[Rhodes22-list] Fun and Games with A Mac 26M, reply

KUHN, LELAND LKUHN at cnmc.org
Fri Jun 27 11:24:02 EDT 2008


In case anyone is interested, here are the posts from the MacGregor
list:

http://macgregorsailors.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=10673

I'm sure there are two sides to the story.  I doubt that MacGregor will
go under, but if I were Roger MacGregor I don't know if I'd allow Kelly
Hanson to sell anymore of my boats.

Now I feel bad that I complained to Stan that I didn't like the way my
new cabin cushion material looked.  By the way, even though I was the
one who selected the material, he bought the cushions back from me at
full price.

Lee
1986 Rhodes22  At Ease (that I didn't buy a Mac)
Kent Island, MD


-----Original Message-----
From: Hank [mailto:hnw555 at gmail.com] 
Sent: Friday, June 27, 2008 9:10 AM
To: The Rhodes 22 Email List
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Fun and Games with A Mac 26M, reply

Ed,

If you look at the site the guy created that was listed in his message,
he
fully documents everything he found with pictures.  It is quite obvious
that
he knows what he is talking about.

Hank


On 6/27/08, Tootle <ekroposki at charter.net> wrote:
>
>
> Robert,
>
> And Stan thought he had issues with his people.  He ought to read it
to his
> guys, that is, if he can translate it to Spanish.
>
> And Stan knows the head fellow of MacGregor!
>
> If only half of this is true, I guess it means that MacGregor is going
> under.  However, the dealer who delivered should have taken time to
check
> it
> out.  Car dealerships used to check out a car prior to delivery.
Quick way
> to ruin a business.
>
> On the otherhand, this guy may lack ordinary common boat sense and
expect
> after a long trip that everything is perfect.  That is why Stan either
goes
> thru the basics at the plant if it is a pick up or sends an
experienced
> person to assist with the initial set up.
>
> Ed K
> Greenville, SC, USA
> http://www.nabble.com/file/p18154416/economics%2B101.jpg
economics+101.jpg
>
>
> Robert Skinner wrote:
> >
> > I received the following message from a fellow sailor,
> > and thought I'd pass it on.  While I have not verified
> > the details and cannot vouch for the accuracy thereof,
> > the general tone seems to indicate caution where Macs
> > are concerned...
> >
> > /Robert
> >
> > -------- Original Message --------
> > Subject: re: August sail
> > Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:20:27 -0400
> > From: "Jay Hersh aka Dr. Beer(R)" <jsh at doctorbeer.com>
> >
> > We bought a MacGregor 26M from a Colorado dealer named Kelly Hanson
> > because
> > they had showed at the Boston boat show and there are no MacGregor
> dealers
> > for 400 miles so it was going to have to be shipped to us anyway. We
> > ordered it in March and Kelly Hanson got the check on April 1st. It
> > cleared
> > my bank account April 3rd, and sincethis takes 2 days for out of
state
> > checks, they must have deposited the day they got it. That was the
last
> > thing about this transaction they did in a prompt manner. The boat
didn't
> > arrive until Memorial Day, a month late. It is riddled with
problems.
> > Major
> > problems.
> >
> > - Engine won't go into reverse and starts in gear because the
throttle
> > cable was not installed correctly.
> > - the Engine wasn't inspected by an authorized dealer BRP, the
parent
> > company of Evinrude, won't validate the warranty until I have this
done.
> > - Steering linkage was either a bad design or incorrectly installed
> > because
> > you can't turn to starboard
> > - the trailer torsion bars were never adjusted so the fenders were
> rubbing
> > the tires. Because the flatbed that was supposed to deliver it from
CO
> > broke down in PA the trailer was towed by some 3rd party shipper the
last
> > 400 miles. This resulted in the side light wiring chafing away.
> > - Speaker wire was used to extend the 14AWG marine grade wire that
> > connects
> > the 30 Amp main switch panel to the battery.
> > - the connection between the 30 Amp panel and the battery had a 10
Amp
> > fuse
> > wired inline, not a 30 Amp. So if you flipped more than one switch
on the
> > panel the fuse would blow
> > - the 12 volt power socket which has 20 guage wiring and is designed
for
> > no
> > more than 10 Amps had the 30 Amp inline fuse wired into it
> > - the engine wasn't connected to the batteries via the battery
selection
> > switch
> > - the 2nd battery I was sold ($195 for the battery, Perko battery
switch
> > and installation) was a 75 Amp trolling motor battery
> > - the main battery on the boat was a 450 Amp, not the proper size
for the
> > ETec 50HP engine I ordered which the manufacturer spec says should
have a
> > max cranking amperage of 1000 Amps
> > - the stereo I bought was advertised and invoiced as a "Marine"
stereo
> but
> > instead a car stereo was installed. It was installed in the wrong
place
> > and
> > it wasn't even hooked up right. there was no fuse in the inline fuse
> > holder
> > and the wire on the positive wasn't stripped before being crimped in
the
> > connector end
> > - They stiffed me for the main sheet, genoa sheet and genoa cars
> > - The $495 Genoa that is advertised as having a sewn on UV cover
didn't
> >
> > This is just the short list. There are 2 full pages of defects on
this
> > boat.
> >
> > When I tried to contact Kelly Hanson both the Sales Director who had
sold
> > me the boat (Jeff Stagg) and the Chief Financial Officer (Andrew
Etzen)
> > who
> > I'd also dealt with previously ignored repeated emails and calls. I
> posted
> > something on the MacGregor Sailors web page and the owner of the
company
> > Art Kelly called me names and said that if I'd only called him he'd
have
> > corrected everything. So I called him and he said to email him the
list
> of
> > problems and the pics I took of them. That was three weeks ago, and
as
> you
> > might be guessing he didn't respond to my email.
> >
> > Next I contacted the East Coast Sales Rep who only recently started
with
> > them and works part time while having a day job. He's a nice guy and
he
> > came out to my house near Boston two weeks aga and took a look at
the
> > lemon
> > of a boat they sent me (we've nicknamed it the Albatross for now)
and
> when
> > I told him that I should be getting refunded at lesat some of my $
for
> the
> > slipshod work his reply was that calling it slipshod "was being
kind." He
> > put together an action list and sent it out to Colorado. The CO
office
> has
> > done nothing. They haven't bothered to doing even the easy stuff on
the
> > action list like mailing me the missing parts and they have yet to
send
> me
> > a dime.
> >
> > I've had to shell out $300 to have the trailer repaired earlier this
week
> > so I could tow it to the closest Evinrude dealer to have the
warranty
> > inspection done, the throttle properly connected and a battery sized
for
> > starting this engine installed. That's going to cost a bunch more $.
> >
> > In the meantime Kelly Hanson is blaming MacGregor for some of these
> > problems since it's a custom built trailer and MacGregor installed
the
> > engine. They haven't owned up to the miserable and hazardous wiring
job
> > they did and refunded me the $ for the labor on it or the cost of
the
> > stereo plus installation. Summer starts
> >
> > The hybrid power sailer of the MacGregor is in principle a good
design.
> > MacGregor itself cuts just about every corner they can to squeeze a
$1
> > more
> > profit out it. They make claims about the boat that just plain
aren't
> true
> > which I won't go into those here. They don't stand behind their 2
year
> > warranty, and they aren't even remotely close to being qualified to
> > install
> > engines on their boats.
> >
> > Kelly Hanson has a nice web site. They've been selling MacGregors
for 1.5
> > to 2 years and have become the largest reseller. Almost nothing Jeff
> Stagg
> > their sales Director told me about the boat before I bought it is
true.
> He
> > misrepresented so many things about it I don't know where to start.
There
> > is no supervision of whoever is doing the install work on the boats
of
> the
> > options they sell, and despite a lot of huffing and puffing from Art
> Kelly
> > (who also runs Freedom Boat Works) they don't stand behind the boats
they
> > sell.
> >
> > So just like Ishmail in Moby Dick, I'm here to tell you my tale so
that
> > you
> > might avoid my fate. Think twice or even thrice before you decide to
buy
> a
> > MacGregor because even if it is delivered in the condition it is
supposed
> > to you'll spend lots and lots of money and time just replacing the
cheap
> > hardware they use (most of which is designed for much smaller day
> sailers)
> > with quality stuff. Definitely DO NOT BUY A BOAT FROM KELLY HANSON
> > MARINE!!!! Tell anyone you know that might be thinking of buying a
> > MacGregor not to buy from Kelly Hanson Marine. Tell them to tell
everyone
> > they know. Believe me you'll be doing people you never even met a
huge,
> > huge favor.
> >
> > If the boat weren't in the shop I'd probably be working another
10-12
> hour
> > day on it in the fading hope of getting to sail it this year instead
of
> > writing this email.
> > Hope all your summers go better than mine has started out.
> >
> > Jay
> >
> > PS I've created the website KellyHansonMarineSucks.com and will be
> posting
> > a list of the defects the boat arrived with, pictures of the
slipshod
> work
> > that was done by them and MacGregor, the timeline of events, and
other
> > details.
> > __________________________________________________
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> > http://www.rhodes22.org/list
> > __________________________________________________
> >
> >
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