Jayl13

Not to dis anyone with an active thunder at all please dont take this the wrong way, but your boats are replica's of SONIC right?

Hey Cottelese, long time no speak man, Whats up?
Jason

ActiveThunderTodd

AC, what year AT's did you have. I agree that a few years ago the AT's were a little less than plush in there appointments. I think they put a very very nice boat out then, fit and finish and quality was clean and sharp and meticulous, just not as plush as some of the other brands. However the most recent boats they are making now will rival anything out there as far as plushness, fit and finish.

Jay
The only thing thats similar to Sonics is the walk around deck design. My 32' is a far bigger and deeper boat then the Sonic 31' which is the closest in size. The running surface is completely different and once you get away from the walk around, the decks are very different as well. Sonics are great boats but they are really not the same as an Active Thunder.

AC

ActiveThunderTodd,

I had a 1997 25 At which was very nice - fit & finish/detail was done very well. I bought it from a dealer up in MI. I trade in the 25 for a new 28 AT. Ordered the boat in Oct 2000 - told Pat I wanted the boat at the end of March 2001. Called Pat at the end of March and said I was coming to pick the boat up in two weeks - he said the boat was finished and will be ready when you get here. I drove 1,200 mile and the boat was not finished. I had to wait around for 1 week for the boat. "$$ I lost for work, lodging, etc". Back to the fit & finish of the 28 - the fit & finish was not good at all! I found spider cracks all over the hull & sides, cabin glass work was a mess, and I can go on. I don't like to knock anyone's product but this was not good! I had a bad experience!
Life goes on!

Jassman

I find it funny that you had one Thunder, and obviously liked it to order a larger Thunder. Whether it was ready on time or not is inmaterial, before I would have drove out to Thunder, I would have picked up the phone and said: hey Pat, is my fricken boat done or what, (he's real easy to talk to) I'm leaving today, that would have saved you a week, in time and money. Sounds a little funny to me, your not telling us the whole story, and there are always 2 sides, what was the real reason why you wanted to sell it right away, and quality has never been an issue with them, otherwise you wouldn't have bought twice. Was it the colors, the interior colors, what motors and drives did you go with, was it standard or tricked out What year and size Cigarette do you own now, thanks Jeff Jassby

AC

I called Pat 3 days before I left and he said came down and pick your boat up "IT's DONE" I said to Pat don't let me drive 1200 miles if it is not done. There’s nothing funny about that! How would you like to drive 1200 miles to pick up you boat and find out it wasn't done after the owner told you to come and pick up the boat? Then have to say a week (pay for lodging, loss of $$ from my job, and
your future wife giving you hell because you should be home because you were getting married the following week!

I sold the boat because it had spider cracks all over the hull and on one side. I told pat about it and he checked the mold and found the problem (I gave Pat the measurements of all the spider cracks which matched up on the mold).
I don't like bad mouthing anyone but I think anyone would be pissed.
I bought the 28 because I was happy with the 25 AT.
Anything else you want to know just let me know!

Jassman

Sure, what kind of A.T. boat did you order, what was in it, you never anwsered that, along what what you own now, size and year. I take nothing for granted, just tell us the whole truth, not bits and pieces that only make you look good, there is more to your story, you're the only person in 2 years that I have talked to that had these problems, everyone else seems to be happy, including the person who bought your supposed spider cracked hull of a boat.

Skypirate

AC

I did look at fit & finish as well as rigging on both companies. The paintwork on Cigarette, especially the Lip-ship addition is second to none. His painter is brilliant. However I wanted a boat that met all of my requirements, not one that just looked good. The fit & finish on a Cigarette is outstanding, however they appear to be the only company not offering cabins with amenities. I think the confusion with Active Thunder is everyone who has brought up this topic is comparing older AT’s, prior to 2000. Many AT owners as well as myself have said that the older AT was very average. The design of cabin and cockpit was a bit plane. The hardware had a lot of plastic. And rigging, excellent in some areas, average in others. The ride and performance has always been excellent. The 2002 model is a whole different story. I have been to the factory many times and seen the hardware going into the new boats. The boat has been completely redesigned. The hull and deck are from the same molds, but that is about it. One thing I have noticed about all the responses that have been posted on this thread is no one has posted a complaint or said anything negative about AT’s ride and performance. There have been some comments about racing, but there are two sides to that issue. I think the only thing that will settle this issue, will be to wait until the first couple of 2002 models hit the water. I personally think that when the word gets around, the order time is going to be a bit lengthily. I am not going to see mine until September. I think they have since sold two more. So the line is getting longer.

Indy

AC...What was ATs response when they found out you had spider cracks besides fixing their mold?? Was the boat still under warrantee? Did they offer to fix it? Did you ask them?

R Addiction

Damn Todd!!! Very well put......seriously.

ROUGHSTUFF

One thing Skypirate did forget to mention is that AT now has a LIFETIME warranty on their hulls starting with the 2002's. I have seen mostly 5yrs in the industry, but never LIFETIME that I'm aware of.