Skookum Boats

[Jon Borcherding]

I did lots of reading before I bought my pontoon boat. I read every thread on the topic, I followed Craigs List and Ebay, I looked over the boats at the Sportsmens show, and I talked with a few owners. I finally decided that I wanted a 10' Skookum. Problem: $2050 pricetag (w/ oars and anchor system). I started saving my "allowance" about a year ago and I was almost halfway to the purchase price when I saw a 10' Skookum advertised on CL for $1000! Needles to say I called the guy immediately. The next afternoon I was the proud owner of a 10' skookum! ("Another Boat?" she asked, incredulously.)
The boat was in great shape with one exception, I noticed that one of the oarlocks had a rather sloppy fit. Upon closer examination I discovered that the Stbd oarlock bushing was just about shot. So I finally got around to calling Skookum to see about getting replacements this morning. I called the companys number that is affixed to the pontoons and guess what? A human answered the phone! Not only was it a human but, the guy on the other end was Bill Day, the manufacturer himself! Bill spent 20 minutes talking about boats and fishing with me and at one point he asked me to hang on while he cut me some new bushings. When the noise from his saw subsided he picked up the phone again and told me he was sending the bushings for FREE. No postage, no handling charge, no cost whatsoever. He knew that I had purchased the boat used.
Anyhow, I'm still in shock. Kind of reeling from the sense of intense nostalgia that I get when I run into a manufacturer who builds real quality products right here in the USA and stands behind them with personal service above and beyond the call of duty.
I'm not related to Bill and I didn't know him before this morning. This is not a shameless plug, it's story about a good business that makes good products and provides good service.
I LOVE MY BOAT!:D

JonB

[Derek Day]

That's good to know that they're so friendly. I bought a used steelheader last spring. I actually took it down the cedar saturday and it preformed flawlessly.

Derek

[cuponoodle breakfast]

Problem: $2050 pricetag

That, and they weight nearly as much as some drift boats.

[Jon Borcherding]

That, and they weight nearly as much as some drift boats.

You must be thinking of the steel frame version. Mine is aluminum. It weighs about 70 lbs. I know that's heavier than the Costco types but this one is rated for whitewater.:thumb:

JonB

[Steve Rohrbach]

Jon, I have a 10' Osprey II. I have known Bill for about four years and have had the pleasure of fishing the beach with him on several occasions. He is a great guy and really believes in providing a quality product. I carry my fully rigged boat on top of my Suburban and have never had an issue with the weight. The 1000 pound capacity gives me a lot of confidence in the boat. I have fished all over Puget Sound and Hood Canal without every having a worry about the boat.

[PT]

Customer service can be an issue with his company. I spent quite a bit of time between emails before any response from his company.

Having said that, I'd buy another boat from him without hesitation. Not a huge company he's running. But the boats are great. I'd rather give "the little guy" my money rather than some company that will offer a 100 year warranty "no questions asked".

The only limitation my Skookum has is the guy rowing it.:thumb: