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So 8 months ago, I was in the market for a new creek boat, Confluence (owns Dagger and Wavesport) came to my school (UC
Davis) and did a pool demo session for us. I tried out a Kingpin and instantly loved it. I asked to buy it on the spot,
they said I had to buy it through the dealer. As I am on a student's budget I decided to call all the retailer's in the
area and ask for them to bid their best price guaranteeing that whoever gave the best price would get my purchase.
California Canoe and Kayak (CCK) came back with "$700 after tax for a new Kingpin 6.3" to beat the next best of $730 after
tax from two other stores. so I went ahead and promised CCK that I would buy from them. When I contacted them I was told
they didn’t have one in stock and that I could wait 8 weeks to get one shipped, or that they had a boat that had been used
in a pool once (which happened to be by me in the UC Davis pool). So I said I didn’t mind if it had been used once in a
pool and bought the boat for $700.
Two weeks later the boat breaks and CCK instructs me to bring the boat to the store and they will "take care of me and the
warranty." So I do. I then get a call from CCK telling me that I can "wait 8-9 weeks for a new boat to be shipped, or
(there was) another boat which had been used twice in class II." So i say the boat which had been used would be fine. I
go to pick it up, and the boat looks superficially abused, not what I had in mind for my replacement boat, so I decline it.
This is when the story gets interesting, now the manager of CCK tell me I bought a used boat that comes with no warranty.
The manager then begins to get angry with me and declines to talk the issue out with me and tells me, "why don’t you call
the dagger rep, all I can say is good luck." So I call the Dagger Rep and talk to him. After about an hour we come to the
conclusion that either CCK mislead me or that there was a large misunderstanding and decide that I should pay an additional
$30 dollars to match my next best offer, and in return get a brand spanking new boat sent from Dagger to me.
3 months go by, and finally my new boat comes in and I am told, "come on in and pay the $30 dollars that we agreed upon
and it is yours." So I do. I trade the loaner boat the Dagger Rep and loaned me in for the new boat, and was tying it on
my car when I realized it was a 6.2, not a 6.3, which means way too small for me. To this a CCK employee answered it isn’t
a big deal, it will simply let me freestyle better. (I am 215 lbs and 6' 3"...are you joking). So I call the Dagger Rep
and he tells me he will reorder the boat for me.
Another 2 months go by and I get a call from the owner of CCK. He tells me that he has a boat with my name on it and asks
why. I explain to him, he checks out the story thus far with the Dagger Rep, and then calls me back and tells me I owe
him $150 plus tax because I bought a used boat for a used boat price. He doesn’t recognize the fact that the price I paid
was for a new boat, at a negotiated price, and that I was never told it wouldn’t still be considered a new boat. Why
would I pay $700 for a used boat if I had the option of waiting for a few weeks for a new boat at the same price? So he
then begins to get angry with me telling me "I don't care" with regards to my argument. He then tells me (paraphrased)
it is paddlers like me that piss him off because I didn’t support the local store by making them compete against an out
of town store. And that if I was so short of money, "maybe (I) shouldn’t paddle." I then ask him to talk to the manager
of the store whom I had dealt with for the warranty before, however that employee no longer works there and I was told
was not going to be able to be questioned about this issue. So then I asked him to talk to the employee who quoted me the
$700 for a new boat price, however this employee no longer works there and as well will not be able to be questioned about
this issue. Now the Dagger Rep isn’t recalling any of the prior agreements and is saying I have to pay the $150 plus tax
as well.
After some angry words back and forth (him using my girlfriend whom he had helped out before I even knew her, against me)
we concluded that the only way I would get a new boat from him was to pay $81 before tax. So I did to end this ordeal and
to get my new boat finally to me. His argument is that on my receipt is says used boat, a fact which I can't argue as my
copy has long since been wiped clean of the ink while in my wallet (whoops). Either way, twice an agreement was made, and
twice CCK has changed their position. The only people who were in on the agreements, just happen to not work there anymore,
and their agreements are apparently no longer valued.
In the end, the owner of CCK personally dropped the boat by my apartment (5 minutes out of his way) and was pleasant to me.
I just cant get over that he would be so rude to a loyal customer of some 10 years, for $87, when he already profited
over $100 from the original purchase, I mean Dagger covered all the shipping, so he didn’t have to pay anything due to the
boat breaking. Perhaps you, the reader, will agree with his side of the argument, and that is fine. I just really wanted
to vent publicly about my perceived treatment from CCK, and wanted to state that I and many of my friends will no longer
be making any purchases from CCK from this day forward. In the past month (since 11-10-06) this has already cost their
company over $500 in lost business and will cost them a new creek boat, helmet, and dry suit purchases by yours truly over
the next year.
Anyways, to each their own opinion, but if you use this story as a reference to not buy from CCK, let me
know so I can be satisfied with the only source of comfort that is available to me.
Thanks for reading...

After three years, this boat cracked a number of times. First was a crack on the rim of the cockpit. The bolt attaching the center pillar ripped
through the cokpit, requiring a plastic wiedling job to patch it up along with sinking a few new bolts through the top in order to
secure the center pillar. Second was a crack through the bottom that was caused on a boof. This crack seemed to be more of a scratch
that went all the way through the plastic. Again the boat was wielded back together. The third and final injury she sustained was another
crack which stretched some ten inches along the edge. This was crack was caused by normal steep creeking abuse but was enough
to take her out of commission. In all, I would love another M:3, however I fear that the edge is too sharp (and thus structurally weak) and
the plastic is too soft to make it worth my money. I fear if I were to buy another one, I would be having to replace it within a year or
two (unless of course I lose 30 lbs, then it would be fine I think), therefore I am passing on this boat for my next purchase. Ok screw it, got a good deal
and I just bought a new one. No other boat handled like my M:3 did, I missed it. Some changes have been made with regard to rocker, will let you know
the impact once I get out in it... if it ever rains here in California (12-1-06).

North Cottonwood



