Jeff Dorge RIP?????

[toyotafreak]

Anybody got confirmation whether he is or is not still with the organization formerly known as Toyota Marine Sports?

[Epic h2o]

I have been told that Jeff has moved over to the automotive division.  Rick Cohen is the last Moheken or should I say Samari of TMO.

[DENNIS]

Jeff is no longer with Toyota Marine, he is working full time at  the Port for Lexus, in Portland.  I left him a voice mail to see if he wanted to work on my S22, when I need someone who knows all about our boats.  He has not returned my call, nor do I think he ever will.  You would think the guy would like to make some extra $$$.  I guess I'm stuck with Skimasters.

[Wakefoot]

I went to Ski Masters once for warranty work[7 hour drive] and the results were less than stellar.  What have you guys who have gone to them feel about their service.  They tightened my packing nut without me telling them and then charged me for it because it is "not under warranty" and I got it home and it leaked like a stream of piss.  I fixed it myself in 5 minutes when I got it home to Lewiston, ID 400 miles away.  They did not fix any of the things I was having trouble with, depth finder, Accusski, ballast tanks fill and empty too slow.  I am not going back.  Guess I will have to take it 10 hours south to Marine Products in SLC, just a short trip!!!!!  HA!!

[phenom_1819]

There you go Wakefoot -- finally somebody that has the same type of SkiMasters stories that I do!!!  Fortunately these boats are bullet-proof because Ski Masters really do not do the job they should.  I had the same issue as you but with my windshield. In fact, it's still not fixed.   I took it in to have the middle section replaced (the frame bent when my trailer jack gave way)...they charged me for the new frame, but ended up bending the old one back (did a crappy job, though and never gave me the new parts), and never even touched the adjuststments on the windshield.  My windshield is still way out of alignment, and I just get hassled now by Ski Masters because they switched service people right after this incident.  The passenger side sits about a 1/2 inch higher than the driver side -- Dorge was working with me on getting it re-aligned, but I think I might just bite the bullet and pay somebody else to do it.

And worst of all, Ski Masters charged me 2.5 hours of labor to do absolutely nothing.  

So...I'm going to go by Mercer Marine in Bellevue and hope somebody there wants to take on the project of learning to work on a Toyota.  

[krejciman]

I can tell you that he's still at the Port.  Last time we spoke, he was really busy at work and personally.  If he's not getting back to you, it's probably for a good reason.  I hope he never goes away, we'd have a tougher time getting our boats repaired for sure.

[toyotafreak]

Jeff was crazy busy before with just the west coast. How long is Rick gonna last with people throughout the WHOLE territory calling him?

I had a cool conversation with Jeff when he came to mi casa. We talked a little about what might be going down in a few years, and I really hope(d) that with Toyota's blessing, he could at that time spin off into a privately-owned service company. Toy could ensure he's got dibs on the remaining parts. He's pretty company, though, not sure he'd want to leave. Seems though that such an arrangement would be in Toyota's best interest - might prevent the quiet uproar they'll be facing in a few years. Good faith effort, if you will. With the right support, an individual could probably do pretty well on their own, at the same time providing experienced help for the Toy owners out there. Not sure how much business there would be servicing the remaining Epics, but I'd think it could keep a few guys busy.

[toyotafreak]

Called Jeff this week to see if/why he left. His voice mail says "for Toyota Marine, call Rick Cohn at..." Guess that answers the question, huh?

[krejciman]

I sent him the pic of Bitzcos submerged boat and he says he already knew about it.  The job he has right now is very demanding and could involve working some real crazy hours....  I really don't think he has the time for the marine support right now.

[toyotafreak]

Which begs the question....what is his 'other' job???

[krejciman]

I think he's doing port fixes and handling pre-sale technical issues.