Buyer beware!

Larry,

Thank you for the link and the clippings. I stopped and asked at our local licensing shop, and they said I wouldn't need to register it unless I was planning to ever sell it. Hard to know if that would happen or not. My crystal ball is a bit foggy looking that way. I did get a promise for the MSO from John at IBW. Will work on that.

Thanks again,

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
As promised, Jim sent me a package of valves to replace the few that are defective and not allowing the tender to hold air. I haven't pumped it up to observe whether this is the fix yet but I am hopeful that this was the root cause.

IBW sent the MSO as well.

The last thing I am waiting on is the motor mount that I was told would be in the shipment in May.

Once that is received I will give a final update to advise all that have read this comment or shown concern.
 
Thanks Larry for the link and info. I had heard of the -1 designator, but beleived that the law had been changed- or so we had been told by someone in licensing....

This is an area in state law where one hand doesn't know what the other is doing. It is extremely frustrating trying to be in the marine business in this state, because of issues like this, and others, where the state employees make up the rules as they go. This year it's one way. Next year a new employee and it's another.

Laws pertaining to brokerage are that we can't mention the dinghy, or represent it at all if we don't have a title (or copy) for it in our file.

I'll end my rant now.

Matt goes mumbling off stage.
 
bshillam":1wejwrc8 said:
The last thing I am waiting on is the motor mount that I was told would be in the shipment in May.

Once that is received I will give a final update to advise all that have read this comment or shown concern.
Click to expand...

I took one of the incorrectly made motor mounts Jim has and fixed it to work on my tender; he has a pile of them in his warehouse. After he discovered the manufacturing defect he sent new specs only to receive another batch with same defect.
The cross bar on the back side of the mount only has to be moved down about 3 inches or so to fix the problem – or maybe its up?? If you’re in need of a motor mount perhaps he’ll send you one of the defective ones; it’s not hard to fix the problem if you have a welder or friend with one.
Granted he owe us the correct mount, and I’m confident that will happen as soon as they arrive.
 
I am confused -- is Inflatable Boatworks continuing as an Alaska Series dealer or is Island the new dealer, or are they both representing the line?

Warren
 
Warren, Inflatable Boat Works is still a dealer, yes. the Owner came on and said he would make sure things were taken care of. He promised, and even posted his cell #, trying to turn things around, saying that he had replaced every staff person in the place since last year. I sent him a request for an MSO, (Manufactures Statement of Origin) for my off brand Alaskan that I got from IBW, but have not received anything yet. As far as I am concerned there is still hope there but until I see my MSO or hear of other services that are being taken care of I would probably be looking pretty much north from here, and see what I could turn at Island Marine Center. Jim King said they were on as new dealers, and I know they have a pretty good reputation for doing excellent customer service, so would not be afraid of dealing there. They had a couple of Alaska series in stock and were looking at a fleet type order soon.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
It appears that Jim King is standing by his word, however I have not heard anything more from IBW re: the MSO. I sent all the information needed for the MSO tracking to John on Feb 8, along with multiple contact info but have not heard a word yet. I hope they are taking care of others who suffered some lack of service prior to mine and they will soon be contacting me. At least that is the hope.

Harvey
SleepyC
 
This thread has focused on the Alaska Series dinghy but the title is Buyer Beware so:

Have others bought from Discount Marine Supplies? It is an online only supplier.

I purchased a motor well boot that was listed on their site as a split boot. When I received it I find that it is not split. I emailed them (the only way to contact them) about this and did not get a reply. It is only $10 lost but if they won't stand behind a $10 product why would you risk buying anything from them?

Steve
 
If their web site is : discountmarinesupplies.com , they list this phone number : 7174891458 .

Nevertheless, I congratulate you on finding the part. Took me a long time. Their picture shows one split type and one not split. Did they send you the right P/N?

The motorwell/control boot on Journey On fell apart within the first 3 mos. and I took 3 years to replace it, because the d__n thing was chinese, and I didn't want another 3 month wonder. So, I finally found one in WM, made by T-H Marine. As yours, it needed to be slit. So I got some vinyl rrepair tape from WM. Insalled it and we'll see how well it works. Seems sturdier than the original. Also glued some split rubber tubing over the fibreglas edge, so the cables wouldn't fray.

T-H marine also sells the solid corrugated plastic sleeve and the mounting boss. This seems sturdier, but is more expensive. It also needs to be slit.

Boris
 
In May Jim is suppose to send new motor mounts. After talking to the owner of IBW I believe these are going to be sent from their Seattle location. I spoke to Jim and found out that the motor mount that IBW originally gave me wasn't even an Alaskan series mount. Anyhow, next month will tell me if I'll be getting what was promised. So far, Jim sent me new values and I have the MSO sitting next to me now. I guess this is a good lesson learned, make sure to get the MSO prior to paying the final amount.
 
We also got our RIB without an MSO...bad thing.. lesson learned . We bought it from a gentleman that worked at the Boatnut Place in Everett.
It is a 310 RIB model made by AMI, Advanced Marine Inflatables. We were as promised an MSO, but it hasn't happened ....yet. There may be a solution coming as I met the Operations General Manager of AMI, Jeff Reynolds at the Tacoma Boat Show, told him my story ,gave him a copy of the bill of sale. His folks took over at AMI and have been cleaning up issues , just as IBW seems to be doing. Mr Reynolds is researching and said he will get me an MSO.

A forum like this reaches a very large market, so I am sure companies ,especially these days don't need bad press. I applaud Jim King and also IBW for stepping up.
 
Update on our MSO. We now have an MSO for our AMI RIB.
AMI stepped up and cleaned up a problem from the previous regime. Big Thank You to AMI, Jeffrey Reynolds and Samantha Saunders. I would recommend that anyone looking for a state of the art inflatable give them a good look. They don't make RIBS, but great inflatables.
 
Jim, Glad you got your papers in order. Happy Sails.

Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 7:06 pm Post subject: link and the clippings

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Larry,

..... My crystal ball is a bit foggy looking that way. I did get a promise for the MSO from John at IBW. Will work on that.

Thanks again,

Harvey
SleepyC
Click to expand...

Update on the MSI from Inflatable Boatworks - Ballard. Still waiting for the correct paperwork. So Monday I am going to try John's cell phone. See if that will get anything going. Also, still waiting for the correct motor mount from Jim King.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
Harvey,

Two and one half months and still no paperwork or motor mount!

Their customer satisfaction score is dropping as I type.

Best wishes on getting the right stuff before summer!
 
Inflatable Boat Works is closing their retail storefront operation by the end of the month, according to a card I received in the mail. They insisted they were not going out of business when I talked to them on the phone, but it is hard to visualize a viable business model for boats that does not include a bricks and mortar component.

I mentioned this to Jim King and he asked me for my (our) recommendation for a good inflatable dealer in Seattle that he could affiliate with. I don't personally know enough about the various dealers down there, so hopefully you folks can come up with some good suggestions for JIm. Post 'em here!

Warren
 
Warren, thanks for the heads-up. Time to re-reenergize my efforts to get that MSO form.

When I talked to Jim King at the 09 SBS he said he was lining up with Island Marine Co on Lopez, for a PNW dealer. I could see that they are not the most hand for drive up and take away, but they are sure liked by their customers.

Harvey
SleepyC
 
No ideas for Jim re: good inflatable dealers in Seattle?

Warren
 
Wonder what kind of volume he would be looking at? Cabela's in Fife?

Out of Seattle, maybe Kitsap Marine - Matt?

Harvey
SleepyC
 
Just tried the IBW phone number: a recording saying they are providing service in a facility across the street from the old location, and to watch for a new store opening at another location early in July 09.

Never did get the proper paperwork for the Wolverine.

Harvey
SleepyC
 
I went down to IBW a couple of weeks ago to pick up my D-rings that Jim had sent there over a year ago and a sign on the door told me to go across the street to the shop and contact a fellow named Lee -- which I did. Lee, nice guy, opened the building and found my stuff, and invited me to bring my boat back to him to install the D-rings. So eventually I call IBW again and get a gal who tells me that there is no phone over in the shop (!) but she will give Lee a message for me. Well, surprise, surprise! No call. So when I took family to Lopez Island Resort for lunch on the boat last Wednesday I walked over to Island Marine and talked to the service manager lady there -- laid back but professional crew there. Made tentative arrangements to bring the inflatable there on Thursday. Thursday comes and the holiday traffic to the San Juan ferry is backed way up, halfway to town, and I don't have time to run it over in my boat. So I take the inflatable to Cap Sante Marine (which the Island Marine lady had suggested) and they are doing the job for me.

I wonder if IBW is going to recover from so many self-inflicted wounds. I personally doubt it.

Warren
 
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