Florida Trend magazine Seaspension article

We were recently notified that an interview we were part of several months ago became public with an article about our small company. We were surprised when the article came out with less than flattering statements about Parker boats as well as inaccurate statements about me and the invention process of Seaspension. I was not happy about the tone of the article, either. I want to offer our apologies to anyone who might be offended as a Parker boat owner, and as a Classic Parker member in particular. The article in question is at

http://floridatrend.com/article.asp?aid=50925

My personal view about the article was that it was written as if we have a lot to brag about. We strive in fact to be humble people who are committed to doing good work for a higher being. The article gives the impression that all I did was take a Sea Doo shock-absorber and lengthened it to fit a pedestal. On the contrary, I spent a lot of time and effort with a damper manufacturer testing, revalving and tweaking a base damper they were making for Bombardier until it became our own. We have our own part #, and no one else uses our proprietary development.

It also suggests the notion that I had patented the Seaspension pedestal after consultation with Greg Roberts, who at that time was working for a manufacturing company that did Defense-related work. More factually, I had designed and patented the pedestal before this time. I was looking to put the pedestal into production with the help of the company that Greg was working for at that time. Greg however has always been a great supporter of Seaspension from the time we initially started production to his current position as VP of Operations at our company.

Lastly, we explained to the author/interviewer that in these difficult times, we focus on specific markets. We explained that certain boats with forward cabins ride rough. We mentioned certain Parker boat layouts as well as another boat companies as examples. Participating on a boat forum is an educational process for us to learn more about a particular boat. Participation in a forum also provides a way for us to educate others about shock mitigation in general and Seaspension in particular. The author/interviewer dramatized this and wrote it out of context. I might also add that I never uttered the last “quotation” in the article. Needless to say, we didn’t have any editorial capabilities with this piece. Again, my apologies, and thank you for your support.

Peter:

i didn't see anything unflattering about Parker boats in the article. they (PH boats) do ride rough due to helm position in relation to pitch axis. there are many other benefits that make up for this ride characteristic.

FWIW Linwood stops at 21 degrees of deadrise as a compromise for ride comfort vs stability on the drift. it is what it is, and 21 degrees works perfectly for me and the utilitarian purposes for which i use the boat.

your product is a good fit for PH boats of any make. it would indeed be nice if Parker offered the seaspension seat as an option. maybe someday with all the glowing reviews on this site. with any product, there is usually somebody to complain about something......and so far your seat is batting a 1000.

keep up the good work.

Hello Peter, I stand with Jim on this one. I did not see anything that I would call degrading toward Parker Boats. I have the Seaspension and am enjoying a much smoother ride. I have a friend that has a Grady White 20' Overnighter and I fish with him often and the ride is much rougher than my 2120 ever thought of being. I have even mentioned the pedestal to him but it would be a hard sell.

You do make a difference in the boating world and you can see and feel the difference the Seaspension makes. There was no hard sell from you and you also offered a money back guarantee, what more could I ask for. Keep doing what your doing, it works!

Hi Guys,

Thank you for the kind words. I felt lead to share the article as we are a transparent company, and you (CP members) have been very supportive of us. Jim is right in stating that someone might read whatever into it, and we wanted to ensure you that our intentions are expressed as nothing but good when it comes to supporting our customers. Thanks again.
Peter

We at Classic Parker are proud of our compressed vertebrae and were all well aware of the ride before we bought he boat. I have been on Much worse in terms of ride and much better. There is always a give and take. We sacrifice ride for rear cockpit space and it’s worth it :wink: Your seat post just helps some enjoy it more when things get rough. You are smart for targeting Parkers for that reason and in my opinion there is nothing offensive towards Parker in that article. Just stating the truth. More people should try it.