Moe,

Where did you find the info about the fishmaster now being made by Kenner?

This link says dynasty is owned by Godfrey. It looks like Godfrey owns different manufacturers and sales them under the Godfrey name.

http://www.co.cullman.al.us/Press/chamber_tours_dynastyboats.htm

Well, there again, a different salesperson in the Arlington store told us the news about Kenner. I've gotten all of Kenner's info and I plan on calling them tomorrow to ask about it.
What's so interesting reading all of this is that Polar/Dynasty/Godfrey make all of these boats that people really like, and then there's the Fishmaster. I'm wondering how much is actually the dealership causing more harm than repairing the damage.
As far as Suzuki, this is the first negative thing I've ever heard about it. Since a few extra days of research has completely blown 6 months of shopping, I have to open up to new ideas. The worst part to reading all of the bad reports is how much I like the design and flow of the Fishmaster. For my family, the layout is perfect.

I'm running a 23ft. fishmaster w/225 Suzuki, it's been a good boat. I've had it in some pretty rough situations on Texoma, Port Aransas, Port O' Conner it's always done a good job. I talked to at least 10 people with fishmasters and Suzuki's before I bought mine and never heard one negative thing. I did blow two cylinders on my engine last november at the coast, and Suzuki put a new power head on all covered by warranty. Even though I bought the boat at Travis I took it to Alliance Boating in Roanoke to have the power head replaced. I had just heard too many bad things about Travis. My Dad had a 225 merc. pro max blow up due to engine malfunction only 2 months after he bought it, and had to fight tooth and nail with mercury to get them to replace the power head. They wanted to repair it. To me the fishmaster was the most boat for the money. I do somettimes wish I had bought the 19ft. or the 21ft. the 23fter is a giant boat.
My two cents worth.

Moe, You are finding several brands under one parent company and lumping them together as to whether they are all good or all bad.

The likelihood of those three or so boat brands coming out of the same building and built by the same hands is probably slim to none. If any of those brands fell short on profits they could soon be history as far as that parent company is concerned.

Take your time. You are doing your homework

Here is a cut and paste from the Genmar parent site. I am sure you will recognize a few good names here. To see where this came from just type in Genmar on Yahoo.

Genmar makes the following:

AquaSport�

Carver�

Champion�

Crestliner�

Four Winns�

Glastron�

Glastron� Sport Fisherman Series

Hydra-Sports�

Larson�

Lowe�

Lund�

Ranger�

Seaswirl�

Stratos�

Triumph�

Wellcraft�

Windsor Craft�

Moe,

I believe Omar Cotter bought that same boat and motor from Travis. You might get his thoughts on the boat.

He is a guide and uses his a lot so there may be some help there.

Bruce

I beleive Bug-A-Bass runs a Fish Master.

i bought the 21 ft fishmaster with the 140 suzuki 4 stoke,have had it a year ,so far its been a great boat havent had to take it back for any reason,,bought a travis lewisville.things i like about it, floor plan is great ,engine is extreamly quite sometimes forget its running,gas milage is unbelievable compared to my old two stroke.things i didnt like there attention to detail,make sure all u srceens are there for your bait tanks pumps were not screwed down good,back bint tank was a bad design let bait spill out and u never knew it ,tho the have solved this problem on the new models.but overall i like the boat also handles the weather and water well.

I toured the Factory in Vinemont, Alabama when I picked up my 21' Polar CC a year and a half ago. Across the floor was Fishmasters' being made. I think they are still making them , but I'm not for sure. Main reason I wouldn't buy a Fishmaster (Even though it's a good looking boat) is that Travis sells them. I couldn't can't count on their Service after the Sale. I now do all my Boat Business (Service & Buying) with Meyer Marine in Tyler who sells Polar, Alumacraft, Pontoon Boats, etc. I've really enjoyed my Polar and the Customers rave about the ride and roominess.

I've run 2 Stroke & 4 Stroke Suzukis the past 4 years with no major engine problems. I've been on the Lake over 250 Trips in the past two years and have had a few things happen...Water in the Gas, Bumped a Stump and stripped a gear, etc. I've also had Mercury, Yamaha, Force & Evinrude over the years, and I'm now running two Boats...One with a 4-Stroke 140 Suzuki and one with a 150 Johnson Ocean Runner. I believe if you take care of an Engine, one is about as good as another. I do believe the 4 Stroke is the way to go if you're running a Guide Service...Quieter, Better Gas Economy, Cost Efficient.

Whatever you buy, check out the Dealership as far as Service and not just Price.

Royce Simmons www.rc-fishing.com/GoneFishin'

Travis boats will make a dealer build a boat to their specs so that they can sell it a lower price, and you as a comsumer do not get what you are thinking you are buying. My advise is to stay away from Travis Boats. I wish I had someone give me that advise a while back. They will do about anything to not work on your boat, They even tried to not honor a five year extended warantee until I threatened legal action.

http://www.ladyangler.com http://www.polarboats.com


Polar no longer makes Fishmaster boats.

Ok. I called around today got the name & number of the manufacturing manager for kenner boats in Knoxville,AR.What he said was that kenner & fishmaster where both maid there at that plant. The boats were built out the same materials & with the same quality. The only thing different was travis design specs.He said that if we any had any problems that travis didn't take care of that any kenner dealer would. (or tracker being that tracker has own kenner for the last 6 years). Now with that said will kenner be known for a better built boat.Thanks for all the help.

Moe, some of the guides up here on Texoma use the Kenner boat and I have been very impressed with some of the larger ones. Good looking strong built, with lots of walking around room.

Also, if you are looking at boats in this class, I think someone bought the Redfin factory....I forget what they changed the name to, but they used to offer a life time hull warranty. They have multiple styles.

------------------
Mike
www.WhiskerKitty.com

Moe,
After you mentioned above that kenner and fishmaster are being built at the same knoxville ar. site, the first question that came to my mind is where are the Nitro bay boats being built. Since they are all under the same 'Tracker' corporate umbrella, I can only assume that they are built there as well. If so, I am sure they aren't all the same molds. However I would bet the materials, the lay up, and the assembly process is all the same, by the same employees.

on another note, I see that Bill Kenner has a new company and is designing a new boat. www.k2marine.com

Nitro boats are built there also.

Look on the back of ANY nitro center console bay boat.

The first three letters of the Hull ID are KEN, meaning Kenner.

Shawn

Geez, what a thread! I looked at all these boats last year before buying a Sea Pro SV2100CC from Marine Outlet in Temple TX.

I got the 200 Hp Yamaha Salt Water series engine.

I talked with many, many people and didn't find a handful that recommended Travis. Almost everyone said AVOID them.

Suzuki engines are relatively inexpensive because Suzuki is trying to get into a major market share position. I've heard good and bad about them. But, the one thing I KNOW is that if you aren't around the metroplex and you have to have Suzuki service - lots of luck! There aren't many service people around for them.

I used to have a Kenner before Johnny Morris of Bass Pro Shops bought them out. If he's now bought out the Fishmaster line, you can be sure of one thing - the quality will go down.

Johnny's philosophy is to build a boat that has "eye appeal". I know that the hardware that is used in the Kenner boats now is not the same as it was when the Kenner's were built by the original family owned business.

So, this thread does continue to prove one thing - there are as many opinions as there are boat owners!

Go Sea Pro!!!!!

[This message has been edited by Axman9 (edited 02-07-2004).]