I don't want to put him down. He builds a great boat. I think he's just been really busy.
I was told my 3k deposit was " non-refundable" &/or it was payment for the time he wasted on me. I think that's only fair. I did some research and found that $1500 an hour for a mud boat build consultation is actually less than most of them charge. I think Jason charges $2000/hour just to talk.

I don't think this thread should head in the direction of other builders, this is about one specific builder that is withholding peoples money with no answer or boat.

Dam, and here I was hoping the fighting would continue...

I hope you're right...

Come to think of it I've had boats built for myself and my company by several different builders and the deposit for everyone was to cover the materials. Not one charged me a consultation fee.

Explain the time he wasted on you part, i don't follow that, and a 3k deposit thats non-refundable, maybe he should keep it for being dumb enough to think that thats ok.

I could see if he purchased your materials with that money, but if that was the case, you should be over there picking up some metal that you bought.

^^^exactly or picking up a check one or the other

OH wow so the truth comes out on this one!

Wow. Some of you guys are a little slow;) I guess we really do need that sarcasm smiley. I started with Jason. Made a deposit. He ordered my metal and trailer. I decided I wanted to switch builders. Jason was very professional about it. We had no hard feelings. Still don't. We have talked and texted about other stuff since then. Texting with him now.
I eventually picked my metal and trailer. In the meantime, I had heard some good things about DSC. I met with Jesse a couple of times, gave him a deposit. I was supposed to bring him the metal from Jason, but I never did. This is because I changed my mind again, this thread should be explanation enough regarding that decision.

I told him I didn't want to do business with him and politely requested my deposit back. He told me it was non-refundable and compensation for the time he spent on me. I offered to pay him $250/h (which is absolutely rediculous in and of itself) for his time and accept $2500 refund. That was not acceptable. I had the discussion with a friend of his regarding how deposits generally work in the boat building world as I understood it. That being that the deposit is for the purchase of materials. I said that I should get a refund either in $ or in materials if the money had been spent on them. I was told by this person in no uncertain terms that I was incorrect and I should just let it go. For my own safety, I decided to do just that.

CJB...as far as switching "mid-stroke" whatever that means, I literally, with no exaggeration, could not be happier with the decisions I made that got me in contact with the builder who built my boat. One of the best things about this guy is that he actually gave be a boat in return for my money...

Built, rigged, and painted by thirdtimesacharm

I would break a fuckers neck if he told me I'm out 2500 for his time if he never did anything

Met with him twice. An hour each.

Glad you got what you wanted in the end, but it sucks to hear that your "satisfactory decisions" still leave you a few thousand in the hole with nothing to show for it. Sounds like you should be equally upset as the OP.

Or just down right an idiot, how are you out money when you brought your own material....you are not making any sense at all. this dude got you for 2500 no questions asked....you got reemed bud 2500 for material, you had your own material.....wow i mean just wow Come on Docott Please tell me there is more than you believeing a guy about him spending time on you, what time, you never got a boat from him, so what time are we talking, The dude is just wrong and ran off with 2500 of your money, bottom line

Good looking rig Docott! I couldn't have just walked away from $2500. I would have got my hard earned money back one way or another.

I am, in my own way.
You're right, I'm 3K in the hole. It shouldn't be that way. But I've had a little more time than nocem to think about it and reach some conclusions. I'll never get it back. Never. Sue him, arrest him, beg, plead, beat him-the money's long gone.

Aside from the money, the thing that gets taken from you is the excitement and anticipation of having your boat built and the satisfaction of having worked hard to be able to get just what you've dreamed of only to have not only your money but your dream taken.
I'm lucky (if you call not having a wife, girlfriend, or children to spend money on) to have been able to suck up the loss-not because I wanted to, but because nothing was going to change it.

Thanks.

I can honestly say, that with thousands of dollars in Insurance, Tens of thousands in taxes, and normal payroll/ business expenses, it is very hard to run a business. I am lucky enough to have a business backing that enables me to keep everything on the up and up. A small business is harder to run than a corporation due to limited funds allowing such positions as CFO, CEO, accounting department, and quality management. As a small business, I have to wear all hats.
I've been drinking... So, I hope that made since to y'all.

One of the big deals was I had to pay down some money to get my spot in line or else someone else was there to take your spot. And with the wait like it is in South Louisiana for a custom boat I was all about getting in line whatever it took.(nobody builds boats like this where I'm from)... Which may be an add on to my lil business I already have(another story) but I sent the money to him which was a lil over half and he was gonna do the entire build.

I don't know I just feel like a total idiot now for trusting anyone with that kind of money.(I do have a good paper trial too by the way) Uncle J and I talked and like he said this guy is giving the custom boat Bulders a bad name.. And he is right cause I feel like now I don't trust any of them. Just a bad deal all the way around.
I am gonna be on the the ground running first thing in the morning getting this thing going, and headed to LA to pick up my materials at Peirce Aluminum and then over to Calens (which is a stand up great business man by the way) and get my motor.

Ok....let's clear it up...

I WAS KIDDING IN MY FIRST POST ON THIS THREAD!!!
I do not think that anyone in this situation should be paid for their time-certainly not $2500-3000!!! See, that's where the sarcasm comes in...it's so rediculous as to be absolutely unbelievable, so you weren't supposed to believe that I really thought that. The other part of the sarcasm was that that was in fact what I was told-that he was keeping my deposit for his wasted time.
As for materials, I had sides and bottom. I trusted him. The deposit I gave him was for additional materials, with the balance to be applied to labor.

Why am I not more upset? People show that in different ways.
Why didn't I persue it more forcefully? After a conversation, not with Jesse, I decided it was better for my physical safety not to.

and to think.......i was crazy enough to once give jason 5 grand cash,no paper trail whatsoever,on a handshake.lol

Yes. Let me be absolutely clear on that...Jesse was in NO way involved in that, and I will not name the individual.

Before we go any further, I don't know Jesse other than from our two brief meetings. He may be a great guy, I don't know, you'll have to decide that for yourselves. I have not passed judgement on him regarding his character except to reach my own conclusions. I don't know about the quality of his boats. I've never owned one. That aside, everything I've said are indisputable facts. I stand by words 100%. The thing is this: at the end of the day, all a man has is his word, and right now, jesse's isn't worth much. I agree with what Jason said. I, too, have run a small business in the form of a solo private practice. With taxes, payroll, insurance and other overhead, it's tough. It's easy to get overwhelmed, and before you know it, you're in a deep hole. It's best to never get there in the first place. I don't know what's has or is happening with him, but it does seem like there's something going on. There are too many people, including myself, that aren't happy with him for it to be a coincidence. I think things would have gone better if he had just been upfront about whatever it is in the first place, before it got to this point. I think that being honest is still the best thing he can do. Just come on here and let it all out, whatever it is, apologize, and offer to work with people to get things straightened out. I hope he chooses to do those things.

A friend of his said I was talking shit about him and trying to ruin his reputation for no reason. He called and literally screamed at the top of his lungs at me for 30 minutes and said that if he weren't out of town he'd be on his way to my house to "fucking kill you". A friend of mine who knows this guy told me to be very careful, that he was concerned for my physical safety. I'm not a pussy, but, yea, that scared me. Honestly, I'm expecting another call any minute and I would not be at all surprised if I got a late night visit from this person. I'm not a fighter, but I wouldn't hesitate to defend myself with lethal force if I felt threatened by this person. I'm not exaggerating or making more of this than there really is. Y'all know I talk some shit on here from time to time, but I've always been honest, so you can believe what I just said.
I sleep with a loaded 12 gauge and a 45 in my bedroom. Yea, I think he was serious. Yea, I'm more than a little spooked. So, yea, I let it go. It's a boat. It was supposed to be fun.

Who stays on the phone with someone for thirty minutes while they scream at you? Just hang up

Um, I do-when I'm trying to calm someone down so they don't come to my house and beat me to death.

Doesn't this guy's advertisement still show up with the others on here? Sounds like that needs to be taken down before some other poor sob sends this fuckstick another check. It's been my experience when someone tells you a large check is in the mail, it's the last time you're gonna talk to them for a while for one of two reasons... Either they send it, and you don't talk to them til the next time you're doing business together. Or, more often, they didn't send it, and now they've started digging that hole. I've had guys give me a laundry list of excuses as to what's holding up their check AFTER they told me it was already in the mail. I have a hard time trying to "work with them" after that, but I usually will still try. It's kinda like when somebody grants me a change order, I get the work done, and then they come back and start arguing with me as to why it shouldn't cost them any extra. Fuck people like that! They knew they were going to screw you when you gave them the chance... I really hope I get a threatening PM from his "muscle" that scared my boy Docott now!

Frog

.

This world can be a real screwed up place at times.. its pretty sorry that people stoop that low. Doccot... I would take legal actions against whoever this person might be.. Luckily you dont have a wife or kids.. Anyone who threatens someone elses life over something like that needs to be thrown in the pen to get ass raped for big bob a few times a day. People are idiots..

Seriously? That's all it took to get you to back off??? Shoulda told him to come on over, or even better, let you know when he'd be back & you'd go to him. I've always found that a blow hard was just that, all talk.