Clark boats gone.

[winston]

I had a look for their website but it no longer exists and when I googled "Clark boats liquidation" I see an administrator has been appointed. Damn shame. Does anyone have any information as to what happened? Cheers Winston.

[chris69]

Thats sad a bit of boating history gone.

[Volvo]

Not Wrong !!, and theyve been about fer yonks ey,,
Oh well sign of the times i guess??..

[Volvo]

Didnt hey have the abalone tri hull version ??..

[Noelm]

I think most are finding it hard to compete with Telwater, just like Bunnings did to the small hardware places, Telwater with their huge network are just out numbering the small guy, there is near on a year wait for a Telwater boat unless a dealer has what you want on the floor or something you want pre ordered for stock.

[Noelm]

Didnt hey have the abalone tri hull version ??..

The Clarke Abalone was a popular boat, I don't think it was a tri hull though.

[stevej]

Bugger dealers and easy finance especially y loan by yamaha
mine dealer I know sells 20 boats a week on a good week and 7 percent are financed

[ranmar850]

The Clarke Abalone was a popular boat, I don't think it was a tri hull though.

They did an Abalone Commander, a 16 foot tinny. I had one as a CC for a few years,good beamy thing. They had a very wide cut-out in the transom, as people used to fit small twin setups, believe it or not. When I was ab diving in Port Lincoln, one bloke had one as a tiller twin set up with twin 25's, Mercs IIRC. The wide cutout was a PITA with a single--we had a 50hp Johnson, and I fitted ply hungry boards either side of the motor to fill the excess gap, it was very prone to taking water through that wide gap.

[NAGG]

I think most are finding it hard to compete with Telwater, just like Bunnings did to the small hardware places, Telwater with their huge network are just out numbering the small guy, there is near on a year wait for a Telwater boat unless a dealer has what you want on the floor or something you want pre ordered for stock.

If you make a good product , then people will buy it ...... I know several people that looked a Clark boats over the years & pretty well everyone moved on - I just dont think there was a compelling case to buy a Clark boat .
Telwater certainly do have a big range / options ....... & the dealer network - + boaties (potential boaties) like those turnkey packages .

Chris

[Noelm]

Yep, not saying Telwater boats are the best, it's just a numbers game, my guess is that in time, all that will be left will be the full custom builder (at a premium price) Telwater and maybe the cheapest Chinese boat made out of tinfoil, but really cheap to get the "first boat" buyer in, maybe sold at a chain store, or small time operator.

[joffo81]

They did an Abalone Commander, a 16 foot tinny. I had one as a CC for a few years,good beamy thing. They had a very wide cut-out in the transom, as people used to fit small twin setups, believe it or not. When I was ab diving in Port Lincoln, one bloke had one as a tiller twin set up with twin 25's, Mercs IIRC. The wide cutout was a PITA with a single--we had a 50hp Johnson, and I fitted ply hungry boards either side of the motor to fill the excess gap, it was very prone to taking water through that wide gap.

I think this may be slightly confused with regards to the models but I'm no expert either. My father has owned one since new in about 1980! It s a 16 foot Clark Commodore. I think the Abalone was the 14 foot version. The wide cut out at the rear was a pain in the arse beach launching with a single outboard so we have infilled it with some alloy. We upgraded from the original 60 2 stroke to a 60 40 and it gets along well but a 70 would be awesome.

[ericcs]

I think this may be slightly confused with regards to the models but I'm no expert either. My father has owned one since new in about 1980! It s a 16 foot Clark Commodore. I think the Abalone was the 14 foot version. The wide cut out at the rear was a pain in the arse beach launching with a single outboard so we have infilled it with some alloy. We upgraded from the original 60 2 stroke to a 60 40 and it gets along well but a 70 would be awesome.

they must have made more than the 14', as a mate has a 5.6m CC !

[DaveR]

I think most are finding it hard to compete with Telwater, just like Bunnings did to the small hardware places, Telwater with their huge network are just out numbering the small guy, there is near on a year wait for a Telwater boat unless a dealer has what you want on the floor or something you want pre ordered for stock.

That's sort of true but also not quite true. Forward ordering is out to next year for dealer stock, but these can be seen as placeholders - i.e. orders that can and will be converted when customers put their hand up - so long as it's the same category- eg can't convert a Renegade or Top Ender into a Yellowfin. An order in the system can be converted within weeks of it going into production, so pre-ordered stock is not set in stone. At the moment the wait is closer to 6 months than a year. If you have a good relationship with your dealer, you could get it in far less depending on what they have allocated.

But yes Telwater is steamrolling the small builders and have been for a while. I don't mind really, the Telwater stuff (particularly Quintrex) is top notch these days.

[ericcs]

If you make a good product , then people will buy it ...... I know several people that looked a Clark boats over the years & pretty well everyone moved on - I just dont think there was a compelling case to buy a Clark boat .
Telwater certainly do have a big range / options ....... & the dealer network - + boaties (potential boaties) like those turnkey packages .

Chris

they were a good solid boat, but had a ridiculously blunt nose, which almost threw you over the front each time you head butted a wave. They were quite popular with commercial operators!

[Noelm]

I am not sure top notch is exactly the right term, but, they are OK for what you pay, I cant see how a Quintrex can be more "top notch" than a Stacer or a Savage, plus you can walk into a dealer and buy one, rigged and ready to go (with a Mercury motor these days) plus, if you have an issue, there are dealers everywhere, kind of like buying a car in a way.