EQ Marine

Leo Smith

New member
I visited the EQ website this morning and saw no mention of C-Dory. The C-Dory website still lists EQ as a dealer. I am assuming that EQ and C-Dory are going their separate ways.

Leo
 
I believe a mutual understanding was reached between EQ and CD to the benefit of all CD owners , meaning Les is still on board. Right, Les??
 
Leo Smith":24brfzws said:
I am assuming that EQ and C-Dory are going their separate ways.

If true, I'd love to have been a fly on the wall when it happened. We lost two So Cal dealerships in a row because of factory/dealership relations. It'll come as no surprise here....

Don
 
We lost Cutter on the East Coast. According to them C Dory cancelled their dealership over the phone without warning because they weren't selling a sufficient number of boats. Probably only one side of a more complicated story, but a pity nonetheless.
 
Anna Leigh":29vsq7dg said:
The last report I had was that EQ is still a dealer. This was at the boat show.

Les told me today that he is no longer a dealer for C-Dory Marine.

Sic transit gloria mundi.
 
What a loss!

C-Dory can't seem to do a lot of things right anymore!

Hard to keep supporting an outfit that keeps shooting itself in the foot!

ShootFoot.jpg

Joe. :sad
 
As we all know, Les, Kathy and EQ will be fine. They have a couple of other very solid, high quality, finished properly when they arrive at the dealership hull options.

Yes, sad, that one of our "charter members"....remember...."the Honda guy".... or was it Honda man.... and just how much has he done to support, teach, and forward the progress of having a nicely laid out total boat system for many of us.

I think the pic above is not accurate. Needs a Mosburge, and shooting both feet. What next?

At least we have each other as C-Brats.

EQ: :beer We appreciate for yall for what you have done for us all...from near and far!! :beer :beer Here Here!!

Byrdman
 
That is a great loss for the C-Dory community. Even though Les did not sell us our boat, he showed us a personal interest and a great deal of time helping us sort out a number of issues. He was a great ambassador for the factory.

Here's wishing him the best!

Nick
"Valkyrie"
 
Doryman":39c9dgmb said:
Les told me today that he is no longer a dealer for C-Dory Marine.

That is very sad news! It is my opinion that the long term adverse impact of this will be on C-Dory, not on Les. Both will survive this move and C-Dory will be able to continue selling vessels, but Les has cultivated an extremely strong group of admirers through C-Brats and I'm sure he will benefit greatly in the future by these alliances. (I feel extremely fortunate that I was a recipient of the fine work and advice provided by EQ Marine when I purchased my 22' C-Dory through them). I'm not certain that I would be as pleased to have any one else provide the "finishing" touches of any vessel that I would purchase in the future. EQ Marine is definitely a dealer that works "outside the box"!
 
I have got to chine in here so hold on. I bought my boat thru les and if I have anything to do about it, and I will, les will out fit my next c-dory. If I have to buy the bare hual someother place and tow it to les it will happen. The other new dealer in the northend( we will call then those guys or TG for now) have not made a good impression on me yet. I have been on one boat they rigged and I did not like it, now I dont know if it was requested to be rigged that way by origanl owner or not. I did not like where they had things and the way they routed thing. Its not just that it was different then my boat, it just does not seem as well thought out. When we first meet les at the boat show a few years ago he spent a lot of time with us answering questions and telling us wha the boat would and would not do. We stopped by his shop several times that year with more questions and he spent a lot of time going over the boat with us and at ath point we were still kicking tires. He never mentioned price or finance until we asked him about it. This year at the show we spent a lot of time on the 25 and 26 with the factory guys getting our questions answered and kicking the tires. Felt a lot like it was with les. that was saturday. Sunday we stopped by to look a last time and it was like walking on to a used car lot. every sells guy wanted to know when we were going to buy?, who was our finacing was with?, did we have a trade in?, They really love trade ins and would pay our off.....etc.. very high pressure and we never even got on a boat. Susan and I looked at each other with that WTF look. I looked at the name tags and every one was the TG shop from up north. Not what I have came to expect for c-dory at all. Maybe that how TG does business but I dont like it. We are looking at two boats for the next one in a few years but it will not be bought at TG and may not be a c-dory at all. Lossing les as a dealer is just plan dumb. even if he sells only 3 boats a year its worth having him at the show and representing the brand. I know that les will always be here to answer our questions so I am not worried.
 
This is really bad news in my opinion. I've never been given the personal attention Les and Kathy gave to me in a purchase of any kind of vehicle, even though they were swamped at the time and didn't make a lot of $ on the sale. They seemed to care that we got exactly what suited our needs, nothing more or less. They bent over backwards with some convoluted paperwork and Kathy even bought back their used trailer from me (for full price) to allow me to upgrade to a new one, which she sold me at a competitive price. These are exactly the kind of people I would want representing my product if I were a manufacturer!!! I visited EQ's website today and, for the first time ever, not a trace of C-Dory to be found. I'm sad. I will continue to travel the extra distance to have them service my boat, make additions, etc., because I trust them to do it right. I believe they will prosper by shifting emphasis and personnel to Rosborough, which will allow them to remain the low volume/high quality firm they want to be. Mike.
 
Brats,

I will say what Tom was too polite to say. The salesman for Those Guys (Master Marine in Mount Vernon) tried to convince me that I should buy a CD 19! Even after I said that I was not interested in an open boat and didn't think much of that design,(my opinion) he kept on about how good a deal it was.

If I was in the market, I too, would buy a 'bare boat' and take it to Les for rigging.
 
How long before C-Dory is out of business?

Poor warranty service.(no answer to emails or phone messages)
Building a former competitors products.( Cape Cruiser)
Quality problems.( leaky execution of designs, delaminating hulls, cheap rusting hardware)
Destruction of good will amongst previous customers.
Destruction of dealer network.
Poor management ( Where is Jeff Mesmer and the good will he created and suported?)
Cheap product modifications. (all glass interiors)

What goes around comes around.

Be happy if you have an older C-Dory built before the company went south and before the C-Dory culture was perverted.

Sorry to be so blunt, but as I have said before: they don't build them like they used to.
 
Well, I too own a C-25. I don't know what, if anything, is going on with C-Dory but here's a few thoughts.

Clearly, C-Dory is trying to sell more boats, and the whole industry is in a slump. C-Dory is probably doing everything they can to meet the payroll and overhead. It's their business.

Dealers in So Calif. We've one through two and for good reason. When I was looking for a C-25, I went to talk to the dealer in Orange County. His main business was selling inflatables and talking to his buddies. Certainly not selling C-Dories, as I waited for 20 min. for him to just acknowledge me. Their present dealer, Catalina Yacht Anchorage has three locations and their business is selling boats, and is certainly an upgrade.

As far as support, when we got back from our summer trip, there was a crack in the transoms port side. I called C-Dory, and talked to Frank Walters, whose other job, apparently, is running the assembly line. He told me to take the boat to a repair yard, since the dealers were too far away. Got the estimate, had them fix it, and I paid them, which was the only way they would do the work. I was impressed by the bill. Boat repair is certainly expensive. I sent Frank the estimate and the bill. He approved them with no argument. A couple of calls to accounting, and the check from them is in the bank (or was sent to the credit card company, whichever way you want to look at it.) Yes it took calling THEM, no e-mails, but Journey On is ready for the next summer. C-Dory's warranty was valid.

I think that the boat I bought in 2005 is a good boat. The hardware doesn't rust, etc. From my past experience, I think the molded interior is great, I wish Journey On had one. And I hope C-Dory can sell the boats they need to stay healthy.

Boris
 
The C-Dory folks have made a dire mistake. Their lack of judgement in not continuiing having EQ (i.e. Les) represent them and set up their boats, will most likely be a detriment for northwestern C-Dory sales and service. Les went way beyond as a dealer, and service. :amgry
 
Several days ago many went to the factory party, whooping it up with them. Now many are slamming C-Dory for the EQ thing. I just think thats ironic.

I am so fortunate to have an EQ rigged dory. If anything, EQ is an icon to the NW C-Dory scene and should be kept no matter what their volume is. If any of he "TG" prospects or "SR" are reading this, consider EQ for your high-end rigging, you will be delighted with their work. Many of the really cool boats people see around here and on this site are EQ's handywork, and it sells more boats for ANY dealer.

Its a bummer for C-Dory, that this thread will live forever in cyberspace :shock:
 
You know, this is like having kids. :disgust

You love them and want the best for them, but when they screw up, you have to tell them whats right and wrong.
and when they get to be teenagers, even if you tell them, sometimes they go ahead and do it their way anyway. :amgry

Sellers have the right to conduct their business the way they think is best. And buyers have the right to buy or not as they see fit.

C-Dory owners are not like owners of other brand boats. C-Dory owners care about what the factory and the dealers are doing.

C-Dory has to do what they think is right for them. That may not be what we would like to have happen, but they have to make it in the business world or there will be no more C-Dorys!

I think that we can both support the good works and good boatbuilding of the C-Dory factory and still speak up and voice our opinion when we see what we think is an error in their dealer relations. Dealers that don't meet the needs of their customers will loose those customers to a dealer that does meet those needs. It's the American Way!! :wink
 
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