Reply With QuoteWith out letting the cat outta the bag...but were they all factory rigged boats or was there some by local SoCal Hot Boat shops?
This is my first time actually starting a new topic. I just got back from Havasu a few hours ago from the Hot Boat evaluation I was telling you about a few weeks ago, the one dedicated to jet boats. Hot Boat went way out of their way to do this test after I complained to them about how you guys (and myself) feel that they don't do enough about jet boats. They gave us (the manufacturers)plenty of notice to this test. Everybody was invited and most said they would show up, but when it came time to test only six boats showed up(two of which were mine). Some of the biggest names in hot boating didn't bother coming. It goes to show that many builders today just don't think that jet boats are important anymore. I just thought I would share this with you so you don't think it is all Hot Boats fault for not doing enough on jets, they are trying.
With out letting the cat outta the bag...but were they all factory rigged boats or was there some by local SoCal Hot Boat shops?
All boats were factory rigged. None of the names your expecting showed up and two of the companies sent old (like three years)customer boats. There were no hot rod type jets, like you might expect, just family style 21's. Kind of disapointing huh.
my how times have changed! Why do you think some of the others were no shows? Is there not enough profit in the smaller jet boats? Not a big enough demand?
Correct me if my thinking is off but wouldn't there be a bigger demand if the manufacturers pushed them a little more? Perhaps one manufacturer come up with a more affordable entry type jet boat? If one company did it would others follow?
I did some work for a golf equipment company that was lacking the funds to compete with the big boys. 3 years ago, they changed their strategy and went after entry level golfers and juniors with quality club sets that were reasonably priced. They were complete sets of clubs including bag starting at $79.95 for juniors and up to $329.95 for adult entry level golfers.
I know there's a big difference between spending $350.00 and $25,000.00 but the mentality is still the same.
Mr. John West,
Maybe this is a sign for Ultra Boats. Seams to me that a rather inexpensive line with good quality, like the Lightning you've introduced, is just what the industry needs. I bet if you folks at Ultra put your heads together you could take over the industry with jet boat sales. Good luck and thank you for all of your advice.
Slick
Bravo to Ultra just for doing what they do. The demand is out there jet boats are the hot rods of the new millinum. Big car makers were sceptical about building affordable muscle cars in the late 50s and early 60s but once they started look how that took off.The trick would be to offer options to the buyer.I one took two friends to the lake whom had no intrest in boats after an 8 hour day on the water in my jet they were hooked they now own an 18ft sleekcraft JET!!!!!!!
[This message has been edited by rstover1 (edited June 08, 2001).]
The funniest thing about this situation is that it is a lot easier to buy a new boat than a used one! I am going to have a hard time getting 18K for a cherry Daytona because the banks will not loan you crap for it. I need to find someone with 18K in the bank. You would think that other companies would care enough to put a mid 20K nice boat on the market. They don't though. Financing for 15 years on 22K is not a whole lot, especially if you have any money to put down on it. It's a whole lot less money than priming your blown hydro with $100 bills, that's for sure. John has his act together, and his professionalism in these forums and dedication to the genre played no small part in my purchase of a new boat from Ultra. I hope they do bury the others. Better product, better company.
Ultra28:
I was at Blythe a couple of weekends ago and spoke with a gent with a new Ultra 21'. He was fairly pleased with it, except he had one concern which alarmed me. He had a setback Dominator pump and said that the factory told him he was supposed to run his bilge pump whenever the boat was in the water. Is this correct, and if so, why?
We always suggest turning on the bilge anytime any of our boats are put in hte water. All Ultras come standard with auto bilge pumps. All jets may leak, setback pumps are much more likely to leak. Every Ultra that leaves our factory has been water tested and does not leak. Setback pumps may begin to leak at anytime. A setback pump is not actually designed by the pump manufacturer, it is something we do here, the plates are custom made for each boat and siliconed on. The torque produced by the motor as well as the possibility of hitting some sandbars may make the plates leak. We feel it is better to be safe than sorry, so we always tell our customers to turn on the auto bilge anytime they put the boat in the water.
Hats off to John for participating this forum, as for a businessman I wonder how he manages to find time to interact with everyone on a one on one bases at this forum.Hope he's going to have a monopoly with jetboat sales,since I feel most others gearing towards sterndrives [hence they require a lot more maintenance than jets]that sounds to me like a makework project plan.
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