Test Ride Possible

In the market for a boat and found out about a local dealer who said he'll take me for a ride / run in a 295 and possibly a 2100.

Should be fun to see how she rides.

Here are a few questions I have since the conversation:

1. They claim to be 100% hand laid. ( True / False )

2. You only need a two bank charger because the motor charges the cranking battery.

3. The Atlas jackplate is totally maintenance free and is da bomb.

4. The Bee will run 75 - 80 mph with a 200 Even. H. O.

5. Bee Co. was bought out b'c the owner wanted to retire.

6. 30K is dealer cost. That was mean b'c I did a google as they are listed at that price. FALSE


That's for starters. Thanks for the input gentlemen!

Give me or Marty a call http://xs-s.com/zf/images/smile/emthup.gif lot of these are incorrect

I am in Dayton, OH and have a 2008 295DC 200 merc opti for sale!

Around 75MPH would be the highest on a 295 IMO I haven't seen it but with some seat time and adjusting I think it is possible.

IM if you are interested or email brian@nervousbbaits.com

Should be fun to see how she rides.

Here are a few questions I have since the conversation:

1. They claim to be 100% hand laid. ( True / False ) - False, there are only 3 boat manuf. i know of that are 100% hand laid.

2. You only need a two bank charger because the motor charges the cranking battery. - True, put a manual charger on the cranking battery periodically for good maint.

3. The Atlas jackplate is totally maintenance free and is da bomb. - True

4. The Bee will run 75 - 80 mph with a 200 Even. H. O. - Won't do it..

5. Bee Co. was bought out b'c the owner wanted to retire. - Dunno

Bumble bee is a quality built boat. The 2100 rides VERY well. They run mid 70's with a 250 Pro XS, 2 people, and a fishin load.

Bumble bee is the best value on a boat, IMO.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jowens &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Should be fun to see how she rides.

Here are a few questions I have since the conversation:

1. They claim to be 100% hand laid. ( True / False ) - False, there are only 3 boat manuf. i know of that are 100% hand laid.

2. You only need a two bank charger because the motor charges the cranking battery. - True, put a manual charger on the cranking battery periodically for good maint.

3. The Atlas jackplate is totally maintenance free and is da bomb. - True

4. The Bee will run 75 - 80 mph with a 200 Even. H. O. - Won't do it..

5. Bee Co. was bought out b'c the owner wanted to retire. - Dunno

Bumble bee is a quality built boat. The 2100 rides VERY well. They run mid 70's with a 250 Pro XS, 2 people, and a fishin load.

Bumble bee is the best value on a boat, IMO.


</TD></TR></TABLE>

1. IS TRUE.....been to the factory myself and seen how they are done......TOTALLY hand laid with material NO other boat company uses.

2. Depends on if you do a lot of traveling and want to just plug and forget. I have a 36V TM and got my rig with a quad charger, just for that reason.

3. Atlas JP is what I got on my rig and to date( took delivery end of April) no problems and no maintenance.

4. My last rig was a Triton 19XDC (same hull as the TR196) w/ 200 Opti and best I got out of mine fully loaded was 75.8 MPH. 76 is possible any thing over that is a ?

5. Not sure but from my understanding they closed their doors and the current owners bought it back with all rights to the Bee Line hull. Phoenix is a TOTALLY new hull and deck layout by the current owners.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EdDavisKY &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

1. IS TRUE.....been to the factory myself and seen how they are done......TOTALLY hand laid with material NO other boat company uses.</TD></TR></TABLE>

There is no chop at all? What is the material they use that no other boat manuf uses? I hope it is not a proprietary secret. Just a curious mind they do build a good looking boat.

Bryan I did not see a chop gun in the shop and they took me threw every step. EVEN saw them hand laying cross weave (the one no one else uses as of March '09) fiberglass cloth under the top cap and round the compartment openings and where the storage boxes are molded into the top cap.

Just as Ed said when I toured the plant picking up my 721 I watched the mold being taped up and was given a sample of the fiberglass mat that is used. Having been on a demo team for another manufacturer and having toured four other plants I will tell you I have never witnessed as much attention to detail or the use of top quality materials like at Phoenix. No short cuts, while the fiberglass mat used by most other manufacturers is also used at Phoenix however, it's looped on the hull for lifting points and is cut off before the cap is married to the hull. In other words the material used by others is cut off and thrown away at Phoenix.

J.E.

I recognize Phoenix makes a very nice boat, but the prices which they are commanding is out of my range. I actually began my boat search last summer and the Phoenix is the first one I drove 4 hours to see. Since then the wife and I have traveled to KY to check out Bullets. All that said to say that when I finally put my signature down it will be for a quality boat that has a well taken care of motor hanging on the back.

I'm not sure if the process used at the factory for the Phoenix is the same used for the Bee. I was told that Phoenix' cap is not hand laid. The dealer yesterday told me that Bee uses chop guns at differing stages but continued by assuring me that they were 100% hand laid. ( note: Flag up )

The reason for the post was because I have found out dealing with every single sales person thus far that they communicated something not entirely 100% correct. The valued information off of the boards has educated me a ton and allowed me the pleasure of many phone calls where guys have given me a lot of pointers about boats and motors.

Einzig you are welcome to ride down to the factory with me anytime that I am going http://xs-s.com/zf/images/smile/emthup.gif

They do use a chop gun in certain areas, but then its rolled out by hand to finish it out. The Phoenix and Bee Lines are built side by side by the same people using the same exact materials in both boats. They also use the best materials that are available, better and quiet a bit more exspensive cost wise than what most other companies use. They also use a Master mold to make their molds. That means consistency. Every hull and top cap will be the same, no matter if it came from mold #1 or #2. Alot of companies will make a mold off of a boat already built and there will be imperfections from that boat transferred to the mold.

Dont be afraid of well built boat that also uses a chop gun. Its all in the way its put together, and the experience of the people building them. There are some VERY bad chop gun boats being built and there has also been some VERY, VERY BAD hand laid boats. If its done right, you wont have any problems. No worries with the Phoenix or Bee Line at all. It should tell you something when they come with a lifetime TRANSFERRABLE warranty on the hull. I dont know of many companies that stand behind their product like that. Bullet is a 100% hand laid hull and they come with a 5 year warranty.

Between Bullet, Allison, and Stroker, those companies build less than 500 boats per year combined. Bullet is averaging about 250-300, I know Allison and Stroker dont build anywhere near that many. The last I heard, which was several months ago, Phoenix had a goal of building 1 boat per day, be it a Bee Line of Phoenix and they hope to be able to up the production because they are so far behind.

Also, sending you an IM about something. http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/thumbsup2.gif

This is a good post about Phoeinx/Bee and how they are made. Hopefully Next year I will get a chance to go and tour the plant. All I got to say is I still love my BEE 2100 as much as the day I bought it. My wife swears that I love it more that her........hummm let me think about that http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/roll.gif

Trying to make a fair comparison here though. The dealer up here wants near 30K for a new 295 while I can pick up a clean slightly used 21XRD for less. I want a big dance floor up front and the 21's in many categories fit that. I was hoping for a ride in the 2100 Bee Line today but it wasn't available so I asked to reschedule. I in no way want to rank this guys chain and ride in the 295 when right off the bat I'm not inclined to sign on the dotted line for that ride. Not to say that I wouldn't like it, but I don't like the idea of going into a shop and immediately wanting him to sell me a brand new boat for what a good used one is going for. Does that make sense?

I'm not 100% sold on the hand laid means better, but I am opposed to someone saying they are when I find ought they aren't. What matters is that the integrity of the communication carries through on the entire sales process and includes the forthright details.

Looks like my last post got deleted http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/doh.gif

To whomever removed it.....facts are facts. I live and grew up 10 min from the factory. My brother worked there for nearly a year when it was Bumble Bee, and my fishing partner now works there.

Jowens,

I didnt delete any post and never saw one that you posted that was out of line. If someone deleted it, you would have recieved a notification explaining why it was deleted.

I was just at the factory on Tuesday and Marty is correct in saying that Phoenix's goal is to build one boat a day. Had that discussion myself with Hank Baker/Gary Clouse.

Chop gun is used but just around storage lids and rolled. Pure hand laid hull and master mold used.

Also spoke to them about the 18-6 - Plug was driven today.

Russ