Off to a good start, http://speedonthewater.com/164-peopl...ts-phil-hess-1

This is great to see, with all the crap Phil has taken over the last few months. I say great job

Matt, sent you a PM; Re: that article.

Sorry folks (and thanks Brian). I inadvertently posted my first draft—the one I hadn't copyedited—in the speedonthewater.com management system. As is typical of my first drafts, it loaded with typos and omissions. All better now.

Can you report if Upstate Powerboats has become a legal business, are they insured, etc.

Its definitely a wonderful thing for youth to be involved in the future of our sport. Its also great to see new business in our industry!

Please don't twist my post as negative towards Phil, but the facts are his past shows poor quality and workmanship, inaddition to running multiple illegal business, undercutting hard working Americans.

Let's hope there's enough profit in the work for Upstate Powerboats to legally run a successful business delivering quality results!

My story was about a young guy getting into the industry. Whether or not he succeeds or fails is up to him. If his business practices are "illegal" now, because of the exposure given problems will arise. He was referred to me by a source I trust.

I have spoken to the owner of the Cigarette Top Gun who said he is "absolutely happy" with the work Hess did on his boat. He also told me the work on the hull sides was "so good" that now he needs to have the deck done, that he has owned "a ton" of boats and the most recently purchased an Apache.

I have reached out to the owner of the 35' Cafe Racer/ I have not heard back yet.

I contacted Phil Hess this morning and he assured me has insurance for his business. Short of his sending me a copy of his policy, there's not much I can do to check beyond that. It's worth noting that when go-fast boat builders report sales to me, for example, they do not provide invoices and cancelled deposit checks to prove they have those orders. Hess has also ensured me that he's an American citizen and I have no reason to doubt that, so I'm not sure what your "hard-working Americans" reference means.

The problem in all of this is that I am responding to vague allegations/insinuations made under a screen name. I have done so purely as a courtesy, and I'm satisfied with what I've found so far. T

I'll end with this: I have covered the high-performance powerboating world since 1994 and there is not one—allow me to repeat, not one—boat, engine, parts, service, repair, paint dealer outfit and so on I have not heard a complaint about. And with that said.

Caveat emptor

I'll take some with extra butter.

Where are the pics of the original Cafe he restored with 650's and Konrads finished and ready to go?? He said he would post pics when it was done. The paint on the 1992 Gun looks great but I also want to see the finished Cafe.