RoguePaddler

[jhansen1951]

I'm wondering if my local shop is selling me a line when it comes to hatches for my wife's Carolina 14.5 Airalite. I bought the boat used a couple of months ago. The overall condition was great but the inner hatch covers were missing. I figured that shouldn't be a problem, I'd just order new ones from Perception. Well, when I called them I was told that they don't sell direct to the public and gave me the name of a local dealer. The dealer says that since the Carolina 14.5 Airalite is no longer in production there are no replacement hatch covers available. They are ordering me a custom set from Seal. This bothers me a little. If Perception doesn't support their products better than that I'll be very hesitant about ever buying another Perception kayak. Anyone have any experiences to offer that would prove me wrong? Is it just my local dealer taking a more profitable way out?

Thanks,
John

[editor]

John,

It may be that the policy has changed, but when I used to work for an outdoor retailer myself, I was able to place replacement parts orders for customers through Perception/Dagger/Watermark. It is true the customer could not order directly through Perception, but I believe you should be able to ask any retailer who carries their line to place the order for you. Of course, you'll have to pay whatever price the retailer chooses to charge you... which will probably be anywhere from 20 - 40% more than Perception actually lists as their cost. But that's just how retail typically works, so there's no real way around that.

If your retailer won't help you, I'd try calling Perception back several times. Chances are you'll get ahold of someone willing to help you if you catch them at the right time and explain that your retailer isn't willing to order the replacement parts for you.
_________________
Paddle smarter, not harder.

[jhansen1951]

Wes,
So are you saying that Perception does provide support for kayaks no longer in production? When I called them I was very careful to state exactly which model I needed inner hatch covers for. I was not told that the covers were not available, just that I had to order them from a dealer. Okay. I ran my own business for a number of years and understand how manufacturers protect their dealer network. But when the dealer they referred me to says that the covers aren't available from Perception and have to be ordered custom from Seal I start to wonder who is dodging the facts. Adding to my worry is that the dealer gave me the dimensions of the covers they had ordered and when I checked the hatches of the kayak the ones the dealer had ordered wouldn't have even been close to a fit. They ordered a round cover for the forward hatch. The forward hatch on the Carolina 14.5 Airalite is oval. I called the dealer back with the correct dimensions and hopefully they will straighten the order out. To say that I'm a little frustrated at this point is an understatement.

John

[editor]

Ah, yes, it's possible that Perception no longer supports the Airalite 14.5 covers. Sorry I overlooked that part of your post as I was replying. All the replacement parts orders I handled were for boats still in production, so that may be a legitimate excuse they're giving you.

It's really strange that the dealer didn't ask you for the hatch dimensions (or confirm them from Perception) before placing an order from Seal (Are you talking about Seal Line, by chance?). It may be that the replacement parts are outsourced (i.e., competently built by an aftermarket manufacturer), but that's no big deal as long as they fit. But you shouldn't have to put up with something that's more than 1/4" or 1/2" off of the original fit. If it is, I'd complain to the retailer, to Seal, and to Perception.

One other question: Have you or has the retailer checked to see if the hatch size on your boat is identical to one that IS currently in production from Perception? Since these boats go through a molding process, I find it extremely unlikely that there wouldn't be something else with a very comparable hatch size. If so, you could order the hatch replacement for that boat.

I had a similar experience on one of my kayaks. I have one of the last Kevlar 16.5 Perception Shadows built. When they switched to airalite, their hatch sizes changed to be just a hair smaller. My boat shipped in kevlar, but with the new smaller hatch size, so the forward and aft hard-cover hatches on the Shadow don't quite fit around the kevlar-molded rims. I decided not to do anything about it because they're still watertight with the neoprene seals, and the hard covers only sit slightly awry. But it always frustrated me, and the rep who promised to send me some replacements never did get in touch with me to get my address. So maybe this is a pattern with Perception, though I always found them to be an excellent company before that experience.
_________________
Paddle smarter, not harder.

[jhansen1951]

Wes,
Yes, I'm assuming the dealer meant Seal Line. At least I hope they did. At this point I'm more than a little doubtful about this bunch. The full story is longer but may explain my concerns better if you will bear with me.

I had the kayak with me when we stopped in to purchase the hatch covers. My wife and I were on our way to spend the afternoon paddling around one of the local lakes and I thought I could just buy, install, and go. Didn't happen that way. The guy at the shop told me that he didn't have the covers but would order them. Payment in advance, of course. This was on a Saturday. He told me he should have the covers on Tuesday and that he would call me to come pick them up. He didn't ask to look at the hatches. This didn't worry me at the time. After all, the Carolina 14.5 Airalite was a production boat. How difficult could it be to find the dimensions of a standard production hatch cover? Like you, I suspected that the same covers would have been used on more than one model to save money.

Tuesday came and went without the call to come get the covers. I waited until Friday before calling them. Now the story was that Perception doesn't make the covers anymore and that they had special ordered them from Seal. He mentioned the "round front cover". I was almost certain that the front cover was oval but I was at work and couldn't check. I did check immediately when I got home and sure enough the front hatch is oval. I called the shop, tape measure in hand, and gave them the exact dimensions of both covers. They had been wrong on the rear cover too.

According to the guy at the shop, I should have the covers in about two weeks. Oh, and they will cost less than what I paid originally because the covers he had charged me for were cockpit covers, not hatch covers. If you are wondering who I was dealing with, let's just say that they are the largest and best known privately owned canoe and kayak shop in Austin, TX. They have seen the last of my money. I'll be calling Perception tomorrow to find out if original hatch covers are available. If so I'll know that I was lied to along with all the mistakes the guy at the shop made. It really doesn't matter at this point but I'd like to know.

On a happier note, the temperature today is supposed to get up to about 62 and the winds are light. Guess who's going paddling?

John

[editor]

Wow... that sounds very irritating, and a little shady. I can't believe a reputable dealer would be that careless about placing an order without verifying any of the dimensions. Wise of you to stay on top of them... after my recent tech support nightmare with Hewlett-Packard, I'm convinced "customer service" no longer exists.

I would definitely call Perception to get some answers for yourself. Also, you might try ordering the hatches through a good dealer like Rutabaga's in Madison, WI. I realize that's far from Texas, but they're the largest volume kayak dealer in the nation, with excellent service (the two times I've dealt with them), and they may well stock a replacement part for a popular boat model like the 14.5 (slim chance, but worth the call). They could ship it to you for probably a reasonable cost.

They have a website at this link: http://www.rutabaga.com/

Slightly related... I used to go to Rutabaga's Paddlesports expo ("Canoecopia") each year when I lived in Iowa. It is HUGE, with lots of great discounts on cutting-edge gear. I heard, years ago, that Yakima roof rack company does something like 20% of their YEARLY sales during that ONE weekend that Rutabaga's holds their expo each year. They just bring truckloads of their equipment to the expo and sell it in the parking lot to all the folks who show up to buy boats. Very cool.
_________________
Paddle smarter, not harder.

[jhansen1951]

Thanks, Wes. I'm going to give these guys one more chance to come up with covers that fit. I will call Perception tomorrow as I said. Having been a small business owner I always try to deal with the "little guys" instead of the big box outfits like REI. On the other hand....

Take care,
John

[editor]

Oh, sure, I support the little guys, too. Believe it or not, although they do the biggest kayak sales volume in the nation (or so I've heard), Rutabaga's is just one store--and it started as a little guy. That's why I recommended it.

Let us know how your hatch quest turns out.
_________________
Paddle smarter, not harder.

[jhansen1951]

Well, I had an interesting conversation with a customer service rep from Perception today. It turns out that the inner hatch covers I need are readily available from Perception. He was curious as to why the dealer told the story he did and said that he would have their sales rep call them. At this point I'm not sure if I'm dealing with a guy at the shop who is just incompetent or if the custom hatches have a higher profit margin. What I am sure of is that I'll be going to a different dealer in the future.

Thanks for the help,
John

[editor]

That's what I suspected. I'm glad you called them. It sounds like your dealer is either very lazy or trying to turn a larger profit margin on a different product. I'd definitely find another dealer if I were you, too.
_________________
Paddle smarter, not harder.