BOAT KITS - To build, or not to build?
 

I was just reading the Avanti thread. A member asked why all powerboat factories were not offering their boats as kits. I would like the input of this forum. I would like to know what you readers think, good or bad, about a factory offering their models as "kits."

We are considering this. We would, however, make sure that the hull number would designate that the boat was a kit from the beginning.

What do you think?

Post or call me at 631-226-1761.

John Coen
President
Superboat Powerboats
http://www.Superboatonline.com

I think it would be a good idea, the key is the ability for the buyer to rig the boat properly. and as the builder i dont think you would want a person doing a half as- job and have your name associated with it?? just my thoughts

as long as you designate thet the hull was not rigged or finished by the factory i think its a great idea.

I recently rigged my own boat. Took me ALOT longer than what I had anticipated. However, I ended up with a boat that was built my way. Not every body might like my way, but it's what I wanted. During the rig, I became very familiar with the hull and all of it's "defects". I also had to contact the factory several times requesting setup information. When I was first looking for a boat, I found that very few manufactures were actually willing to sell me a blank hull to rig. It seems that alot of the money was in the rigging and engine packages. Some even went so far as to say that they didn't want a inferior rig job to reflect poorly on them. I also suspect that some may fear that it's an low cost method to splash the hull. Ultimately, I think that it's a great idea that not enough builders offer.

John,

I think this is the perfect place for such a poll as most of the folks here on OSO are hands-on boat owners and do alot of their own work.

That being said, I think the idea of offering your boats as a kit is a great idea with the hull id stipulation in mind. The last thing you'd want to happen to your company is having a boat rigged by a less than qualified individual and then they go out and represent the boat as a factory Superboat. that is not to say of course that the kit boats would all be rigged wrong...but ther are things you would probably like to standardize such as the X-dimension so that the purchaser would be assured of a properly handling boat...

all in all, i think it's a great idea.


Sean

How many average joe boaters out there would want to buy a boat and rig it themselves? NOT ME!

I would make sure that HULL number is different from the factory built boats. I can see you getting phone calls about used boats sold that you built but didn't rig years from now.

But I can also see people wanting the Hull and set it up their own way.

Can you just add a Hull iD suffix to let everyone know?
I would say Do it, as long as you can let the customers know what you rigged and what you didn't :D

When I think of un-rigged boats I think of Skater. They don't seem to have a problem with quality rig jobs.

I agree with Tantrum on the other thread. What kind of reputation would a boat builder have if their product was out there exhibiting nothing but problems due to poor rigging. Especially in the second hand/used market where people are buying these boats. Even if they had serial #s to reflect the boat being sold as unrigged, who would know to check serial #s when buying a used boat. Although the people rigging themselves would like to do a nice job, I think there is too much involved to do it right. Boat builders are doing the absolute best to build a better boat to increase sales and make money. A self-rigger would be doing it to save money and have no motivation to make it as "perfect" as possible.

I think it is a bad idea. For a new boat, I would be concerned about safety, and also I feel it would greatly harm the used boat market, from both a quality and safety point of view.

Manufacturing the boats under an entirely different name could solve the problem entirely, say Speedkit?

Certainly there will be good and bad points on both sides of the equation. The option to choose is a great idea so long as you C-Y-A! Maybe sign a release or soomething. My first thought was the same as mentioned earlier. "Many Skaters are rigged elsewhere." Best of luck John and go for it!