Insurance was supposed to settle for a fair bit more than what they got and they were overextended. When the offer came back with less they didnt have enough to keep going and lost the lot.
Insurance was supposed to settle for a fair bit more than what they got and they were overextended. When the offer came back with less they didnt have enough to keep going and lost the lot.
I read the thread and, in my opinion, somebody made a very bad decision.
The lawyers have a lot to answer for IF they did not advice their client what the modus operandi of an insurance company is and that is to wait until the last minute and offer considerably less as a settlement knowing full well the financial commitments of the insured party and the legal costs of going to court and the likely outcome of the court hearing.
Were clients of GS marine told of the impending legal battle when deposits were taken?
Were clients deposits held in trust?
I intend on living for-ever....so far so good
Seems like there some pretty pissed off customers. This is one of the latest post there.
As a victim of gs marine I cannot let Garys letter go unchallenged.Three weeks ago I stood in his office and asked if there was any truth to the rumours sweeping Darwin.This man looked me in the eye and told me all was good.He then told me my boat would at least be at hull stage when I returned from the barra classic.I put down twenty thousand dollars. I feel sorry for johnno and his family and wish them well.As for Gary Quinn dont look to the people you have showed no respect to feel anything but happiness at your misery
Comments made about another builder gone and taking the money are not very constructive for biulders still in business. The industry is suffering enough as it is without these sort of comments. I have just taken possesion of my boat last week built by Bluewater plate boats. The guys that are still surviving need our support otherwise we will be losing the chance of getting quality boats made in Australia. I am completly happy with the outcome from Scott and have no issues at all. I will post some photos later in the week, but it is a quality boat and came as a finished package around the 70,000 mark. He was completly up front with me right throughout the whole job.
Surely they should be allowed to post and convey there experience rather than sit and suffer in silence.
There are major flaws in this whole process and if we don't hear about and learn from these experiences how does change to even begin to come about to protect the consumer.
If we all put the blinkers on and the muffs over our ears to this a solution will never be found.
I would have thought the good guys would be encouraging a fix so as to be participating in a industry that is praised in the way it conducts itself rather than the " huge risk " it is at present.
Steeler
DoNotFeedTheTrollsAandBelligerent
The quote was made in another thread about 6 meter boats under 70k. It does apply to this one but I put my reply in the wrong one I guess. I feel for these guys in Jopalo and Seastorm that may loose their boats. If you read that quote though it does not help anyone.
2 mates of mine have Bluewater boats. Both great rigs with plenty of attention to detail. Have 3 or 4 mates with GS boats. While not to my taste they serve their purpose well and owners are very happy with them.Originally Posted by Beekee
Try putting yourself in the shoes of those that have lost serious money on shonky practices. What if Bluewater closed its doors after you had 30 grand deposit down and were told you had no chance of your dream boat being delivered or ever seeing your money back?
Would you cut them a break or be absolutely ropeable about the situation?
I appreciate that Bluewater boats has absolutely NOTHING to do with this situation apart from just being used as an example.
G'day,
There is lots of hearsay here and conjecture about rights and wrongs.
I have been a victim and seen the damage done.
I suggest that posts be limited to facts that will stand up and constructive suggestions on preventing this in future.
With every business that goes bust there are employees and suppliers who put trust in the business and its owners. Feel for them and offer them some support in a painful and often pointless legal process.
Regards,
White Pointer
Exactly matey.
Any builder wanting to secure a client a bit easier would only have to offer that deposits and all on going monies to be held in trust until the stage of work (or complete boat) is completed to the satisfaction of the owner and a Boat Identity Number is allocated and put on the boat in stage #1.
Offer the buyer some security and reap the rewards.
Personally I do not know why boat builders need to use deposits as working capital.
People say because they cost so much to build. I reckon they should be looking at their finances if that be the case.
Just my opinion....
I would be thinking very hard on paying money out to a boat builder or for anything that I cannot go in and pay for it and take it away. Especially if it's worth 1/4 of my house.
I intend on living for-ever....so far so good
Just had another read of the FFF thread on GSM which has been locked and includes some heavy editing from the owner of GSM as well.
Some sobering replies from a few who have lost significant amounts of money as well as their dream. FFF has never really allowed much (any?) criticism of GSM or other businesses for that matter on their forum unlike Ausfish which seems to let people have a fairly free hand in nameing. Must pose a real ethical dilemma sometimes especially if a named business is also an advertiser.
I'm more than happy to pay a subscription to Ausfish in order to be warned and to warn people about problematic businesses in the boating industry. Just as importantly to be told the many good stories.
Who knows, one day from all this we may end up with some sort of a trust system for protecting deposits. As Finga has said it can only help both the builders and the buyers.
If any boat builder wanted a competitive edge ........Lets say that even if they needed to use some of the deposit as working capital, how about offering that the deposit be held in trust at an extra cost shared by both parties..With all these collapses in most states and territories now, the market must be becoming wary.
I am not familiar with posting and putting in quotes but I think my point has been missed. You are right dodgyone, I would be pissed. And rightly so. After just going through the build process with about 4 or 5 builders going under I can feel for these guys more than you would think. This is why the comment on the other post by Seigfreid saying don't buy a tin boat because the guy will just go broke and take your money is not a constructive comment. I went through this build with Scott at Bluewater who is now having to put up with this crap. It makes it hard for him and every other builder that is battling out there to do the right thing. Scott was giving me Tax invoices as he bought trailers etc and HIN and VIN as they came available. I have no doubt about his integrity after dealing with him and the idea is to pass onto anyone that may be interested my experience so that they have some idea of who the good guys are out there. Everyone is open to hearing all the bad crap and as soon as someone puts something good up everyone seems to want to tear it down. This can be taken however you want top interperit it but the more imformation that goes on this site the better we are able to evaluate what is actually happening. If we bag the good then other people won't want to post anything but the bad stuff as it seems to have an easier acceptance a lot of time on this site. In my opinion I have finished up with a good boat, well finished.
I am not familiar with posting and putting in quotes but I think my point has been missed. You are right dodgyone, I would be pissed. And rightly so. After just going through the build process with about 4 or 5 builders going under I can feel for these guys more than you would think. This is why the comment on the other post by Seigfreid saying don't buy a tin boat because the guy will just go broke and take your money is not a constructive comment. I went through this build with Scott at Bluewater who is now having to put up with this crap. It makes it hard for him and every other builder that is battling out there to do the right thing. Scott was giving me Tax invoices as he bought trailers etc and HIN and VIN as they came available. I have no doubt about his integrity after dealing with him and the idea is to pass onto anyone that may be interested my experience so that they have some idea of who the good guys are out there. Everyone is open to hearing all the bad crap and as soon as someone puts something good up everyone seems to want to tear it down. This can be taken however you want top interperit it but the more imformation that goes on this site the better we are able to evaluate what is actually happening. If we bag the good then other people won't want to post anything but the bad stuff as it seems to have an easier acceptance a lot of time on this site. In my opinion I have finished up with a good boat, well finished.
It's pretty clear that the plate boat industry per se is 'cloudy' at best - some might say a complete friggin debarcle.
Where then are these 'great boat builders' when it comes to protecting their industry?
Where are the demands for qualifications?
Where is the 'association of plate boat builders', and a standard boat building contract - similar to a QMBA minor works contract.
Its not hard to fill in a few blanks on a standard contract and to specify the milestones at which progress payments will be made - 'once hin # xyc 246 is a fully sheeted hull - 22% due within 14 days'
The standard contract would obviously be written by lawyers and cover the basics so both the owner AND the builder know their rights under it.
Perhaps some or all of the above already exists - certainly doesn't seem to be too prevalent though.
As GBC said, progress payments according to a contract is fair to all parties.
A friend of mine bought a twin engined glass boat; $200K and it was paid for with a 10% deposit and then progress payments as specified milestones were met and in his case, a satisfacory inspection of the completed work was made.
I witnessed the purchase and deposit and also most of the progress payments as milestones were met. It seemed pretty simple, straightforward and fair for all parties.
What could go wrong.......................
Nothing to do with this one but
People get really burnt with the big one off items like motors where the builder says he is buying 5 motors , radars etc next week at a bulk discount and then when the cash is in closes the doors if you know what I mean. I sometime think it is better dealing with the person who will service the motor setting it up.
The idea of putting up XXX dollars in a bulk amount just will never happen with me at the start of a build. If the builder can't afford to build the hull ( same as all that size he supposably has a waiting list for) Then he wouldn't get my business. Later in the build with pure custom work well I would expect to pay some down but I would never have my whole rig at risk. As soon as you have a Hull that can be measured put a builders plate on it , register and insure it.
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