Scandal BY World Cat and Town Creek Marina

[Sea Draggin]

flying fig

Just so you know I think it sucks you got stuck, but am happy your insurance covered the deal, however the image was too funny NOT to post.

[worldcat lemon]

Thanks. That really is good. The flying fig flies high!

If World Cat would have been willing to do the right thing I would have been their most loyal customer. I truly am a fair guy that caught by a circle hook in the jaw and was reeled in by those involved.

[Surfergirl]

I have been fishing and boating over 40 years and I have no plans on quitting. Just because I have run into something worse than a crooked used car lot doesn't make the whole industry bad. However, every industry needs to clean house and throw out the trash when it is found. There is definitely some trash floating behind this scandal that smells of rotting fish carcasses that spread from Town Creek Marina in Beaufort to World Cat headquarters in Tarboro N.C..

I was just called the other night by someone who owns one of these boats and they have been trying for several years to get World Cat to step-up and fix the problems. These owners could not even keep the boat running long enough to get 100 hours on it. Now why do you suppose Andrew Brown at World Cat will not have some product integrity and fix these lemons that are on the market? Doesn't he realize that people's safety is at risk when the engines are subject to salt water entry while under normal operating conditions?

Andrew get off your Princeton high horse commode and take care of your customers before someone dies in one of these boats.

Fortunately for me my insurance reviewed all the surveyors and other reports I have obtained and they are totalling this floating pile of dung because it is the experts opinions that this is definitely a design flaw! However, I am not finished with Andrew Brown and World Cat until they straighten out the problems with the other owners who have contacted me. Until that time I am not going to let this fish float belly up!

Hey Andrew, why don't you get on this site and explain to these fishermen why you continue to blow these owners off regarding the line of LEMONS you built? Do you have it in you?

The fire IS a raging monster!!!

The squeeky wheel get's the most grease.

I have worked on every brand of boat imaginable, even the mega yachts... and have YET to find a "perfect" boat or boat maker.
Every boat I have detailed has stress cracks. Boats take a pounding not to mention the elements of salt water, sun and wind.

I feel you should do your homework BEFORE you buy a new or used boat, not go by what other people are saying.
Just because several people say it's a great boat does not mean it is great for you.

You should have spent several hours on the boat before buying it. I would have gone fishing on it and would have taken it out for several test drives on rough days offshore most brokers will allow that if asked.
That is how you find out if the boat is sound or not.

As far as the trailer, you should have done your homework on that also. You should have asked what the rating on the trailer was.. You have been boating and fishing for 40 years it was not like you were new to this business.

Anyone who is buying a boat should talk to the person who details it. We see all the flaws and we know what to look for. And most of the time have been made aware of repairs on the boat due to scheduling conflicts or special clean ups such as oil, exhaust leaks, engine replacements .. etc... and you will also know if the person who previously owned the boat took special care of their investment.
I have people ask me all the time to look at the exterior and interiors of boats for people interested in buying, we can tell if the boat has just been detailed for a sale or has been maintained for as long as the boat owner has owned it, there are tell tell signs...and I do it without a charge.
we can tell if the boat will need new paint or can be buffed out, or if there are stress cracks or soft spots.
That gives the possible new owner some knowledge before the surveyor gets on the boat and can ask questions.

AND spend a little money and get YOUR OWN surveryor not the surveyor that the broker suggests.

[Gale Winds]

We run a World Cat 250sf and have nothing but good things to say about the boat and the company. They have worked with us and have taken care of any problems we had, which were few.

KjG
GaleWinds

p.s. We have no association with World Cat other than owning one of their fine boats.

[worldcat lemon]

Surfergirl/ Galewinds, all of that is great advice. The day I arrived in Beaufort I was told by Lisa that they have a problem with the boat and it needed fixing before I could sea trial and run the boat. Bad Gimble bearing. It took 6 days for the problem to be worked on, the entire time TCM would not let me see the boat with the engine out. In hindsight I believe it was because I would see all of the rust and salt water corrosion on the hidden parts of the engine.

The entire week I was told over and over that "well we found another issue and we have to order parts". It all sounded like TCM was fixing things and seemed ligitimate, so I waited. Lisa was pretty convincing, except for the fact that later she could not provide any receipts for many of the supposed repairs( ie. I was told by Lisa that when they pulled the port engine they found that the port turbo was bad, and they just ordered one off of a brand new engine out of New York. That should have been a red flag. Who pulls parts off of a new engine? She also told me that Volvo in Virginia had three turbos on the shelf but they would not sell TCM one. Why not?) That Turbo did not get replaced as I was told.

Did I miss seeing alot of red flags in this deal? More than I should have. I assumed a dealer for a manufacturer would be upfront with their boat dealings. Being trusting was my biggest downfall. Do I care about stress cracks? Absolutely not. The sponson damage was not a stress crack, it was impact damage.

As for the trailer, who would believe that a company that deals with these boats day in and day out would screw-up this bad. Why after it was found did TCM not send out the correct trailer? Is 13 months enough time to straighten this out? How about Steve Tulevech sending me a bent and rusty ladder assembly to replace the one bent because they took off a brace, unknown to me? What do these things say about the way they treat customers? Steve tried to blame the error on the trailer manufacturer for 8+ months. By the way, this is a 2008 beautiful tri-axle Road King trailer.

As for detailing, I spent nearly 12 hours washing, removing greasy hand prints, and buffing out the gel coat oxidation when i got it home and unwrapped. I did pay for detailing, but it was the worst case of detailing I have ever seen. However, I did not see the mess until I pulled off the shrink wrap.

Thanks for all the good advice. I am sure it will be helpful for those buying boats.

As for World Cat boats in general, I have never said all of their boats had problems. I think they build a great boat, solid, rides great. But this model was a failed abortion and it should have been recalled. I mean no disrespect to owners with outboards, I am sure they work well. I feel W.C's customer service for THIS model is one of the worst examples of customer service I have personally ever seen. AND I am not the only owner who feels this way, I know of three others beside myself out of the 9 that were built. I will bet that if i could talk to all 9 owners the overwhelming concensus would be similar to the run-around I have experienced.

For the record, I told Andrew Brown I would be willing to trade straight across for a USED boat of similar function and size and I would be happy. His offer was a 23' center console with twin 150 yamahas. This is a glorified rowboat with lawnmower engines compared to my 27' full hardtop and cabin with twin volvo diesels. A 23' boat is unsafe in the Pacific northwest for the use I intended to fish my boat and it would have put my family at risk. I know there are tons of used W.C's with low hour outboards on the market. He also wanted me to fork out another $40,000 for a 27' with outboards. If anyone pays full retail for a new boat in this economy, he needs his head examined.

Anyone who has ever been burned knows my frustration.

[worldcat lemon]

Tried to respond to your P.M's but I get a response that says you are not receiving P.M's. If you want to get a response you need to modify your settings.

Lemonhead

[marine4003]

Tried to respond to your P.M's but I get a response that says you are not receiving P.M's. If you want to get a response you need to modify your settings.

Lemonhead

No, more likely doesn't want to read anymore about your pathetic little story.

PS -WC paid me good $$$$ to say that....

[worldcat lemon]

Hey did you finally crawl out from under your rock from south of the border?

You want a good laugh? My insurance totalled the boat after they hired their own surveyor to look at this WORLD CAT ABORTION and he said to me it is the worst engine hatch design he has seen in 30 years in the marine industry. So why don't you go and try and teach someone else how to commit insurance fraud by taking their boat south of the border. Nice morals dude.

Sounds like you are familiar with the old "reach-around". Yup! Sure does! You are the pathetic story. I am the good guy in this and I don't care what YOU have to say. Adios Muchacho!

[marine4003]

Hey did you finally crawl out from under your rock from south of the border?
You want a good laugh? My insurance totalled the boat after they hired their own surveyor to look at this WORLD CAT ABORTION and he said to me it is the worst engine hatch design he has seen in 30 years in the marine industry. So why don't you go and try and teach someone else how to commit insurance fraud by taking their boat south of the border. Nice morals dude.

Sounds like you are familiar with the old "reach-around". Yup! Sure does! You are the pathetic story. I am the good guy in this and I don't care what YOU have to say. Adios Muchacho!

Yup, WC stopped sending me $$$ to hassle you..i guess 'cause of the settlement,so i ran out of tequila money...listen, i got a great boat for ya......

[worldcat lemon]

Naw, you aren't hasseling me. It takes someone with more than 2 neurons and 4 synapses to ruffle my feathers. My motto is, "have mercy on the simple minded, someday they may have to pump my gas".

Seriously, why don't you contact the Carteret County Times in Beaufort, N.C. for a copy of the 2 articles they wrote on the lawsuit against World Cat, Town Creek Marina, and Volvo over this boat. Hopefully, you have someone who can read the articles to you.

The shallow end of the gene pool is at least a safe place to swim.