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Froggystyle
01-25-2007, 02:53 PM
I am never shy about giving my opinion about businesses. The way I see it, people are offering goods and services in exchange for money. If they want to stay in business, they need to do what it takes to lure it away from other people doing the same kind of work, build a reputation and client base with quality and service and then do what it takes to keep them.
As such, I am pretty hard on vendors. If I expect to do the above for my clients, they need to give me the tools, expertise and reliability necessary to make it happen. In searching for this combination, I have sought out industry leaders with phenomenal reputations for all of our development, prototyping and design projects.
I havenÂ’t kept most of my vendors. Many made big promises and delivered little. They are gone. Some really, really wanted to make it happen, but in the long run were unable to provide the level of service, advancement or volume needed for me to count on them as a vendor. One in particular has always stood out for usÂ… Rex Marine. They are one of very, very few vendors that have ever hung it out there and really deliver every single time. I have grown to count on parts the next day from them, as they ship UPS, and it is well regarded that UPS is next day anywhere in Southern CaliforniaÂ… save for the holidays. When they say a part is getting shippedÂ… it goes out. Any vendor in our current program has proven themselves to be top notch in their respective arena though. They would be gone if they werenÂ’t.
I have just added another vendor to my list of amazing businessmen. Bob Teague.
When we switched from the jets a couple of months ago, I was down pretty hard on it. All of our technology had been wrapped up in the project of making the dual drive work great. Exhaust, wiring, rigging, weight and balance etcÂ… We knew it worked, but was showing real signs of future unreliability. I couldnÂ’t hang my hat on it, but for as much as I know about rigging jet boats, I knew essentially nothing about rigging a stern drive.
I had planned all along to offer a stern drive at some point, but still needed some expertise with regard to X-dimension, stern shape, drive depth and type, motor package etcÂ… Our existing two bare transoms have a 0 degree angle, which requires some adapters to be built to make it work. Then the motor will be back further, exhaust will be an issue, etcÂ… Too many questions for me to resolve by myselfÂ… and knowing the reputation that Teague Custom Marine has for complete systems, I gave them a call. Additionally, they are recommended by Ilmor, who is the builder of the V-10 we put in the first stern drive boat.
The first month or so sucked, as there was a lot of work for me to do and a lot of driving back and forth to Valencia before the guys at Teague could even get started. We needed the adapter built, the boat set up and a million measurements taken. Mr. Teague kept saying the same thing to me though… “Stop worrying… we can do all of this. It’s easy…” Reassuring to say the least.
And trip after trip to Valencia, I realized he was right. Carefully and methodically we built the transom assembly to their specs and with their recommendations in mind. We finally finished our part, hung the drive (after a million phone calls from me at every step) and had a rigged, complete V-10 in the boat after a couple of weeks.
The exhaust turned out to be a nightmare, but only in my head. For them, they took it as another challenge at hand and built a beautiful exhaust in a very tricky spot that is definitely up to Trident standards. (Co-incidentally, it is up to Teague standards as well. They are pretty similar in a lot of respects).
If you go to his shop, you will find a whole pile of very, very busy people and an extremely busy Bob Teague. It seems like the entire custom industry phones him at some point of the day looking for a solution to a problem. You could build a boat with what is in the showroom alone, and many very trick parts are credited to him and his team there.
They have stayed late for us, come in on weekends to accommodate our terrible drive to and from San Diego and really went out of their way to be available.
I am starting to ramble here a little, so let me get to the testing. He went over to the “wall O’ props” and started pulling them down, giving me some characteristics and features of each. Then, we went out and tested them. By “we”, I mean that this busy guy, with a million things going on took me out to Castaic that afternoon and gave it all a run to ensure he was participating in a project that met his standards of safety and performance.
I wonÂ’t speak for the man. He has affiliations with every manufacturer and builder I know of, magazines, and the respect of all of them. I feel comfortable that if asked, he would tell you what he thought about all of them, us included. I will let him speak for himself.
The crew at Teague treated us like family. His son John, daughter CherylAnn (hope I got that right) and his wife Andrea all know us now and are knowledgeable, friendly to a fault and are clearly the backbone of the operation. I can relate, as we are a family affair as well.
I am recommending Teague Custom Marine for ALL service on the Trident Revolutions. Unless specified by a client, I will be using Teague drives on every boat we build with an outdrive, and will be buying our Ilmor V-10Â’s through him as well. I highly recommend them for anyone looking to get service or re-power work done. It truly is a one-stop shop for boating hardware and components, and as I have found out first handÂ… if it doesnÂ’t exist, but you need itÂ… they will make it.
Thanks to everyone there for putting up with us new guys for so long. As I promised, we only need to learn our lessons once. We are paying attention. With luck, our frustrating period is nearing an end, and we will all be able to start building some great boats together.

shippingguy
01-25-2007, 02:57 PM
I would have to agree 100%. I just picked up my 2007 27 Shadow from Bob and he was awesome. He took my boat about 6 different times to the lake and got my boat dialed in PERFECTLY!!! He is very busy, but is very willing to help and educate the customer.

spectras only
01-25-2007, 02:57 PM
Been in the shop last summer . Candy store that's for sure :D .
Good thing , they didn't get wiped out by that nuke last week ,hehe.

Hallett19
01-25-2007, 03:01 PM
I have to say, after seeing the boat the other day for the first time I was very very impressed, its way bigger than I thought too! You did an awesome job man, it came out real well, like I knew it would.
Let me know how that thing went the other day :D

Froggystyle
01-25-2007, 03:06 PM
Let me know how that thing went the other day :D
You mean, that thing with the guy in the place?

redi4fun
01-25-2007, 03:09 PM
Wes,
Where are the pictures of the boat with the drive hanging off the back. :)
Also some new pictures of the engine compartment with the llmor in it.:D

boatnam2
01-25-2007, 03:09 PM
i was down on teague there for awhile more out of frustration then facts.i know they build a nice motor but having merlin heads(steel)cost me 11k.heavy price to pay for a shitty head,although he thinks it was an overheating issue in the past which i know its not,because since then i have overheated the motor and the signs are there of it...i will say that he still has my business for the getting me going again,and taken care of me the times i was there.just wish it wasnt such a long drive.

Froggystyle
01-25-2007, 03:42 PM
...just wish it wasnt such a long drive.
That is the bummer... but it isn't as long of a drive as I have done on multiple occasions, driving all the way out to the river or to Phoenix only to turn around again because of engine or drive problems.
I was there yesterday when he was testing a 38 Fountain with a pair of 800 TCM's in it. It was in for an annual service and such, and he took it out on the water for a final test before delivery. 220 hours on the motors and it ran like a top.
I am a fan...

INSman
01-25-2007, 06:04 PM
Great, now how are we doing on the Rhino LED light kit ?? :D

blown dough
01-25-2007, 06:28 PM
They are very nice people to deal with and close to home for us.

Phat Matt
01-25-2007, 07:20 PM
Nobody even asked how it ran? :confused:

Froggystyle
01-25-2007, 07:24 PM
Nobody even asked how it ran? :confused:
Different thread...

Phat Matt
01-25-2007, 07:28 PM
Different thread...
Oh, haven't got that far yet. :)

shockwaveharry
01-25-2007, 07:29 PM
Different thread...
OK, I'm hunting... Gimme a hint, Sandbar?

Froggystyle
01-25-2007, 07:48 PM
OK, I'm hunting... Gimme a hint, Sandbar?
Just sniff out the controversy... you'll find it! :D
It worked very, very well. We are very proud of the results. Sounds like the new Shockwave is running really well too!
Lots of great boats coming out these days. Should be a great year to buy a boat.

Phat Matt
01-25-2007, 07:50 PM
Found it. It's almost as fast as me. Sure I have two motors but thought I should keep up the controversy. ;)

Froggystyle
01-25-2007, 07:51 PM
Found it. It's almost as fast as me. Sure I have two motors but thought I should keep up the controversy. ;)
You found inaccurate speculation. Those are good known minimums though... ;)

Phat Matt
01-25-2007, 07:53 PM
You found inaccurate speculation. Those are good known minimums though... ;)
No way. I read it on the internet so I know it's true. :D

shadow
01-25-2007, 08:02 PM
No way. I read it on the internet so I know it's true. :D
You know i heard it through the grape vine & people like to elaborate so it may not have even been 83.;)

Phat Matt
01-25-2007, 08:26 PM
You know i heard it through the grape vine & people like to elaborate so it may not have even been 83.;)
http://home.houston.rr.com/cykosis/homer_doh1.jpg
:D

deltarat
01-25-2007, 09:53 PM
Bob Teague, isn't he a bald guy?............I have the up most respect for Bob, he has always done a good job for the people that I know that have done business with him.

Charley
01-25-2007, 09:56 PM
<--------Bob fan :D

boatsnblondes
01-25-2007, 10:38 PM
I gotta chime in here...Adriane<sp> was the best guy I have worked with ever on this boat. Everything in the Hallett was bought from them, they were great sources of knowledge, over the top with phone help. One of the things that always stands out to me is when a salesman says, " that more than you need, this one is just fine" and sells me a lesser priced item than what I thought I needed....Teague and his staff are a class act...glad you found that out Wes, good luck with the boats...now that he's on board with you, you can't go wrong.