Wondering about the Howard 255? Here ya go!

[RiverDave]

Which would be because of excessive heat due to lack of lubrication?

Harmonics is what I was told.. but I'm not even sure how this conversation took the turn to rpm?

 

[hallett21]

Post 70,83

 

[AEA]

How many boats per year can Howard build over what they are doing now? Are they near their maximum capacity or is the long wait only on the most popular models?

 

[OldSchoolBoats]

How many boats per year can Howard build over what they are doing now? Are they near their maximum capacity or is the long wait only on the most popular models?

That's what I am saying! Quality is going to suffer IMO as they try to keep up. Good help in the industry is very hard to come by right now!

 

[RiverDave]

How many boats per year can Howard build over what they are doing now? Are they near their maximum capacity or is the long wait only on the most popular models?

They are looking to add to their laminating staff to increase hull production. There are also some parts of the processes that can be sent to other shops. For example they won't offer capping on he 255. It's extremely time consuming and no matter how much they charge for it, it's not enough to slow production down to a crawl. That one single "option" can take up to a month. It's better for them to develop a relationship with an outside shop or let the customers take it to a Fiberglass shop of their choice.

 

[steak&lobster]

They are looking to add to their laminating staff to increase hull production. There are also some parts of the processes that can be sent to other shops. For example they won't offer capping on he 255. It's extremely time consuming and no matter how much they charge for it, it's not enough to slow production down to a crawl. That one single "option" can take up to a month. It's better for them to develop a relationship with an outside shop or let the customers take it to a Fiberglass shop of their choice.

pandoras box. they HAVE to have the SAME profit structure on these 255s because they are going to take 288s production spots; period end of story. 125+ for this boat is outrageous in my opinion

 

[Bigbore500r]

The speculation is strong with this thread.......lol

 

[RiverDave]

pandoras box. they HAVE to have the SAME profit structure on these 255s because they are going to take 288s production spots; period end of story. 125+ for this boat is outrageous in my opinion

Based on what?

 

[RiverDave]

The speculation is strong with this thread.......lol

No shit.. lol.

 

[RodnJen]

At one time Gene told me they could build 50 boats a year, max. That was a long time ago and I would guess with the outsourcing of certain thing now, they can bump that up a little.

 

[BHC Vic]

The speculation is strong with this thread.......lol

All we did was switch from nordlett to Howard 😜😊

 

[hallett21]

Do hulls still sit for 2 weeks in the mold or have the new lamination techniques sped that up?

 

[Bigbore500r]

All we did was switch from nordlett to Howard [emoji12][emoji4]

I prefer "Hordic"

 

[steak&lobster]

Based on what?

based on the used market and some of the newcomers i.e. Interceptor. I would buy a used Howard, Hallett, Eliminator, Nordic etc all day long over this hybrid boat with small block power.
If it's a "great deal" RD then sell your other boats and build one. I'm sure Gene will make you a special deal. . .

 

[OldSchoolBoats]

pandoras box. they HAVE to have the SAME profit structure on these 255s because they are going to take 288s production spots; period end of story. 125+ for this boat is outrageous in my opinion

You are 100% correct, they are not going to shelve 288's in order to build this boat at a lower profit margin. That would be stupid business.

 

["NOEXCUSES"]

Unless they can do it quicker. Three of these for every 2 288s

 

[OldSchoolBoats]

[QUOTE="NOEXCUSES";2776576]Unless they can do it quicker. Three of these for every 2 288s[/QUOTE]

That is a good point and I would say that MAYBE it's possible, but likely not. The half cap on these and the 288's is the part of the process that takes the most time and requires the RIGHT people to do it. Bill who does the rigging, is only one guy.

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

You are 100% correct, they are not going to shelve 288's in order to build this boat at a lower profit margin. That would be stupid business.

Why does everyone understand this here, but when I bring it up in CC threads people say WTF BBQ?? UNPOSSIBLE!!!

In the end it comes down to time. If the boat costs 1/3 less to produce, and takes 1/3 less time to produce, as a percentage they can keep the margins the same. It is not necessarily straight dollar for dollar margins.

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

​

[QUOTE="NOEXCUSES";2776576]Unless they can do it quicker. Three of these for every 2 288s[/QUOTE]

Treed me on this.. shitty service out at the track today.

 

[Stayin'ontop]

I think Mike and Gene are pretty happy with how things are going. 10-12 boats a year and never sacrificing on quality.
I don't think they'll start outsourcing anything. I hope they don't

 

[ChevelleSB406]

All we did was switch from nordlett to Howard 

And that is what the laminators and such that are not going to move to Havasu if they so choose maybe can do. If Howard is staffing up, and the Hallett guys are not going to move to Havasu, that seems like quite auspicious timing for them. Irwindale to Valencia.

 

[RiverDave]

based on the used market and some of the newcomers i.e. Interceptor. I would buy a used Howard, Hallett, Eliminator, Nordic etc all day long over this hybrid boat with small block power.
If it's a "great deal" RD then sell your other boats and build one. I'm sure Gene will make you a special deal. . .

I will have one out here soon enough Randy.

I think Mike and Gene are pretty happy with how things are going. 10-12 boats a year and never sacrificing on quality.
I don't think they'll start outsourcing anything. I hope they don't

Staffing up isn't outsourcing. Doing things like caps are just time consuming though and I think they'd rather have the customers deal with that end because it is slowing down production big time.

 

[OldSchoolBoats]

Doing things like caps are just time consuming though and I think they'd rather have the customers deal with that end because it is slowing down production big time.

So you are suggesting that they deliver a boat incomplete and have the customer go get the half cap done??

 

[RiverDave]

So you are suggesting that they deliver a boat incomplete and have the customer go get the half cap done??

I'm suggesting that they aren't going to offer it as an option on the 255, and if you want to get it done you can get it done at the shop of your choice. Down there I'd recommend Pat's Fiberglass.


RD

 

[OldSchoolBoats]

I'm suggesting that they aren't going to offer it as an option on the 255, and if you want to get it done you can get it done at the shop of your choice. Down there I'd recommend Pat's Fiberglass.


RD

In my opinion, it's details like that which justify the prices. I am not even sure that they can do a full stainless rub rail on the 288 or 255.

 

[RiverDave]

In my opinion, it's details like that which justify the prices. I am not even sure that they can do a full stainless rub rail on the 288 or 255.

I'm not sure how you would do it in the bow section.. my experience installing those things is it's nothing short of a pain in the ass. Lol.

They would likely put the aluminum rubrail on. It actually looks better but it is less durable

 

[RiverDave]

pandoras box. they HAVE to have the SAME profit structure on these 255s because they are going to take 288s production spots; period end of story. 125+ for this boat is outrageous in my opinion

You keep saying that but don't offer any justification for the claim? Also you have none of the pertinent information to make it?

What is hard costs on a 288? A 255? A SDS etc?

 

[steak&lobster]

You keep saying that but don't offer any justification for the claim? Also you have none of the pertinent information to make it?

What is hard costs on a 288? A 255? A SDS etc?

Well I bought a 2016 28 SCS that was a piece of crap with a 600 for 188k ,how's that for hard info???

 

[wsuwrhr]

Well I bought a 2016 28 SCS that was a piece of crap with a 600 for 188k ,how's that for hard info???

:yikes

 

[rivrrts429]

Well I bought a 2016 28 SCS that was a piece of crap with a 600 for 188k ,how's that for hard info???

 

[RiverDave]

Well I bought a 2016 28 SCS that was a piece of crap with a 600 for 188k ,how's that for hard info???

I don't think there's anybody on planet earth that doesn't know you were unhappy with your SCS. After hearing your story I would be very unhappy about that situation as well.

Overall though it doesn't really speak to any relevance to the value of the 255, nor does it speak to the value of a 288.

RD

 

[steak&lobster]

I don't think there's anybody on planet earth that doesn't know you were unhappy with your SCS. After hearing your story I would be very unhappy about that situation as well.

Overall though it doesn't really speak to any relevance to the value of the 255, nor does it speak to the value of a 288.

RD

Bottom line the 255 is not worth the money to me , all the other guys can line up for it if that's what they want

 

[ArizonaKevin]

Does anyone have a link to the story about the SCS? Sounds like an interesting read.

 

[OldSchoolBoats]

Does anyone have a link to the story about the SCS? Sounds like an interesting read.

There is no link or anything to read.

 

[BHC Vic]

There is no link or anything to read.

Sounds like there's a story to read 😊

 

[Bigbore500r]

There is no link or anything to read.

But at this point there needs to be.....what the hell was it????????? Lol

 

[rivrrts429]

There is no link or anything to read.

Lol

 

[ArizonaKevin]

There is no link or anything to read.

Understood, my apologies.

 

[the510]

I know that everyone has a different level of expectations. I know that if I spent 188k on a boat I would want to be 110% satisfied. Hopefully no one else experiences whatever it is you've gone through. From my experience all HOWARDs I've been on are built solid. Are they the new DCBs? No. But they are a top 5 west coast custom boat builder. In my opinion I think overall they rank 2 or 3. The problem is I am very biased because I love my HOWARD. Also I'm totally geeked out on the 288, and now the 255.

 

[milkmoney]

U know what's great , schiada owners don't have any of these issues. U know what ur getting.
Unless u don't own a small block

Oh did I say SCHIADA [emoji202]

 

[Raffit78]

So, I know this is an older thread but instead of starting a new one on the same topic, I just wanted to see if anyone in the market has bought one of these and seen some use out of it? Pro's and Con's?

 

[Bigbore500r]

So, I know this is an older thread but instead of starting a new one on the same topic, I just wanted to see if anyone in the market has bought one of these and seen some use out of it? Pro's and Con's?

Seems like the first one built for sale, is now for sale due to the buyer backing out? Not sure how many have made it out of the mold at this point

 

[OldSchoolBoats]

So, I know this is an older thread but instead of starting a new one on the same topic, I just wanted to see if anyone in the market has bought one of these and seen some use out of it? Pro's and Con's?

Haven't seen anything yet. They built one for a customer and I believe it is still for sale, after the customer backed out. I would love to drive one and see how it handles.

 

[Bigbore500r]

Haven't seen anything yet. They built one for a customer and I believe it is still for sale, after the customer backed out. I would love to drive one and see how it handles.

I would love for you to order one so i could ride on it

 

[wsuwrhr]

Don't you ride in a boat like this?

I would love for you to order one so i could ride on it

 

[OldSchoolBoats]

I would love for you to order one so i could ride on it

Sounds good......let me get on that. You want to loan me $100k on a 40 year amortization at 0%??!!

 

[wsuwrhr]

The balance will be cash?

Sounds good......let me get on that. You want to loan me $100k on a 40 year amortization at 0%??!!

 

[Bigbore500r]

Don't you ride in a boat like this?

I ride on all the boats sir......all the boats

 

[Bigbore500r]

Sounds good......let me get on that. You want to loan me $100k on a 40 year amortization at 0%??!!

Whoa whoa whoa....slow down there old chum. Loans are your department

 

[OldSchoolBoats]

The balance will be cash?

Cash money baby!!

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