Should we add a sub site for seasport?

[thataway]

The very reason that this site is so successful and one of the top boating sites, is because it is limited to a very specific set of boats, with very specific issues. Also it is an "extended family". Many of the members travel thousands of miles each year to meet other like minded boaters.

As for the "factory"..maybe boat builder would be a better term. A limited number of boats are built one at a time by hand. I see almost Zero support for our community at this time. There is dealer support, with Marc Grove from Wefing's being the most frequent responder for some specific issues. A couple of years ago a brochure was printed up and sent out on a limited distribution for a few C brats to give out--and for dealers. In the past C Dory has advertised--the current builder elects not to advertise. One of the gatherings is asking for promotional items to be given away as door prizes, or perhaps in a raffle. I doubt that that request will be fulfilled. I have an assortment of caps, koozies, vests, T shirts, sweat shirts and a door mat, which have come either from prior factories or from dealers. I haven't seen any of these offered recently. In fact, the most recent gathering I went to, members donated items for raffles and funding related to donations and memorials.

The build good boats, and the feeling I have is that they don't really want to be any busier. At the very least they could give us, the owners, and their best salesmen, brochures or cards to hand out with their or dealer's info. Most of us have multiple stories of being asked about our boats. We are their salesmen.

C Dory web site--better, but still lacking. Performance for the 16 "coming soon". No prices for options or the boats (used to have that), Many of the pages have "Fluid Marine" at the bottom. Towing weight for the 22 given as 3600# and 4800# for the 25--way off and very misleading to buyers. The 25 is touted as "Economical cruise ranges from 12-20 MPH at well over 5 MPG." !!


If you want to see Factory support: look at Ranger Tugs. They have factory people who browse their forum (provided by our "nerds" also) on a regular basis and answer questions/give information. They advertise. They sponsor gatherings, and promotional items. Their web site is up to date. (C Dory's web site is OK, but many links are old, and I suspect some of the items are outdated. It would be nice to see specific prices, updated features.

[BillE]

Just a suggestion but perhaps the Ranger and Marinaut forums could be combined into a SOB---Some Other Boats---forum, for discussion of any boat other than a C-Dory? I see Owners moving up and down and in and out of C-Dory's, and some do own more than one boat, and that might be a place for such discussions. Or not!

[Jack in Alaska]

As a C-Dory owner since 1983 I vote to limit the Cbrats to C-Dory owners only and discuss that boat line only.
It is a dory and has many different properties than most other lines.
Just my humble opinion for what it is worth.

[Ordutch1975]

I get the concerns and respect that. As to this community I agree it is one of a kind. When I was looking for a c-dory I waffled a lot between sizes, used vs new and this community helped me make my decision. "My IRA" on this forum invited me down among other people to look at their boat. My wife and I drove over 2 hours to go meet them and they spent 4 hours with us and the time flew by. It sold the boat to my wife and helped me make my decision on a 23 Venture (which I am counting the days to delivery on). I wasn't sure what kind of boat I wanted but the community support, the group outings, the friendliness and the lifestyle sold me on C-dory.

To me its not as much about the boat but about the type of boater. If this site was all about wakeboard towers (my wife and I are rather negative about these boaters and they don't seem to respect or care about anyone but themselves) I would be looking elsewhere.

The reason I asked is that I see many people with SeaSports use them in similar ways the community does. And now that they are part of the same family I didn't see why not. Maybe the SOB forum as stated above would work for like minded people with alternate tools/boats.

Someone above stated NMI is not looking to mass produce rather they want to build quality small production boats and I get the sense this is true. I spoke with Ryan at SportCraft Marina (great guy) a bit about this and he said he'd love to do more on the site he just doesn't have time with all the forms of communication he has to keep up with. He responds to emails/calls all day long while also trying to actually get work done and research options for his customers. I will say Ryan provides the best pre and post sale customer service I have ever experienced in any industry. He truly cares about his customer. From his perspective I understand why he doesn't engage more on the site.

My last two cents on this

Harald

[Will-C]

I always am always amazed at this FREE site. Everyone has lots of ideas but who does all the work? Maybe it's ok if the administrators want to take it on I guess. My vote is to leave well enough alone. I'm sure there is a capable person to be able to start there own site for their particular owners group. It's always the case if you want something done ask a busy person.
HAVE YOU DONATED LATLEY TO THIS SITE?
D.D.