Chaparral to drop vortex?

[JoshCanSwim]

I think it will be only Scarab and Yamaha going forward. We almost bought a Glastron 187, beautiful boat, but no longer manufactured scared me away.

I thought Scarab was being bought out by a private equity firm which.... at least historically speaking a private equity firm only buys something they think they can slice and dice for quick profits.

 

[bigwaves]

I thought Scarab was being bought out by a private equity firm which.... at least historically speaking a private equity firm only buys something they think they can slice and dice for quick profits.

Scarab??

“Groupe Beneteau outlined its modified, five-year strategy Thursday, saying it will respond to the Covid-19 pandemic by taking a number of measures.

The Groupe will move from 12 strategic brands to eight: Beneteau, Jeanneau, Prestige, Lagoon, Four Winns, Wellcraft, Delphia and Excess.

“The four remaining brands will have the opportunity to continue their stories through new partnerships or joint ventures currently under discussion,” said Groupe Beneteau CEO Jérôme de Metz in a webcast. Glastron and Scarab are among the four brands that the Groupe will not focus on moving forward.”

Groupe Beneteau Reveals Strategic Plan

The company said it will move forward with eight brands instead of 12.

www.tradeonlytoday.com

 

[JetTech72]

the jetboat market is too big for some boat company not to get into it. I think Group Beneteau is having issue in Europe & need to rationalize their operation.

 

[Lunarvrx]

I expect the VRX line will continue- They are the best appointed boat with most high end features. The Yamaha clean out port is the one feature I would like to see included. Us jet boaters love our jets and will continue to buy. My previous boat was a 2009 180SE Seadoo. I have been looking at all makes available since SeaDoo went out of jet boats in 2014ish. Liked the VRX the best. The only VRX dealers are 5 hours away from my boats lake, however fortunately there is an authorized VRX repair service only 55 minutes away. I have a Seadoo mechanic 5 minutes away, however I find his Candoo software for Rotax is not compatible with the Chaparral VRX software. Phone BRP Consumer Support 1 844 345-4277 to find nearest authorized warrantee-repair service to your location.

 

[Jet1733]

I expect the VRX line will continue- They are the best appointed boat with most high end features. The Yamaha clean out port is the one feature I would like to see included. Us jet boaters love our jets and will continue to buy. My previous boat was a 2009 180SE Seadoo. I have been looking at all makes available since SeaDoo went out of jet boats in 2014ish. Liked the VRX the best. The only VRX dealers are 5 hours away from my boats lake, however fortunately there is an authorized VRX repair service only 55 minutes away. I have a Seadoo mechanic 5 minutes away, however I find his Candoo software for Rotax is not compatible with the Chaparral VRX software. Phone BRP Consumer Support 1 844 345-4277 to find nearest authorized warrantee-repair service to your location.

This is the boat I’m in. No pun intended. After looking at everything and waiting to see what 2021 Yamaha was going to do I went with Vortex. Easy choice actually but the Chaparral dealers around here don’t carry Vortex. There is a Sea Doo dealer here but they also sell Yamaha. That’s who I was talking to about buying a boat from. I’m almost afraid to go up there and ask if they would do warranty work on my boat when I didn’t spend 75K at their dealership. I am still waiting on surveys and all of that from vortex to try to actually speak with someone about service.

 

[Dean P]

I expect the VRX line will continue- They are the best appointed boat with most high end features. The Yamaha clean out port is the one feature I would like to see included. Us jet boaters love our jets and will continue to buy. My previous boat was a 2009 180SE Seadoo. I have been looking at all makes available since SeaDoo went out of jet boats in 2014ish. Liked the VRX the best. The only VRX dealers are 5 hours away from my boats lake, however fortunately there is an authorized VRX repair service only 55 minutes away. I have a Seadoo mechanic 5 minutes away, however I find his Candoo software for Rotax is not compatible with the Chaparral VRX software. Phone BRP Consumer Support 1 844 345-4277 to find nearest authorized warrantee-repair service to your location.

I have the CanDoo Pro. It is good for clearing error codes, resetting maintenance and monitoring. It does not do a lot with the e-reverse iNR system. BUDS is what he would need to do everything.

 

[Dean P]

There is a good chance SeaDoo will pick up the Vortex line should Chap let them go. If this happens there is a strong SeaDoo network that'll work on all BRP Rotax engines.

 

[Jet1733]

I have the CanDoo Pro. It is good for clearing error codes, resetting maintenance and monitoring. It does not do a lot with the e-reverse iNR system. BUDS is what he would need to do everything.

I’m going to get one next summer. I don’t see me racking up 50 hours this year but I’d like to have one by the first oil change. I’m ok with doing light maintenance or repairs and can doo seems needed for that

 

[Enduro900]

Are we talking about both Chap dropping Vortex and Scarab going away?

I havent heard anything regards to Chap dropping Vortex?

Scarab seems to be getting lost in the multi-line division shuffle with too many people wearing too many hats (the same upper management run all of the divisional it seems like). You see the same people doing the interviews whether it’s Scarab, Glastron, Four Winns, Wellcraft, etc.

Kind of hard to build an identity and vision in my mind that way, so its not surprising to me there is not a strong scarab network or sales volume.

I wouldn’t be surprised if it got bought by BRP since the market is ripe for them to re-enter again....but then do you keep the Scarab name or just re-introduce Sea-doo boats? The problem they had before is the sea doo dealers can sell $10k-$20k skis, but they will have a hard time with $50k-$130k boats.......

The next 12 months of every market is going to be interesting.......

 

[gulshome]

If Chap HASN'T dropped Votex, then I don't know what's going on. I'm on Lake Norman in NC, and the local dealer stated they don't even have the equipment to do engine work - they neither have the diagnostic equipment nor the parts. They suggested a local Sea Doo dealer - I have called 7 of them - found one that will sell me parts and they know the engine, but they will not do any work on it because who knows how Chappie bastardized it. So, again, if you can't call that dropped, I'm not sure what qualifies. It will be last Chaparral I buy though, that's for sure.

 

[Enduro900]

If Chap HASN'T dropped Votex, then I don't know what's going on. I'm on Lake Norman in NC, and the local dealer stated they don't even have the equipment to do engine work - they neither have the diagnostic equipment nor the parts. They suggested a local Sea Doo dealer - I have called 7 of them - found one that will sell me parts and they know the engine, but they will not do any work on it because who knows how Chappie bastardized it. So, again, if you can't call that dropped, I'm not sure what qualifies. It will be last Chaparral I buy though, that's for sure.

Nice to know.....bummer though.

I’ll be sure to ask these specific questions of the vortex dealer near me (40 minute drive), so thanks for posting this!

 

[ChrisM]

If Chap HASN'T dropped Votex, then I don't know what's going on. I'm on Lake Norman in NC, and the local dealer stated they don't even have the equipment to do engine work - they neither have the diagnostic equipment nor the parts. They suggested a local Sea Doo dealer - I have called 7 of them - found one that will sell me parts and they know the engine, but they will not do any work on it because who knows how Chappie bastardized it. So, again, if you can't call that dropped, I'm not sure what qualifies. It will be last Chaparral I buy though, that's for sure.

Get to know Lake Norman Power Sports, they may help you as they Sell BRP SxS, SeaDoo, and Scarab.
If your dealer is the Boat Rack, it's thier own fault, they dropped the line themselves. Even though they are the largest regional Chaparral dealer, they seemed bitchy about the Vortex line. Too many exterior/interior color options they tell me, and I already know that the nationally advertised price was an issue for them as their markup is off the charts anyway. The Vortex brand requires it's own licensure for the Vortex line, and the BRP propulsion. So no BUDS diagnostic for them.

You can buy your own parts for anything BRP propulsion. I give my part numbers to Lake Norman Power Sports (Joey) and it's done! Chaparral parts come from dealers only, but not necessarily Vortex.
Danny at Modern Marine in TN is a super nice guy, the lowest retail markup I have found too.

Modern Marine
Modern Marine - Nashville, Tennessee - Quality New & Used Boats, Parts, Financing and Accessories

Rotax parts
http://epc.brp.com/Index.aspx?lang=E&s1=b8cc6a74-d9c6-4104-a1ed-2533a9daf757

 

[gulshome]

Thanks Chris - I spoke with LKN Powersports - that's where I got my parts - they explicitly said they'll do no work on the boat. I did get my parts for a coolant top-of and oil change there tho, they were as helpful as they could possibly be. Shout out to Genevieve there, she was amazingly helpful.

I don't disagree - appears to me that the Boat Rack sucks. It's a shame, I bought a new boat AND on the lake so getting work done on it would be easy. I don't have a lot of free time, and am fine paying to have some one do it (correctly of course). But getting someone that can has been a pain, and I've never wanted to invest in being an expert on this boat, but looks like it's that, or sell it.

 

[ChrisM]

I ordered my Vortex in 2015 for the 2016 model year. I had a few trivial things within the first 6 months. One of which was the Medallion Viper unit. I worked between The Boat Rack, and Medallion Instrumentation to get it resolved. The other was the depth transducer in the bilge, of which I called Chaparral to work through. It simply needed more gel in the cup. Other than that I've been trouble free. I do all my own maintenance, and will do anything mechanical once my warranty is up in another month. If you are under the Brunswick warranty, they will allow you to make repairs yourself too, reimbursing your expense on the parts, minus shipping, co-pay, Etc. There may be some exclusions there.
So unless you have an issue on the table already, I wouldn't be worried.
There may also be different licensure between Chapp, and Scarab, not sure. I bought the CanDoo Pro for the PWC, have yet to see if it will connect to the Vortex.

 

[Kevin Hollis]

I am in League City, Texas.

I am not sure if you found a place to service your boat but I have my 2008 Sea-Doo 180 Challenger serviced at Hotheadz marine near Lake Houston.

Boat repair and Fiberglass repair, Jet Ski Parts, Supplies, and Repairs - Hot Headz Marine in Huffman, Texas

www.hotheadzmarine.com

You should check them out they do a lot of work on jet boats and if they can do the work on my boat they should be able to work on yours as well.

 

[Dean P]

I am not sure if you found a place to service your boat but I have my 2008 Sea-Doo 180 Challenger serviced at Hotheadz marine near Lake Houston.

Boat repair and Fiberglass repair, Jet Ski Parts, Supplies, and Repairs - Hot Headz Marine in Huffman, Texas

www.hotheadzmarine.com

You should check them out they do a lot of work on jet boats and if they can do the work on my boat they should be able to work on yours as well.

This is what's in front of the (Chap) board now; all SeaDoo dealers be allowed to work on Rotax/BRP engines. Once passed we should be all set.

 

[Jet1733]

This is what's in front of the (Chap) board now; all SeaDoo dealers be allowed to work on Rotax/BRP engines. Once passed we should be all set.

When would they take a vote or when would we know? Like everyone else I just bought a vortex from a dealership that is 7 hours away so dragging it to the dealer is not an option unless it’s something major

 

[Dean P]

When would they take a vote or when would we know? Like everyone else I just bought a vortex from a dealership that is 7 hours away so dragging it to the dealer is not an option unless it’s something major

It is being dragged out. Waiting to see what happens with/after COVID. Sucks, I know...