Wakeboat quality

It seems like there are a lot of posts out there about poor quality related to either manufacturers or dealers. It is not isolated to one company but seems to be a problem across the board in the industry. It seems to me that quality regardless of price should be there but the fact that these boats are 40k plus there should be no excuse for poor craftsmanship or quality.

What really boathers me is how people accept the fact that a boat is going to have problems or that you need a good dealer that will take care of the problems when they happen.

Is it really that hard to build a high quality boat?

Why are consumers putting up with it?

What are boat companies doing to insure quality?

Jon, see my post under "best rigging and construction".. couldn't agree with you more

I'm not putting up w/ it anymore, that's why my next boat will be a Correct Craft.

Everyone has to remember that these boats are hand made. Problems intitally with be found. Most issues with these boats are taken care of in the first 50 hours and very few turn out to be long turn problems. Try to put a Bayliner through the workout most people put on these boats and see the complaints you get!

John (jmv) bahhhaahaaah
guess you didnt see this thread;
http://www.correctcraftboats.com/pnuploads/northpoint3_579.jpg

Jon, I agree, I just purchased a new boat and there was a lot of problems with the boat when we received it, and for 55 grand I didn't expect these kind of issues.

if they are hand made i expect less problems.

I purchased new and for 65k didn't expect these issues either but they were relatively small and resolved in one long visit to the dealers.

Everyone talks about how high these boats are priced. Perhaps they are too low!
I would pay an extra 10-20% for a new boat if I KNEW it was built/rigged/set up correctly.
I don't know what just the running gear costs for a typical V drive let alone all the other stuff, but it doesn't seem like there would be much incentive (margin) to improve quality if this is all the gross you can get.

Let's all build our own boats...then when they don't meet our expectations (no matter what they are) we only have ourselves to blame!Or maybe when all the boats are made overseas the quality will come up (along with the price for importing them).
Honestly though, a certain amount of warranty work will need to be done no matter who the manufacturer is and hopefully the dealer will be concerned enough to realize that a happy customer is worth having. Someday they might upgrade that boat or their friends and family might want one, where will they go...to the make the customer happy dealer or to the piss the customer off dealer?

I agree that some warranty work will always be necessary. The components boat manufacturers are, after all, outside of their control. PLUS, they are mechanical objects with lots of moving parst, so things are going to happen, that's a given. So if you have a good dealer that is CLOSE to you, you can run in and get those little things fixed any time, no big deal.
For some of us that aren't near a dealer, or the dealer for the brand we want isn't close by, this can be somewhat of an expensive proposition.
And, does it not stand to reason that if the customer is out actually enjoying his new boat in which everything works because it was actually rigged CORRECTLY at the factory, would not the factory have LESS expense with warranty items, and could dealers not actually spend more time doing things like selling new boats and properly servicing the one's they've already sold??

OK, that was just some stupid crazy thaought that will never work....everyone else is right, just blame everything on the dealer, that's the ticket!!! My bad.

Christy, we're in the same boat... we've all accepted it as fact that boats will have problems. I don't think this is whining about it. It's just discussion...

We're all still buyers, no one is going to boycott. But the initial question does seem to be valid.

Quoting the original post:

"What really boathers me is how people accept the fact that a boat is going to have problems or that you need a good dealer that will take care of the problems when they happen."

I agree, it is weird that everyone just accepts that there will be a problem with a 65k boat. Are we the consumer to blame?

"Is it really that hard to build a high quality boat?"
Never built a boat so I don't know. Maybe it is? As Nick pointed out, our boats do get a lot of abuse (at least the boats owned by people on this forum probably with weight, lots of use, etc). If you ran a jeep off road for 200 hours a year brand new would it have the same number of problems?

"Why are consumers putting up with it?"
What other options do we have, even with the flaws, i love these boats.

NOt sure about what each co. does for QC...

Coming from a blue-water boating background I can tell you that wakeboats are overpriced for the medicocre quality. A 21' fresh water only boat for $50K+ should not have issues and when it does it should be handled quickly and without question. Even though large off-shore boats are much more money, you get much more for your money. They cost more but there is still more value there.

It's not apples to apples but if you look at the quality of a custom built Jarret Bay or even a mass-production Hatteras you will see quality engineering and build quality that these wakeboats just do not duplicate.

By the way, although I do believe the best wakeboats are made in the U.S.
(are there any that are not), and that the best off-shore fishing boats are made in NC. Many of best sailboats are made overseas. Europe has a long and proud boat manufacturing history.

(Message edited by dcwillette on September 07, 2007)

hands down NAUTIQUES ONLY

It's not just Wake Boats Guy's!
It's a big issue with the whole boating industry!
A friend of mine who has been in the boat building and repair/ modification buisness has showed me some Nasty boats over the years! No matter what the price New!

I beleive it's more a problem of information sharing issue. You are only hearing about problems from a few of the hundreds of boats sold every year. And frankly, people taking issue with things like a loose battery cable and having the dealer fix things like that is hard for me to comprehend. It's a piece of machinery, shtt breaks. Fix it and move on.............

I always prefer handmade boats, but honestly I'm yet to see a bayliner or similar boat with a significant construction related problem.
Anyone has pics?

A friend I know had an older Sea Ray pre 90's that rotted out due to construction. Everything including stringers and motor mounts were made by wrapping plywood in fiberglass. Fiberglass cracks over time, water gets in, and dry rot begins. The motor fell because motor mounts rotted out and ruined outdrive and all stringers rotted through. Boat was condemned.

Ryan, I'm taking your comment was said with a bit of sarcasm in it for fun, but just in case it wasn't... Nautiques have their areas of low build quality just like all the others based on the discussion here as far as what exactly is high quality.

I will say though, that the upholstery in wakeboats today is quite good. As good as the big offshore boys I don't know. But I am impressed with the abuse that our seats take.