Lying claims as customer takes aim at liquidated Otago boat builder

More customers have come forward in the fallout from the liquidation of a Central Otago boat builder, with one claiming he was “lied to” from the start. Hydro Marine Ltd, which makes custom-built boats and trailers in Alexandra, was placed into voluntary liquidation by its shareholders Che and Rosie Watt last week. The liquidation came amid accusations of boat stealing, thumb biting and a customer left in tears. ‘We are never, ever going into business again’: accusations fly over liquidated Otago boat builder One person was charged on Friday after police with search warrants found a boat that was stolen earlier this month from Hydro Marine. The arrest, in Invercargill, came after officers executed search warrants for the Hydro 887 boat in Invercargill and Wānaka after making a public appeal for sightings of the boat. Now, more stories have emerged from former customers who spoke to the Otago Daily Times this week. Wade Meyer, of Ōpōtiki, said considering the amount of money he had given Hydro Marine, the amount of time he had waited and what he ended up with, he “might be the worst hit out of everybody”. Mr Meyer said he placed an order for a boat with Hydro Marine in early 2024, and later for his existing boat trailer to be modified. He was shown his boat tacked together at the company’s workshop in person months later, and was satisfied work was under way. But Mr Meyer said he became convinced the boat he had been shown progress photos of was not his, particularly because the cabin did not look like the right size. “There was even a mock-up of the layout of the boat drawn on the side of the boat, and it was definitely not my boat.” ‘Just a s...show’: Police search for stolen vessel linked to liquidated Otago boatbuilder He was told the boat was his and another top had just been temporarily put on as a mock-up for another customer, Mr Meyer said. He thought this was unusual, but he gave the company the benefit of the doubt. At that stage, he just wanted his boat done, and thought it was better to try to get it finished rather than ask for a refund. After paying for the paint, he was asked if he would be willing to wait so his boat could be displayed at an upcoming boat show, Mr Meyer said. He agreed and left it with them, but got the call last week the company had gone into liquidation. When he went to collect his boat, he found it unfinished and welded to his old trailer. The trailer was also not modified, despite being told that was done a year ago, he said. [Missing Credit]The boat was welded to his trailer. Photo: Supplied He had paid about $186,000 to Hydro Marine to date. His boat was originally meant to be finished by May 2025. He believed Hydro Marine had been sending him photos of boats that were not his, asking him for progress payments and then using his money to finish off other people’s boats. “I am highly annoyed and p . . . . . off. “Once I’ve actually figured out how much I’m out … I am going to the police.” He felt he had been lied to “from the word go”, he said. The liquidator’s first report for Hydro Marine said 15 secured and at least three unsecured creditors had been identified, but more were expected as there were “potential claims from a number of customers” that were still to be determined. A Whitianga man, who the ODT has agreed not to name, said he felt “embarrassed” after his experience with Hydro Marine. The first boat he bought from the company took a year longer to build than what he was initially told. He had organised a family Christmas on the East Cape and planned to use the boat while there. Because completion of the boat was delayed, the family instead stayed home that Christmas. Despite his concerns the boat would not be finished in time, the man claimed he had been guaranteed it would be. He had already paid $3000 for a bach which they never ended up using, he said. “We lost out big time.” After selling the first boat, he approached Hydro Marine to build a second boat. That ended up taking six months longer to build and there were issues with the paint and other problems, the man said. “In hindsight, I would have never have dealt with them.” In a joint statement sent over email, the Watts said Mr Meyer had a $200,000 budget to build his new boat. They tried their hardest to work with his budget, but told him they were cutting themselves short. “When [you’re] under-quoting or trying to be the nice guy, you cannot afford to put a fulltime worker on it. “His alloy payments alone did not even cover our overheads.” OTAGO IMAGES/OTAGO DAILY TIMESChe Watt, of Alexandra, pictured boating on the Clutha River in 2017. Photo: Supplied The Watts confirmed they had planned to showcase his boat at a boat show, before meeting him to hand it over. “Obviously things have not gone to plan. “We have had one alloy welder in the last 12 months, and after advertising a lot we were not successful in replacing the other alloy welder. “Alexandra is very hard to get qualified staff and not a cheap place to live.” They had tried to keep everyone happy. The trailer could not have been modified until the boat was painted, so there was perhaps a miscommunication, the Watts said. “We are deeply sorry Wade feels this way.” The Watts said they believed the Whitianga man was not too upset with them and had loved his first boat in the end. They said he gifted them a travel voucher and they joined him in Rarotonga after the birth of their third child. “We counted them as great friends for a very long time.” They acknowledged the paint issues on the second boat, but said they picked it up and brought it back to Alexandra to be repainted free of charge. Hydro Marine made no profit. “I think the moral of the story is business is business. “No one [is your] friend and we have learnt some very hard lessons.” tim.scott@odt.co.nz