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Ultra

river ando 15

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Anyone have advice for getting these guys to build a boat faster? Going on 2 years and all I have is a mold. Don’t want to be rude but I keep pestering and can’t seem to get it moving forward or a straight answer. Again I just want my boat and don’t want to be a pain.
 

Singleton

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What are you building? I have learned with Rusty face to face calm conversations work best. Come in hot and Rusty will retreat. Place was running better when Andrew was the GM. Andrew moved to interceptor boats.
Anyone have advice for getting these guys to build a boat faster? Going on 2 years and all I have is a mold. Don’t want to be rude but I keep pestering and can’t seem to get it moving forward or a straight answer. Again I just want my boat and don’t want to be a pain.
 

river ando 15

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A 26 shadow deck. I love rusty and think the world of him. I just feel bad texting him so much and not really getting much back. It’s been out of mold since sept and nothing much has been done. He builds amazing boats. I friggen can’t wait to get mine!
 

Javajoe

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Well, my buddy put down a deposit over a year ago and just empty promises. He pulled his deposit, went over to Interceptor and had them build him one. He took possession of it 2 months ago. Quick build.
From last August…
411EE1E2-99D6-4209-B167-3EB68CEB8901.jpeg
 
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ultra26shadow

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I would pull my deposit after two years. It’s amazing how Rusty is still in business after all the horror stories on here. He probably stays a float with service and repairs. I pass by all the time and the same boats are in the back for a while. Like that purple flame 27’ shadow.
 

Lucky Larry

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Anyone have advice for getting these guys to build a boat faster? Going on 2 years and all I have is a mold. Don’t want to be rude but I keep pestering and can’t seem to get it moving forward or a straight answer. Again I just want my boat and don’t want to be a pain.
Good luck. My buddy also put money down two years ago and same thing nothing. He is paying cash as the build goes and still can’t get him to move.I don’t want to badmouth his business but on the other hand TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS He doesn’t care and I don’t like seeing people get taken advantage of .
 

96CarreraEclipse

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I just drove to his shop and demanded he release the boat to me. I paid for what was done to it and boat was released
 

WTR&PWR

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The shadows are such beautiful boats what a shame.
 

counterpart7

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Get your deposit back and run. 2 years is too long to wait for there to be little to no progress. They build bad ass boats, but at some point it’s not worth it!

Second option would be take your completed hull somewhere else to be rigged/interior?
 

HBCraig

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Anyone have advice for getting these guys to build a boat faster? Going on 2 years and all I have is a mold. Don’t want to be rude but I keep pestering and can’t seem to get it moving forward or a straight answer. Again I just want my boat and don’t want to be a pain.
I cannot speak to Rusty as I don't know him. When John West built mine I ordered it in late January and was on the water in June. I know this is apples and oranges but still, 2 years is insane in my opinion
 

BUDMAN

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2 years. What seems to be the problem? Can’t be a supply issue, everyone else is building and completing boats. Is it a labor issue, or the lack of finance and he’s using peoples deposits to pay bills instead of building boats? I don’t know Rusty or anything about Ultra other than who ever has one is happy with it. I think I would ask for deposit back and go with a different builder or look for a used one. Good luck and hope you can figure something out.
 

NicPaus

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Seems like nothing has changed. 20 years ago my new Ultra sat behind their shop in the valley. Along with many others. I had the phone number memorized and knew all there voices. Excuse after Excuse. Picked it up and paid out of pocket from a local marine shop as I missed a whole summer.

Pretty sure that's when I joined the forums. A quick Google search and you would think nobody would do business with them.
 

shippingguy

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Seems like nothing has changed. 20 years ago my new Ultra sat behind their shop in the valley. Along with many others. I had the phone number memorized and knew all there voices. Excuse after Excuse. Picked it up and paid out of pocket from a local marine shop as I missed a whole summer.

Pretty sure that's when I joined the forums. A quick Google search and you would think nobody would do business with them.
Well back then you were dealing with VanBeek so that was your problem there! Shortly after that the location changed Lightening Boats and they were doing shady crap then as well!
 

NicPaus

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Well back then you were dealing with VanBeek so that was your problem there! Shortly after that the location changed Lightening Boats and they were doing shady crap then as well!

I know. I talked to Jason's niece few years ago. Said he was still in Costa Rica.

Thing is nothing seems to have changed since. John might of taken good care of his builds but the other location tarnished the name and I have seen the same posts repeatedly since 20 years ago. A quick Google search would save them from the headaches. Plenty of other boat builders.
 

D19

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What started out good has turned so sour. Wish the mold owner could get the molds in someone’s hands who has the resources to do it in a reasonable amount of time.

Who owns the molds? JW?
 

Singleton

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Who owns the molds? JW?
This is dated, but JW still had a controlling interest in some of the molds. The more boats Ultra Havasu builds, the smaller that gets. Not sure where that stands today.
 
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Singleton

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I know. I talked to Jason's niece few years ago. Said he was still in Costa Rica.

Thing is nothing seems to have changed since. John might of taken good care of his builds but the other location tarnished the name and I have seen the same posts repeatedly since 20 years ago. A quick Google search would save them from the headaches. Plenty of other boat builders.

The VanBeeks purchased blank hulls from Ultra Custom Boats El Cajon (JW) then rigged them and sold them as Ultras. The locations were never affiliated with eachother, outside VanBeeks purchasing blank hulls from the real location. Ultra did have a showroom in Corona that Big John ran and those boats were built in El Cajon. JW and Big John were very honest about the entire story and details when I was looking to build mine.

Ultra Boats Havasu (Rusty) is another story. Not as bad as the VanBeeks, but over-promise, under deliver always comes up.
 
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