In May I purchased a new 2008 13' Carolina Skiff JV13CC with a 20 HP four stroke Yahama engine, from Sea Witch Marine. The one and only criteria that I had was that I would be using this boat in the mountains at an elevation of 7,500ft for the summers only, which was the first thing I told the dealer. The boat was purchased at sea level. I was assured that I would get a swift and smooth ride. When I took the boat up to the mountains, the boat lost power which was expected, but it lost so much power that it would not get on plane, went very very slow, which put a huge stress on the engine. I reported this to Sea Witch Marine who put a smaller propeller on the engine—they down sized the propeller 4 times. The boat still did not get on plane.
I then paid Sea Witch the difference to upgrade from a 20 HP to a 30 HP engine, the maximum HP recommended by Carolina Skiff for this boat. This did not improve the boats performance at all, as a matter of fact the added weight of the engine almost sunk the rear of the boat when you put it into "forward" gear. It looks like a rocket ready to launch. It is trimmed as tight as I can get it.
Sea Witch Marine will not respond to my complaint, nor will Carolina Skiff. It seems apparent that the design and dynamics of this boat is not conducive for altitude performance, and putting such a stress load on the engine is not healthy. I think Sea Witch Marine and Carolina Skiff have an obligation to know how their product should perform. If this boat does not perform as I was assured that it would, then they should eat the cost of this, not me, and take their boat back and return my $12,500, which is no "chump change".
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