guy looking at buying a new boat should as well.

- are you saying this is bad advice?

Instead of attacking me by pretending to suppose what others may or may not think of my posting-

What would your actual answer to the posters question be?

Im breathless with anticipation.

Uncle Dave

Do you think your going to change my opinion of your lack of class? I posted what i wanted to say and have no more time for your anticipation.:D

You guys have taken a few hits reguarding quality on the OSO forum boards, and possible some other boards. Are those people/hits wrong?... or has there been some changes in quality standards at Kachina?

Really, I'm not trying to stir up crap here. Just asking.

Big Surprise........
 

Another "informative" post from SWPR.


Uncle Dave

Pass, I've had 2 so I am qualified to say this.

Everyone always references our older boat models. We havent built a Labala in almost 10 years and those were 22.5 models. I am not even getting into the lawsuit deal or an argument with Ken because I think we can all agree that is a waste of time for everyone. All I am saying is that you should give our new boats a good look as I am 100% confident that they will speak for themselves. I also wonder if the majority of guys buying boats from other manufacturers actually know who is really building your boats. A lot of guys bash other companiesfor build quality and what they dont know is the guy that builds that boat you are bashing is actually building the other boat you are so in love with! We do everything from start to finish in house! As far as splashing vs design. I have personally been here for the entire build of our new 39' Patron and this boat is completely 100% hand built new design. We are 2 years in the development and have invested more money then I would like to admit. Once again, I have not come on these boards to start a pissing match either. I just wanted to let everyone know that regardless of pass bs on the boards we build a hell of a boat for a hell of a value and you should check them out for yourself. I also wanted to point out the fact that the majority of people that want to downplay our boats have never even seen one in person or had the opportunity to operate one themselves so how can they can they give the opinions they give????

I have a friend who has a 30. He has pounded and beaten on that boat for years and it still holds up to this day.:ernaehrung004:

Are they for me? Maybe not, but I think they are a great boat for the money..

Sounds Fair
 

Sounds Fair, and good to hear about the new design being yours.

Company management does change, and it is a legitimate request to give the "new team" a fair shake and that's not at all unreasonable.

A potential buyer should give you a look, - and check out everything he/she can, its their money they are spending and they should be informed as to what their options are.

As to discussing or judging a 10 year old boat, there are a couple of things to consider. Every manufacturer is accountable for every boat with their name on it, and in the cases of a purchased company sometimes you (a manufacturer) have to answer to problems with a boat you didn't even build!

As anyone who's bought a boat knows Boat "notes" are almost always 10 15 & 20 years in length- so most likely the last guy to buy a Labala is still making payments on it.

As much as it may be an "old model"-you still have to answer to it and cannot cry foul when facing criticism because it has your name on it. That's a hard reality for any vendor to live with for sure, but that's just "the way it is".

That said EVERY manufacturer has good and bad designs and we (and I do) hold them equally accountable.

I think you guys have stated a clean case to take a fresh look, and truly wish you well-

It does me as an American no good to ship our money employment and business to Sea-doo, or Yamaha when the business rightfully should stay in the US


Uncle Dave

When my father was looking for a new boat a few years ago, we got a tour of the factory by the owner. Very nice guy. My father didn't end up getting one but the factory was very clean and friendly. I have been around a few and I would concider looking at them for a lake boat. For the bay after having my scarab, probably not, but maybe the 39' Drone:cool:

Uncle Dave, I do agree 100% on spending our american dollars with american owned and operated companies be it boats, cars, electronics or anything. We are still under the original ownership and have not sold out to anyone so I wasnt trying to disown our Labala. I have many customers that love thier Labalas and I see them all of the lakes. All I was trying to say is that it is hard to compare a 10 year old 22.5' boat with the boats we are buliding nowadays,lol. I think we have always built quality boats and you are right that sometimes companies make designs that are not the most desiarable but you still have to stand behind them. Its all trial and error sometimes. I do know that over the past several years we have really revaluated our company and our boats, and we are really emphatic on making sure everything is top notch.

We will really be concentrating our marketing on the east coast this year so you will be seeing us very soon. The new 39' Patron is ready and it standard equipment list includes staggered 525's , XR's, ITS ect..... If I told you how much we are going to be selling this boat for you would swear we were crazy!! I do really enjoy speaking with you guys!