2010 CBC/SBS

Pat Anderson · Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2009 8:28 am Post subject: 2010 CBC/SBS

Here it is September, and I haven't seen anything about our annual gathering. Just because the Reynolds and Fluid Marine iterations of C-Dory folded and manufacturing moved to Bellingham doesn't mean the traditional party should not happen!

I have been communicating with Jeff Lindhout, about the possibly wild notion of us all coming on a bus or buses to Bellingham for an evening, but that seems not to work for two reasons - the Wright Brothers (Sea Sport) factory is small and does not really have suitable space, and the Lindhouts and crew will all be working long hours in Seattle at the SBS. So scratch that one!

But Jeff does want to participate in the C-Brat wing-ding somehow. I am hoping we all want to foster this relationship enough that we will come up with something! I just don't know what...

One thought is to move the BIG party to Saturday night at the hotel, assess ourselves enough to have it catered, and invite the Lindhouts and crew to join us when they are cut loose from SBS duties. The beer is covered! Would this be a possiblity for folks? We could still have the informal potluck part Friday night.

Roger, are you having Linda at Stanwood Travel Desk handle hotel reservations, or is that kind of in limbo? Can we pick the date, and get a sign up sheet from Mike or Bill?

Come on guys, you know how much you enjoy getting together with everyone. Newbies, if you have never done a CBC/SBS, plan on it! You get to put faces to the names, and I can tell you for sure, Brats across the country will become your new best friends!

Sea Wolf · Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2009 9:12 am Post subject: Re: 2010 CBC/SBS

Captains Cat · Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2009 9:43 am Post subject:

It's already on our schedule, whatever you left coasties come up with! Would at least be nice to see that factory, not necessarily as a group but one by one for us that are not there all the time.

Pat, any indication from Jeff when they're going to get back into the C-Dory production business? are there going to be 2010 C-Dorys?

Charlie

SENSEI · Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2009 9:54 am Post subject: Re: 2010 CBC/SBS

Pat Anderson · Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2009 10:22 am Post subject:

Charlie, there will be 2010 C-Dorys - I'll have to let our dealers like Matt Gurnsey and Marc Grove fill in the details, but Jeff Lindhout said in Bellingham they already had orders and were starting production.

With the Great Recession, it remains to be seen how they will approach producing the whole line prior to receiving a specific order. I'll bet they are waiting to see how the 2010 SBS shakes out order-wise before diving in whole hog...

sportner · Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2009 10:34 am Post subject:

I am up for anything and we will contribute our share. Are there any facilities available at the boat show?

Captains Cat · Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2009 11:20 am Post subject:

I'm starting to look at airline tickets. Using FF miles, you gotta jump in early. Can Roger/Pat give me a likely weekend this is gonna happen?

Thanks for the Production info Pat, glad to hear it.

Charlie

Doryman · Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2009 12:09 pm Post subject:

Matt Gurnsey · Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2009 12:10 pm Post subject:

Side note-

We have ordered our first Sea Sport built C-Dory (Sea-Dory?), a 16 Angler, that should be seeing our location soon.

There is still a lot of inventory on dealers lots, so orders fro 2010 product will be slow until the existing inventory moves out.

Jack in Alaska · Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2009 8:05 pm Post subject:

Can you put some approximate dates to all of this?? We may be able to participate and would like to meet the names I see here in C-Brats.

Larry H · Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2009 10:16 pm Post subject:

Brats,

The Seattle Boat Show is scheduled for January 29 thru February 6, 2010.

The SBS-CBGT is normally the first weekend of the show.

For the official word, we will have to wait for Roger(Sensei) to post.

Pat Anderson · Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:53 pm Post subject:

Correct, this is Roger's deal - I was only trying to see about keeping the factory party alive, which seemed in danger of fading into oblivion.

rogerbum · Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2009 5:14 pm Post subject:

Pat - I just left you a voicemail offering to help find a location for a larger party. As has been indicated, the Larkspur was great for a smaller group gathering but was a bit tight. For the size event that is usually the factory party, it might be nice to find a larger spot.

I'm certainly willing to help and would be willing to host something at my house but that's farther away and smaller than Larkspur. One thing we might consider is doing a real catered dinner someplace or perhaps trying to get a large party reservation at a restaurant. Either option would likely be somewhat expensive (like $30-60/head) but we only do this once a year. Tom Douglas has a great place for catered events downtown in Seattle but he would be on the expensive side. I might be able to find a place we could rent as an outside group at UW. Another option might be to book a dinner cruise. I've done this in the past for a conference or two and the prices were not too bad if we can get enough people to commit. Do others have better/similar ideas? Maybe we could start a list of options which several of us looking into details on 1 or more places. Then we could put some choices together and see what the group wants to do.

colobear · Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2009 5:19 pm Post subject:

I think the factory party is destined to be just a good memory for the foreseeable future. There is no factory in Seattle; the Sea Sport folks have said their facility in Bellingham, 100 miles away, is not set up for anything like that and frankly, I think they have a lot more on their minds than throwing a party for us. To me, and perhaps to me alone, its time to move on. Lets plan a good CBGT at the boat show and the hotel where we are staying, enjoy ourselves, keep up the tradition of C-Brats meeting in Seattle and having a good time. Lets give the Sea Sport folks some breathing room here. I suspect they see the C-Brats as a decidedly mixed bag right now. Certainly we know how important we are to marketing the boats, providing new ideas, and helping the owners find and correct flaws but to them we may well appear to be a bunch of owners who just gripe about why things aren't they way they used to be. (And remember before we shine up those rose colored glasses about the good old days, how much griping there was on this site about previous owners.) I'm just like many of us. My 2006 boat should have some hull warranty left. I wish I had the option of going to the factory for warranty satisfaction, I don't. I wish I had the option of going to my dealer for warranty satisfaction, I don't. The owners who issued the warranty are no longer in business, my dealer is no longer a C-Dory dealer. Sad but true. If I have a hull problem I'll do my best to work it out with Sea Sport on a case by case basis but have no real expectations. I really hope that if that happens they have positive feelings about the C-Brats. I sure don't want the Brats to give them a sour taste and that to rub off on any dealings I might have with them. Understand, I'm not suggesting we become a bunch of lapdogs (sorry Baxter) for them but I'm a whole lot more interested in building a positive relationship with them than I am in complaining about things I can't change.

ghone · Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2009 6:00 pm Post subject:

I'm all for that, a CBGT at the show. I want to be there for sure, to check out the new line up that will hopefully be there. I agree also the Seasport folks have a ton of stuff on their plate right now and won't need us asking for things other than great boats.
See you in Seattle!
George Thumbs Up