erm...
Posted by: no_kayak on Oct-09-12 2:00 PM (EST)
Throughout the setup phase Tiderace's MD Dave Felton and/or Designer Aled Williams personally inspected every single boat before it left the factory.
And yes, Tiderace boats are built to a higher specification than Valley, PandH or SKUK and so on. That reflects in the price point and the number of boats sold, but it's a conscious decision. As a manufacturer, we also had a retail operation that sold boats by Valley and PandH, so we had plenty of exposure to their product.
As for being defensive, I have no need to be defensive at all. I (and many dealers/customers of Tiderace's) know full well the quality that is produced and the move to Thailand was a huge leap in quality but not necessarily one that improved costs.
If people want to remain ignorant or make accusations that are unfounded, that is up to them.