Very disappointing end.

I have been a client of Benoni Boat and Camp for 13 years. They have serviced my boats, re-pontooned my duck and I have purchased almost all my boat fittings from them for a boat build project. In August I asked Carl Krause - the owner - to trade a 225hp Mercury I was storing with him for a duck, me and my family can use in December. We agreed on the trade in price - R55k. I followed up every month and eventually started visiting the shop by November. With a visit early in December Carl proposed a duck with 2x40hp motors. The boat seemed good and we took it for a test at Rynfield dam. The starboard motor did not sound healthy and Carl ensured me that it is not tuned well. He set the price at R90k and I paid the balance. The boat stayed with them for another week to 'tune' the engine. I picked up the boat the day before we were to leave for Kosi Bay for a 2 week family holiday. As I towed the boat out of their yard Carl mentioned that I should check the wheel bearings. I arrived home and started preparing the boat for the trip to the coast. The trailers bearings had to be replaced and the trailers light wiring was a mess. I had a mechanic out to my house. The bearings was another R2500 and the wiring R2000. This took 2 days to resolve. Arriving at Kosi we launched the boat. The starboard motor was not running properly and it was spilling petrol. On day 2 the right motor stopped working completely. As we navigated the canal between the lakes the steering mechanism fell apart. We ended up in the bush on the s**** before I could stop the boat. Luckily my son jumped overboard to avoid injury on the bow. We returned to camp, packed up and left to come home. At home I took a good look at what Carl sold me - this is the guys I have been supporting for 13 years and trusted with my family's safety. Some of the items are: 1. Right motor failed. 2. Steering mechanism failed. 3. Trailer not checked or road worthy. 4. Trailer suspension rusted to the point of no movement. 5. The props on the engines are not the same size or pitch. 6. The tires on the trailer is damaged and the rims eroded badly under the powder coat. 7. The jocky wheel clamp is damaged and barely works. 8. They bolted the battries to the deck - I had to move them inside the steering console to get them from under foot - another R1600.00 in the right battery cabling and fittings. 9. No spare wheel on the trailer.

There are a myriad of issues from small to major, like the engine. I returned the boat to Carl in January after he ignored emails from me in December. My family refuses to go on this boat. The boat have been standing with him since 6 January. I fetched it today, 21 Feb without a single item being looked at. I'm bitterly disappointed. I know the team by name and have made friend with them but this neglect and endangering my family is inexcusable. I will not do business with Benoni Boating and Camping again. I will also have them removed as a vendor from my companies vendors list.