LA County Boat Show…. Anyone Going/Gone?

[RiverDave]

Anybody want to buy Hallett from Nordic? Same thing would have happened to eliminator if bought by competition, they would have gotten rid of all the family boats and just built a variety of twin outboard speedsters. No more Eagles, just Speedsters and a single Fun Deck. What bothers me is Jake cut up all the Eagle molds and if he sold some, I don’t know of any.

He tried to sell them. Nobody was a buyer

 

[Hardly Satisfied]

I don't really know what someone told you... But I believe it to be incorrect. To my knowledge Jake nor anyone else did anything to Bob.

After a decade of planning Bob pulled the trigger on a massive development, right about the time they were finishing it up, the bottom fell out of the economy. Eliminator went insolvent / BK.. The Development was lost, and the boat company was taken over by the BK courts. When I say that I mean literally court appointed controllers etc.

There was at least one year the bank controller was actually at the boat show and talking to people at the CFO / CEO of Eliminator..

At the end when it was time to go belly up the BK courts put it up for sale. Several people looked at purchasing Eliminator. Only one group stepped up to purchase it which was Jakes investor group.

I understand for nostalgic reasons a lot of people thought maybe Bob would come back and run it.. but that's a very easy thing to say when it isn't your money on the line.

Jake has worked his ass off to bring that company out of the mountain of debt that it was in when they purchased it.. and now that they are finally getting out or out of it, we are experiencing another slow down over the last year. It's a tough business to be in for sure, and I don't envy his or anyone else in the west coast scene right now.. Shit is rough out there.



To my knowledge that's pretty much what happened.

RD

I went to there open house after it was built. What a beautiful place took a tour. Sad to see him lose it

 

[Albert]

These were interesting

 

[RiverDave]

So what I have heard from friends that went that attendance wasn’t good.. however those that did come were buyers and they got some solid leads..

It will be interesting to see who is going next year.

RD

 

[Albert]

I just hope it continues.

 

[whiteworks]

I was lucky enough to have Bob take me on a tour of the Perris facility right after it was built. It was absolutely amazing and had the timing been different his vision would have changed the west coast performance boating industry. Every vendor on the game would have taken up residence there, one stop shop for everything boating related. Manufacturing, storage, repair, full industrial park, etc…

I think about two days before he took occupancy the bottom fell out of the world’s economy. I know for a fact that Bob liquidated a lot of personal assets trying to keep things afloat.

The golden touch just couldn’t prevail on that one. Still breaks my heart to think about that one. Never met Jake, but I really like Bob, just a solid dude.

 

[Ziggy]

That’s true, but again, is a family of 5 gonna be pulling tubes and skis with 19 or 21 Daytona?

You're joking right? We all did that before big boats started taking over the market.

 

[pixrthis]

I was lucky enough to have Bob take me on a tour of the Perris facility right after it was built. It was absolutely amazing and had the timing been different his vision would have changed the west coast performance boating industry. Every vendor on the game would have taken up residence there, one stop shop for everything boating related. Manufacturing, storage, repair, full industrial park, etc…

I think about two days before he took occupancy the bottom fell out of the world’s economy. I know for a fact that Bob liquidated a lot of personal assets trying to keep things afloat.

The golden touch just couldn’t prevail on that one. Still breaks my heart to think about that one. Never met Jake, but I really like Bob, just a solid dude.

Quick story of Bob. We were racing offshore boats in San Diego in a Warlock Factory 1 boat and had an ECM go bad on Saturday. We weren’t Bobs customer’s, just knew him from the races, and he had one of his guys from the factory bring us an ECM so we could race on Sunday. He wouldn’t let us pay for it and insisted that we keep it, that’s the kind of guy he is. The friend I was racing with ended up buying one of the 36’ Daytona race boats and building a 28 deckboat because of Bob. He’s one of many people I know that could buy any boat they wanted but bought Eliminator’s because of Bob.

 

[lavey jr]

Well then, Jake can go fuck himself for what he did to Bob. Its unforgivable. I know Jake wont give a shit given their “success” but I’ll never recommend Eliminator to anyone and I won't ever own another one. Eliminator and everything it was and is was Bob’s decades of dedication and sacrifice as his family business. As far as I'm concerned Jake should call themselves “Speedster Boats”, its sacrilegious that he gets to use the Eliminator name.

I know no one else cares but that's my position on them. Carry on.

So next time Bob comes in the shop and looks me in the eyes and tells me he couldn’t be more proud and happy with what we (and Jake) are doing here at Eliminator and we have really stepped up the brand; should I tell him he’s lying, should I just chalk it up to old age, or should I correct him that sorry Bob these are Speedsters?

 

[Gelcoater]

So next time Bob comes in the shop and looks me in the eyes and tells me he couldn’t be more proud and happy with what we (and Jake) are doing here at Eliminator and we have really stepped up the brand; should I tell him he’s lying, should I just chalk it up to old age, or should I correct him that sorry Bob these are Speedsters?

Lol!
Maybe the haters forgot the Speedster line began pre 2010, with the 28, the 27 was 2013? I think? Maybe 2014
Under Bob’s ownership.

 

[D19]

Lol!
Maybe the haters forgot the Speedster line began pre 2010, with the 28, the 27 was 2013? I think? Maybe 2014
Under Bob’s ownership.

Why did they sell the 22 Daytona to Essex? Seems like the wrong brand to be building that boat. Nothing against Essex, but they're not a fast boat builder. They built the 1st one with a small block. Have they built/sold anymore?

 

[Runs2rch]

So next time Bob comes in the shop and looks me in the eyes and tells me he couldn’t be more proud and happy with what we (and Jake) are doing here at Eliminator and we have really stepped up the brand; should I tell him he’s lying, should I just chalk it up to old age, or should I correct him that sorry Bob these are Speedsters?

Forget all that nonsense and start building some 27 and 29 Eliminator Nu-Era's! Or Lavey by Eliminator.

 

[stonehenge]

These were interesting View attachment 1471271

Those do look interesting.

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[Thunderhead1]

For all you folks that are concerned, I will sell you my holdings/interest in Eliminator and you can have a seat at the table.. Then you can post with facts instead of emotion and your perception... some of you are way off .

Mike

 

[FROGMAN524]

You're joking right? We all did that before big boats started taking over the market.

Maybe but a 21-28’ V is much more versatile.

 

[ToMorrow44]

So next time Bob comes in the shop and looks me in the eyes and tells me he couldn’t be more proud and happy with what we (and Jake) are doing here at Eliminator and we have really stepped up the brand; should I tell him he’s lying, should I just chalk it up to old age, or should I correct him that sorry Bob these are Speedsters?

Yeah there sure seems to be some lingering hatred between these two…

 

[Gelcoater]

Yeah there sure seems to be some lingering hatred between these two… View attachment 1472221

Was just going to post this pic

Was today by the way


He wanted to come check out the pool redo, much wider ramp.

That was the day it was filled.
Still rough around the edges.

Those guys look pretty hostile

 

[4Waters]

Nope not this year. As much as I don't mind wandering around for an hour and cramming a Pinks polish sausage in my face, I'm just not interested in what its turned into.

That's my go to at Pinks, Polish sausage with grilled onions, mustard and relish

 

[ToMorrow44]

Was just going to post this pic

Was today by the way


He wanted to come check out the pool redo, much wider ramp.
View attachment 1472225
That was the day it was filled.
Still rough around the edges.

Those guys look pretty hostile

I forgot about the pool! Haven’t seen a picture of a boat in the pool in forever

Is Bob or Eliminator affiliated with Daytona Boat & RV storage at the Perris facility or did all of that go back to the bank? Just curious as I was Google earth stalking lol

 

[HNL2LHC]

Is Bob or Eliminator affiliated with Daytona Boat & RV storage at the Perris facility or did all of that go back to the bank? Just curious as I was Google earth stalking lol

I was wondering the same thing. What property in Paris did Bob build? Also what was the you/timeline?

 

[Gelcoater]

I forgot about the pool! Haven’t seen a picture of a boat in the pool in forever

Is Bob or Eliminator affiliated with Daytona Boat & RV storage at the Perris facility or did all of that go back to the bank? Just curious as I was Google earth stalking lol

He built it all, but went back to the bank as far as I know.

 

[eand28]

I was wondering the same thing. What property in Paris did Bob build? Also what was the you/timeline?

Old Eliminator facility is the building on the right. You can see the old pool by the highway

 

[HNL2LHC]

View attachment 1472478


Old Eliminator facility is the building on the right. You can see the old pool by the highway

Thank you. So unfortunate as to the timing and fall. Make me think about timing and direction of things…..

 

[DrunkenSailor]

If I was running the storage spot keeping water in the pool so people could test boat motors without hooking it up to a hose would be a huge selling point. Probably not worth the liability though... I can see the ie's finest doing jet ski flips in the pool as I type this.

 

[attitude]

Which one of you had too many Bud Lights?

THEQUALIFIEDCAPTAIN on Instagram: "Unbelievable.. Anyone recognize this guy? #qualified #wtf #gethimouttahere #pos #lowlife #scum #peoplesuck #cantmakethisup #boatshow #boatshowseason #pissing #unbelievable #callhimout #playstupidgameswinstupidpriz

3,018 likes, 303 comments - thequalifiedcaptain on January 25, 2025: "Unbelievable.. Anyone recognize this guy? #qualified #wtf #gethimouttahere #pos #lowlife #scum #peoplesuck #cantmakethisup #boatshow #boatshowseason #pissing #unbelievable #callhimout #playstupidgameswinstupidprizes".

www.instagram.com

 

[Singleton]

Thank you. So unfortunate as to the timing and fall. Make me think about timing and direction of things…..

When it started to go south, I purchased a few props off of Bob.
In conversation, he stated he had to clear 20 boats a months to break even at that location. Issue was he only had 16 orders over a 3 month period. Gave the storage back to the bank first in hopes of keeping the manufacturing location. Ended up having to give that back as well. When BK was performed, Bob wanted to stay in control, but bank refused to let him have any control over the financials, so they appointed a CFO/CEO.

That location was a boat builders dream, excluding the monthly nugget.