Total nightmare!!

I totally agree with Brian's post. Like Brian, we have been on both sides of boating. We have sold and serviced hundreds of boats and bought several personal boats.

After reading this blog and the one on 'the hull truth' I am amazed about some of the comments, attacks and personal slams directed to Andre. I believe some boaters must forget that there are real people being talked about whether they are boat owners or factory personnel.

We met Andre and his family in Petersburg, AK. We were heading south, on our trip from Anacortes to Juneau and back to Anacortes. They were on their way to Skagway, AK and then to Whitehorse, Yukon. We were already in our slip as they came into harbor and berthed their boat 5 or 6 slips from us. They backed into their slip without incident and secured their boat properly. I was watching because I hadn't seen many Cutwaters on the trip so far. Also, being in the marina business for over 41 years, I have learned to observe the way my customers docked and secured their boats. We walked by their boat to say hello. First thing I noticed was that they had a life raft mounted on the cabin top. Their boat seemed prepared for serious cruising and fishing. Their two young daughters were laughing and playing in the cockpit within a fully enclosed bimini, and there was a strong aroma of homemade bread baking in the oven. Even with the rain, this boat, family and setting would have made for a great commercial for Cutwater showing a family enjoying an adventure of a lifetime. Andre really liked the boat even though he had been troubled with a lot of problems. I told him it would take about a year to work out all of the issues and to get the boat equipped the way he wanted it. They did do a shakedown cruise and even extended their departure date in an attempt to get warranty issues resolved. This family was prepared on many levels for the trip they were under taking, and they seemed to be having a great time on the way. I believe Andre flies helicopters and I think learning to handle a 30' power boat would come easy. I don't remember for sure, but I think they have owned other boats and cruised quite a bit.

We don't believe this is a 'scam' or that they were ill prepared for the trip. I do believe having your 3 month old $300,000+ boat sink at your dock has to be terrible. Fortunately, the boat didn't sink and roll over while the owner and his family were on board. Unfortunately, the owner did not have insurance. Let's not slam the owner because his boat sank and let's not condemn the manufacturer until all facts are known.
 
This whole thing smells like a pump out station on a hot Sunday afternoon.
We don't own a Cutwater. We bought a '17 Ranger Tug 25SC at the Seattle boat show almost 2 years ago. We've put 230 hrs on it and never regretted the decision. The customer care provided by Fluid Motion is a big part of that satisfaction.
With Cutwater/Ranger Tug/Fluid Motion coming under fire here, I feel a need to share my experiences.
From the day that Jeff Messmer sent me a Ranger Tug hat for joining Tug Nuts in 2016, I knew this was a company focused on quality and care.
The first day on the boat during our orientation with Kenny Marrs, we discovered the Webasto heater was not working. Kenny made a few calls to Webasto and the team at Fluid Motion. At 6pm Tim and Ivan from the factory showed up AFTER work and stayed until 9, trying to fix it. It was determined that it was bad from the Webasto factory. Next morning, new unit. Just one example.
I've never had any business dealings with Port Boat House, but they seem to go above and beyond as well. I was impressed that they showed up at the Desolation cruise and cooked a bunch of salmon they caught for the entire group. At the Rendezvous this year the Garmin rep was kinda cranky, so Brad from Port Boat House jumped on my Tug and helped me with a software update. He was busy with his own stuff, but took the time to help a "non customer". (He has lousy taste in beer, though)
We have met many new friends from the pool of Ranger Tug/Cutwater owners, and enjoy sharing in everyone's passion and love for these boats. Learning from this forum and attending many of the Fluid Motion sponsored (paid for) events is something I don't think you find much in today's world.
I feel bad for the guy because his boat sunk. Really. We all do, I'm sure. I'm having a hard time with the blame placement in his writings and I await "The Rest of the Story" (Typed with a Paul Harvey accent)
 
The lack of insurance shows a unique thinking process on the part of the boat owner and I imagine that will continue as this plays itself out. The vessel itself holds the answers and likely will be inspected by two or three interested parties. I’m thinking they’ll figure out the reasons for the sinking, perhaps conflicting reasons depending on who the parties are.

In the state where I live sound boats are constantly hitting the bottom due to pinnipeds, I wonder if they are present in this area?
 
This was reported to be in a lake, so probably no seals crowding on board.
 
Seems the web site with the blog is down?

My experience with Ranger Tug staff, dealer staff in Ontario, Lefroy, has been exceptional. This has to be a very unusual exception. Unlike a car a boat is an assembly of many different major parts from many companies, bought in limited volume, so that it is difficult to keep on top of the suppliers to maintain a consitant product. Thus a few issues are expected. For me any issue was minor and adjusted professional without any finger pointing to suppliers. A wonderfully professional company,
 
Yes, this situation seems to be a nightmare for all involved. Not having insurance on a brand new boat borders on insanity, especially if that lack of insurance included not having liability coverage. Having what may be a design flaw uncovered by an unlikely and unanticipated series of events is what keeps designers and manufacturers up at night.

What impresses me is that Fluid Motion has allowed this discussion and speculation to remain up on a message board owned and controlled by them. Even more so that a senior official addressed the issue in a post.

Hopefully when the how and why are established, we can all learn from this sad tale.
 
CaspersCruiser":ksznx3hp said:
What impresses me is that Fluid Motion has allowed this discussion and speculation to remain up on a message board owned and controlled by them. Even more so that a senior official addressed the issue in a post.

.
Click to expand...

That speaks for itself. About 20 years ago I bought a new sailboat we stayed on it the first day during commissioning. While taking a shower, we noticed an eye stinging odor. Next day we found out the hot water heater was installed against the wall without the exhaust opening to the outside. A bit longer in the shower and we may not be around. That boats factory never commented on the incident or even apologized for putting our lives at risk. Would have the commissioning process found the problem, probably not.

Let’s wait what comes out of this
 
I had a good conversation with André, the owner of the 302. I apologized in the name of Fluid Motion and Port Boat House for not having picked up the phone sooner. We both agreed, that nothing would be gained by pointing fingers and a long legal battle. The boat will be coming back to the factory. Meanwhile, Andre has offered to take down his website.
 
Good for everybody concerned! Thanks for the update Jeff.
If I ever decide to trade in my R29 (I love it, so probably never), it will be for another Ranger Tug, and the folks at Fluid Motion are the reason why!
 
Thanks Jeff. Your message made my day. This whole thing was actually making me sick to my stomach. I can’t imagine how Andre and all at Fluid Motion must feel! I feel much better knowing you guys are talking and something will be worked out and learned from all this. Awesome job as always!
 
Wow...just Wow; class acts on both sides.

CN
 
I have to say--I really do not know what to make of this situation.

Even the survey that was done, by a company that seems to be pretty well "top drawer" when it comes to doing such investigations---their conclusions regarding the cause of the capsizing incident of "No Name" Cutwater, seemed to be inconclusive and indeterminate.

This is one of those situations in which it raises more questions than answers....
 
Was there ever an answer to what actually happened to cause the boat to sink?
 
We have a survey being done next week to get a third party opinion. We will update Tugnuts when we have all of the information to our findings.

Thanks for checking,
 
Thank you Andrew for your update. I thought the insurance and legal system would quietly sweep this out of the public eye. I am impressed once again with RT for working to keep this issue transparent to its customers. I for one am eager to see the outcome, because I am confident it will show that Fluid Motion and PBH were not negligent in any way.
 
Thank you Andrew, I didn't realize you watched the forum so closely .
I am interested as with the sudden increase in multiple outboards on a wide rage of boats across the market place there may be some good insight here to share with others.
 
Did Andrew ever post a reply? I searched but was unable to find it.
 
WE NEVER HEARD WHAT HAPPENED WITH THAT SITUATION ? ----- THE WEB PAGE HAS BEEN CLOSED, ---- SOMETHING MUST HAVE HAPPENED ?
 
davecook":1hkxbbqd said:
WE NEVER HEARD WHAT HAPPENED WITH THAT SITUATION ? ----- THE WEB PAGE HAS BEEN CLOSED, ---- SOMETHING MUST HAVE HAPPENED ?
Click to expand...

Please tap your caps lock key. Thanks!

CN
 
Sorry about the caps !
 
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