Re: feedback on aftermarket SE106 sterndrives
Sterndrive Engineering said:
Thanks for your interest in our company. Here are some facts:
1) Our new factory is in Oldsmar, Florida and it is more than a warehouse. There is both assembly and light manufacturing. We moved into this new 17,500 square foot facility earlier this year. Capt Jason, have you been to our new factory? If not, you are of course welcome to come visit.
2) We shim our cases just like other lower unit/sterndrive manufacturers. We do not need or use excessive amounts of shims.
3) The raw cases/housings are not made at our Florida factory, but they are also not made in China. We designed and own all of the tooling for both the casting and CNC machining operations of the cases. The production is contracted out to a company that specializes in aluminum castings.
4) Our painting process is dramatically better than we when we started 5 years ago.
5) We also want to point out that we now offer outboard lower units that replace Mercury, Yamaha, and OMC. The sizes now available fit/replace most applications 150 hp and up.
6) Our three year no fault warranty is the best. It covers any failure that requires the drive to be replaced including user abuse and neglect such as running out of oil or dragging the drive up the launch.
7) Our low prices are the result of removing several layers of middleman that are typical in the marine business, our very low overhead organizational structure, and our strategy of selling more drives at a smaller margin rather than the other way around.
8) IBoats.com is an authorized dealer of Sterndrive Engineering (SEI) and our drives can be bought right here on this site.
If anyone has any other questions about SEI, please post them right here and we will do our best to answer them.
1. No I have not been to the new one, I went to the old one years ago. It was either Clearwater or Tampa... I forget which. At that location you didn't have much for drives there as you were just starting to build them. Really nothing but a bunch of mexicans (I hope documented!) rebuilding Rotax/SeaDoo engine.
2. I dunno who your trying to kid on this one. But i've pulled apart a few for reseal jobs. Some aren't bad, on some... i've litterally seen anyplace from 1/16th to 3/8ths of an inch of shims sitting there behind foward gear. In the end... if the backlash is correct, if rolling torque is correct on loaded bearings... and if it's sealed.... then who cares right? I'm just saying.
3. If you wouldn't mind then (i hope its not some insider industry secret!!). Then would you kindly tell us where they are made? You said that they are not made in florida, and not made in china, but you neglected to tell us where they are made. Can/will you tell the Iboats community where the housings are cast, and machined, and assembled? And where the internals are made? As of right now... the general consensus is China.
4. It's getting better..... not as good as merc... but definitely better than the drives 5 years ago. What are you guys using for primer?
5. Thats fantastic!!! It is always a good thing if a customer has options.
6. Thats a no brainer as well. Your warranty is the best. Now only if these things weren't so darn expensive to ship! (at the customers expense of removal of the drive, shipping charges, and reinstallation) Have you guys thought about contracting with local shops to have them warrantied at the shop? (no shipping costs and faster service to the customer)
7. Yes and no. Cost to dealer on an alpha 1 gen 2 (i'm gonna spill it here!!!) starts at about 3700 bucks. For a brand new one. They can go up a few bucks depending on the commanality of gearing. The warehouses get their cut, but cost to dealer is primarily fixed by merc. There's not alot of middlemen.... If i order an A1G2 from merc it's 3700 bucks... it doesn't matter if it comes from the warehosue or from fon du lac.... its the same. (say maybe a few bucks on shipping).
On a side note... i think you guys price fix a bit. Your drives always seem to be the same price no matter where you buy them. Give or take 50 bucks.
8. Yep they can be purchased right here through Iboats. And in case anybody else is wondering... you can call SEI directly (phone ## on their website) and order 1 from there.
Listen SEI.... you guys do deliver a GOOD product at a FANTASTIC price. But it's no genuine Merc. So lets just be realistic about it all. Merc's casting alloy (beer cans) is better than yours, Mercs machine work is better than yours, and Mercs paint is better than yours.
That being said...... If your drive can push the boat through the water and last for at least 3 years for 1200 bucks. That's a win win for everyone. Sometimes I have to bore out the stud mounting holes... but I'm not loseing sleep over it. And on some i've seen.... you do have a bazillion shims... but who cares as long as it works.
All and all.... SEI. If i've got a customer with a cheap boat... your product is a no brainer. If i've got a customer with a 40K boat... i'm not going to insult him by suggesting chineese (untill you specify otherwise) drives. Your product fits a niche quite well. But you guys aren't the best thing since sliced bread.
I do wish you guys many years of sucessfull business... and continued product improvement.
Best...
Jason
To myles and howard..... Alphas are rated at 300hp peak. If you fart around with anything more than 300 (especially in a heavy boat) your taking your chances. If you 2 are really dreaming about your 400HP monster..... get a Bravo.
