Anyone know anything about Chopper Boats?

Does anyone know anything about Chopper Boats? Just found their website chopperboats.com and also a cool wakesurfing video on wakesurfmag.com showing their boat. Kinda looks like an MB.

never heard of them.

i know their website might as well not exist. no pics or info at all.

i question if they are still in business at a time like this, especially manufacturing in cali.

http://www.wakeworld.com/cgi-bin/Discus4/board-profile.cgi?action=view_profile&profile=rodltg2-users

Rod had one for sale in the classifieds a while back. It was the first time I had ever heard of them. He can probably tell you more.

I have seen the boat in person. Basically a build out of a little shop by Fresno (Madera). The boat is a total piece as far as fit and finish. I had heard that he bought an old mold from one of the companies in Merced but not sure which one. It looks like either an MB or older malibu hull shape. With the small amount of dealers he has I would not expect them to survive the downturn.

Anyone else think Chopper Boats is a bad name?

Makes me think of Chopper Guns laying down the fiberglass vs. hand laid fiberglass.

they are actaully really nice boats. they are price point boat so dont expect the same quality as the top 3. I sell them for between 32999-36999. for the price you cant beat it. we also put 2000lbs in once this summer and the wake was awesome. I have some video somewhere. here are some pics of one of the ones I sold this summer.

Hell, that ain't too bad lookin at all..Definitely looks like an MB though.

"With the small amount of dealers he has I would not expect them to survive the downturn."

Best way to survive the downturn is by having low overhead not a jillion dealers.

from what i understand, most the guys a Chopper Boats worked at Mb, so the boat is probably very simalar to an older version of the B52.

John, I was unaware that dealers were overhead. If you have no one selling your product it does not matter what the overhead cost are. At some point you run out of money. Just seems kind of odd that I am within 10 miles of them and the lake that we all go to is in-between us and I have never seen a chopper on the lake.

true... but when alot of dealers are going out of business, new boats are not being ordered. so i imagine the big boat builders are having a hard time when they were used to building 4000 boats a year and now?? Chopper's are custom built so there is no inventory. I think they may have one or two that they keep at the factory. only time will tell, but I think the smaller guys like Epic, Wakecraft, and maybe Chopper will gain some ground next year.

for the mid 30's i would go buy something used. I've met the guys that build/own chopper and would not waist my money on something they built. they reeked of weed when they came into my dealership. hahaha sorry its harsh but the truth.

i dont know much about them but when at the boat show i asked how much stock ballast they had and the salesman's reply was "whats ballast?"

you probably ended talking to one of the guys that builds the boats.unfortunatly they don't have a sales team. the new ones actually have pure vert system in them.

The name Chopper is taken from their uncle Chopper (he rode a chopper lol)
Family and friends owned and funded (all worked for other local builders - no supprise)
Family and friends staffed = no overhead unless they have and order ! Flexible work force lol
At the P-Town show they were basically offering two models (v and direct) but Rod can tell you about that.
The primary owners/builders are generally acknowledged by others in the industry to be skilled fabricators but not buisness/sales ?

it looks like an MB with Calabria interior lol