A message from Bo Palmer to The Shamrock owners

[GREGK]

I have not posted up until now, and unfortunately have had a lot on my plate. I do not want to do too much except to thank all of those on this site who have helped me and the many Shamrock Customers that have been sent to this site for the ultimate knowledge base with regards to Shamrock Boats and really boating in general.

I appreciate the support by most and can only say that I truly did everything I could to try to save Shamrock. When I purchased Shamrock in 2003 I was the only guy still interested when the time came to put the money down and sign away my life to the bank to buy Shamrock. It was a very large investment, it was in the millions, not the hundreds of thousands as some have suggested before. I only post this to let you guys know that No One loves or cares about these boats more than I do other than perhaps George Boynten himself, the original designer and founder of Shamrock Boats.

I am still working to find a buyer for the molds and assets, and while I think that a "Fan Ownership Group" is a great idea. Boat building, or manufacturing of any type right now is very difficult. I would certainly help in a any way possible to do anything that would help Shamrock to continue on.

Why were the old molds destroyed. First of all most of the molds that you speak of were destroyed before I even got the company from KCS. The few old molds that we had were in such dire shape, that you couldn't have built a boat without alot of re-work to the molds. I offered to build the boats many times and never once did I get an order for any of the older models. Would you pay $100,000 for a brand new 26', 8' beam boat when you could buy a used boat that is exactly the same for a fraction the cost? We tried, and I will tell you I never turned down an order on any model. I probably had 30 people that called the factory and wanted a 20' Pilothouse. I would quote them a price about equivalent to a 22' Predator and never once did I have anyone get even close. So the idea that I killed the old keel models is just not accurate. The consuming public killed them, by not buying even one. I kept the two molds that I had for 3 years, and never got one serious offer to order a boat. No boat builder can build the same model for 35 years and expect to be successful, while competing against the same boat on the used market for a fraction the price. No production boat company is building the same boat they built 35 years ago, at some point it costs more to store the molds than to continue to keep storing them.

I am very grateful to this group, closing up my factory, and laying of my employees is the hardest thing I have done.

My companies, Bladen Composites and Palmer Marine are both closed down. I sold the Defiance Boat molds and assets to a group of investors who is excited to keep that going long term. The West Coast Factory changed hands on Friday. I am now focused on trying to find a buyer for the Shamrock Assets. I can tell you that Shamrock would have to be as small semi custom type of operation to be successful. With the onset of Outboard four stroke technology, combined with the new tier 2 requirements for Diesel engines, the Diesel option has continued to get even more expensive and harder to sell in our size range and market. Defiance was keeping Shamrock alive for the last two years. If the economy had not gotten so bad, so quick, perhaps Defiance could have supported it further. We had started to do strong business in Europe, but when you Europe business went away, combined with repurchase obligations with the flooring companies, we just had no options. I had hoped that combining Albin, with Shamrock could have created a successful lineup from 22' to 35' that could have revived both companies. Although I do not have ownership of Defiance or Shamrock any longer I am still anxious to be sure that they continue on.

I have been offered a position with the new Defiance Company and will begin with them again once I am finished cleaning up and resolving the things in North Carolina.(probably part time immediately and full time in the next month or two.) I am also dealing with all of the personal economic challenges that stem from a failed business the size of mine. Although I will likely not post on here for awhile, until things get settled down, I hope that I can still post here in time, as many of you on this board I consider to be friends. I will do all that I am able to try and be helpful in future. But please know and believe that I love Shamrock Boats and truly did everything I could to try and have Shamrock Be successful.

I did the best I could, I would never contend that I did not make bad decision from time to time, or that I could not have run the company better. I surely could have, and blame no one for the current state of affairs. But I gave it everything I had.

Sincerely,
Bo Palmer

[jcollins]

I'm glad he took the time to post on your board. He was getting beat up pretty bad by some of the guys over there. When a man says he did the best he could do, you have to take him at his word. It's very easy for "arm chair quarterbacks" to say what could and should be done. But at least this guy did something. My very limited communication with Mr. Palmer gave me the feeling that he is a good guy and works above board. I do believe in Karma and good guys will prevail in the long run.

All my best to Mr. Palmer and his family.

[Veebyes2]

It is a sad state of affairs but as he says "the consuming public killed them". The same happened with Albin, along with other reasons.

People want 5 star products at 2 star budgets. It just does not work that way. They buy on price then wonder why the cheaply built boat has so many issues or depreciates so fast.

The same thing is happening in the RV industry which is far larger than boating industry. Top end manufacturers are dropping like flys. The builder of my 5th wheel, a company with a 30 year history of building units of what I compare to Albin in quality, is gone. Every week it seems that another, some very big, is gone.

I wonder what will happen to the Albin line now? Will it become history & we will own 'classic' boats?

[chiefrcd]

My sincere appreciation for your dedication to your business and to boating as a whole. These are sad times indeed for many businesses and I wish you great success where ever you go. I look forward to your continued post here at albinowners.net. Good luck...

[Elizabeth Ann]

I feel very sorry to hear this bad news. I wish Bo all the best.

[Mariner]

Man, that has got to hurt. I only hope that he had saved enough money of his own in places where the credit vultures can't get at it.

The really sad thing is that the economy is finally starting to turn around, and I honestly believe we can now see the light at the end of the tunnel. It looks like it was just a little too late for Albin and Shamrock.

[joreyn]

So... last weekend I had to run an errand down to the South Kitsap Industrial Park near Bremerton and Port Orchard, Washington. On the way in I saw a sign that said "Defiance Boats" which reminded me of a news release from earlier indicating that Stan Palmer (Bo Palmer's dad) had acquired the assets of Defiance Boats from Bladen/Palmer Marine, out of bankruptcy. As I drove past, out of the corner of my eye, I though I saw an Albin TE. On the way back I pulled into the driveway of the facility, and discovered an Albin 32TE (that's right, a 32TE). Really nice looking boat from all appearances.

Later on, after doing some research on the web, I've reached the inescapable conclusion that it is a 2009 Albin 32 TE, which can be found on Yachtworld through a broker called Offshore Boat Center. I believe that Bladen rebranded the 31TE, designating it as a 32TE. It has to be Bladen built boat. Probably one of the ones that Bo posted pictures of some time back. The yachtworld listing shows it being in San Diego, but based on this sighting it's in Bremerton.

Ah, the vestiges of what might have been.