Hunter Lives!

[Kenomac]

At the Newport, RI boat show yesterday, the Hunter Sales Team looked like the loneliest people on earth. Reminded me of the old Maytag TV adds. I went through the boats which appeared to be the same hulls that attended the Spring Boston boat show.

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

At the Newport, RI boat show yesterday, the Hunter Sales Team looked like the loneliest people on earth. Reminded me of the old Maytag TV adds. I went through the boats which appeared to be the same hulls that attended the Spring Boston boat show.

I noticed that too but so did the Morris team and the Hinckey boats. Very dissimilar boats but just goes to show what appearances mean.

[hellosailor]

"ALACHUA, FLORIDA... August 1, 2012. The sale to Marlow Acquisitions, LLC, for all of the assets of Hunter Marine Corporation,"

Sorry, Rick, but I read that as saying HUNTER IS DEAD. The new corporation bought the name and the molds, but NONE OF THE LIABILITIES which means current Hunter owners have no warranty, and the new coirporate owners have no obligations to the existing boat owners.

Hunter is dead, somebody else may start using their molds. That still leaves a lot of slack in terms of how the new product may or may not match the old one, and doesn't mention anything about changes to franchise agreements and dealerships.

If they decide to save costs by hiring fiberglass workers from the parking lot of Home Depot...having the old molds won't help build a better boat.

[Cheechako]

Survival of the fittest..... I dont imagine many are crying about Hunter going away....
From the poeple I know that have contracted goods from China, you get what you pay for like anywhere else. Or maybe I should say, you get what you pay for and specifically insist on.... pretty much like the USA companies! I dont know of a US boat company that has ever existed and built boats like Ta Shing!

[Boatguy30]

I dont know of a US boat company that has ever existed and built boats like Ta Shing![/QUOTE]

SHANNON

Bristol, Rhode Island

Case closed

[Cheechako]

Yeah, I suppose the Shannon comes close anyway.... :>)

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

I noticed that too but so did the Morris team and the Hinckey boats. Very dissimilar boats but just goes to show what appearances mean.

Did Hinckley have a sailboat there? If so, I missed it. And the Morris Ocean Series 46 was probably the boat of the show (excluding the superyachts at the separate broker's show)--if price were no object. Also the Bruckmann 50.

I disliked the Hanses (can't stand the IKEA interiors) and the Jeanneaus (blah). I saw a Beneteau I liked (it was the two-cabin version of a 40 footer) even though it completely lacked a nav station. It had a huge cabin aft that you could use as a workroom and garage-- perfect for a cruising boat. Nice galley too, and it was priced around $240K.

I was prepared to like the Passport 46. It wasn't too bad, but didn't excite me. Same with the Moody, which was (as my college age daughter would say) so ten minutes ago. Maybe they're made in Germany now, but they're still stodgy without any compensating class.

I took a quick look at the Island Piglets (nothing new there) and the Sabres (nothing new there either). When is Sabre going to ditch those headliners, which, on top of being ugly, make it so much more difficult to deal with electrical problems, since most of the wires run in conduits hidden by the headliner?

I had no interest in the Hunters. Catalina had a couple of boats-- a 445 and a smaller one-- but we were jaded at that point. It was a perfect sailing day and we weren't going to waste all of it looking at boats.

[chas5131]

Read recently that labor costs are up in China and production of some goods is moving back to the US because labor costs plus transportation costs are making the move feasible.
No, don't have any cites or references.