Hardingcraft

So many issues. 1. He wanted money upfront. He wanted far more than enough for supplies, parts, and get started and he wanted cash. He would not give me copy of work order/estimate- our agreed upon work, costs, and completion date. I know, I should have walked away. My rationalization was that he had boat, already started, he had decent reviews, and he talks a "good game." 2. Agreed to project completion by the end of May. This was last year and well before COVID. This gave him 3-4 months to do work. Not ready end of May. Said by July, not ready. Said August, not ready. Each time I contacted Mr. Bill he wanted more advanced payment in cash. 3. I had 2 trips to Oriental planned for Oct. First with wife for "get a way" and a second with a group of guys for multiple days of fishing. Had cottage reservations. Contacted Mr. Bill and wanted to know if I should cancel reservations/trips, he assured me that boat would be ready. 4. Unexpected told boat ready 1-2 weeks before first Oriental trip. When i arrived to pick up boat found 3-4 people still doing repairs. I noticed cabin hatch had not been replaced (per work order) and no enclosure. My "old" enclousure worked ok, had some scratches so thought would have replaced. Old one still completely functional. Asked Mr. Bill about these. He first said hatch not included. I asked him to check work order, he then said that he forgot. Asked about enclosure, he said that his fabric guy still was working on it. I asked for old one back to use in interim, he said that it was destroyed. He wanted complete balance in cash. He complained about unexpected expenses and mentioned buying some SS screws. I told him that I would not pay for work not yet done. After an hour or so, workers on boat finished up and I left with boat. When got home I noticed that top and side painted different colors, both supposed to be seafoam. Prior to delivery to Mr Bill; my trailer lights, cabin light, spread lights, and macerator all worked fine. None worked after he worked on boat. Noticed part of helm hardtop was lose, inspection showed several screws sheared between top and frame. All had to be replaced. One of the major reasons (to begin with) for repairs was softened part in deck. He replaced floor. In less than a year and less than 10 outings, his work is already starting to crack, This will probably need to be redone. Work order called for repair of defects in gelcoat and cracks that extended to fiberglass, some fixed and others not. When got boat back, heavy brass plugs x2 missing, heavy duty straps missing, latches missing. I contacted company, all replaced with cheap and/or wrong sized parts. Biggest issue- after "work" boat started to sink first trip out (me and wife only). Drainage hose was separated from hull. This allowed water to enter below deck when moving. Fortunately we were in Neuse River near New Bern, rather than in ocean. Was about to get to shore and 12-18 inches of water. I eased boat onto a soft bottom. Made sure pumps running ok, they were. Covered hole with flex seal tape (thank you Phil S). There was water actually in cabin, boat noticeably listing. Used 5 gallon bucket multiple times to bail water out. My wife did NOT grow up boating, so this incident freaked her out bigtime! She is now hesitant to go out. I have no enclosure or windshield, I cant use old one as it was destroyed before new one made. Also, now I no longer have old one to "pattern" a new one. Mr. Bill said he would make should that I would get new one, but it's been almost a year and... not holding my breath. When I got boat back I had to rewire trailer, lights, macerator, do some gelcoat repairs he neglected, and later re-attach deck drainage hose. I paid Mr. Bill more than I paid for boat, 2 OB motors (seacat) and newer trailer. Was obviously a mistake. There were many, many other smaller issues, but these are the main ones.