Re: Legend boats
I won't step into what is a never-ending pile of controversy between rivetted vs. non-rivetted. When I was ready to buy a new boat I did months of research on the subject an concluded little. I think it boils down to which arguement you find the most persuasive and that often depends on who told it to you.<br />I will offer an opinion on Legend however.<br />A few years ago we went to a boat show with a good idea of what we wanted and the intentions of coming home with a new boat. Up to that point, the mfg. that inspired us the most was Legend. We sat down with a salesman an started talking options and money. After about a half-hour I said to my wife,'let's walk around and talk about it abit'. This was a hard thing to do as I had my eye set on one of their boats and was anxious as hell.<br />What turned me off to Legend was this 4 inch binder of 'selling points' they use to promote their product. In it was page after page about negative thing on OTHER boats - particularly Smoker and Sylvan - the ones who supposedly make their hulls. <br />My theory is, if the only way to promote yourself is by finding fault with others, you haven't got much to brag about.<br />I remember during those months of shopping, we'd go to various dealers look at their boats and compare them to Legend. Some of the sales guys would shake their head in disgust, some would do their damndest to try and fight back with their own unique selling points (often hard since almost all salesmen are selling a variety of different boats and also don't have a 'hit-book'). I even had a few sales guys say 'just go buy the Legend, I can't compete with their promotional campaign'. I asked one of them to explain his frustration and he sat down and told me what he thought of Legend.<br />He basically said that Legend targets first time buyers, [read: ignorant]. They do everything to make a boat look attractive and well built and at the same time keep the cost unbelievabley low. For instance, a fully equipped 14 or 16 footer comes with a 100 guage hull. So what? Makes the boat heavier and how does it help you? Unless you intend to hit rocks. Even the mfg that makes their hulls doesn't offer boats with that thickness of hull in the same size. Why? They'll tell you it is uneccassary because their boats use more bracing. They could have made the Golden Gate Bridge from stone that would withstand a hit from an iceberg but the taxpayers are probably glad they didn't.<br />Legend also outfits their boats terribly underpowered - another point that often can slip through a novice boat buyers knowledge - or lack of it. Of course this keeps the starting price way down. And if you notice, Legend is the only company that has prices in their brochueres.<br /><br />Okay, I could rant on and on. I just think it's almost a scam and I feel I am a bit of an authority on it since I did spend over a year shopping for a boat - I did my homework.<br />Yes, Sylan/Smokercraft ( I can never remember which one but all three use almost identical hulls)makes the hulls for Legend, but they make them according to Legends specs. It's not like a hull is made and it will either end up in one of the three. Legend hulls are unique to Legend - for better or worse.<br />I ended up going with a Sylvan with a 90 hp. I wanted to buy a Smoker since the dealer that sold them spent soooo much time with me - even though he KNEW I wasn't going to buy from him. That's rare in sales and I believe it's worth shelling out a bit more to the guy that spent time with you. At the very least, he earned it but it's also indicative of how you will be treated in the future. Smoker just didn't have a boat available with the trim levels and specs I wanted.<br />Bottom line, we bought a boat from Sylvan with a starting price of $16,800 with a 60 Johnson with trom. Compared to the equivilent boat from Legend for $14,000 with a 25 hp Merc (might have even been a 40 but I think it was the former - definately had no trim). <br />After adding the canvas cover, trolling motor and a few better electronics AND a 90 hp four stroke, the Sylvan came to $19,100. The Legend, with the same extras came to $25,000! It's not what you start with, it's what you finish with.<br />Another boat we seriously considered was Crestliner (welded). A great boat to be sure but again, the layout wasn't to my liking. Had it been, I would have had no problem buying it. I think welded is just as great. One thing though, don't let the 20 year non-pro-rated hull warranty catch you. I think it's the dumbest thing. If you read the fine print, the warranty only covers the seam itself. I asked one dealer how far from the seam a tear has to be before it is NOT covered by the warranty. He couldn't give me a straight answer and conveniently didn't have a copy of the warranty handy. Even though he started the pitch by telling me he has been selling Crestliners for decades and they are Ontario's largest dealer. Hmmm. So then I asked him with all his years experience, has he ever seen a boat come in with warranty work done. He immediately replied 'NO!' to which I snapped back, '... then your amazing unmatched warranty means squat!'. Go talk to anyone that welds aluminum and they'll tell you the weld will never break, it's the area surrounding the weld that was weakened by the heat that suffers. This area is not covered by warranty. But then again, it seems to be unheard of on the water so who cares. You're almost guaranteed to get a rivet that develops a leak over time. <br />My suggestion is to shop a little more. Whatever hull and level of trim you decide to go with Legend, get a FINAL price and then go compare it to the competition.
, but has made up for first impressions in a big way over the past little while. They've taken care of us, and we're picking up our boat on Thursday! I'd recommend them to anyone; tell them Jeff Peacock from Ponoka sent you!