Author Topic: Thoughts on C4 Waterman  (Read 3101 times)

BrownSugah

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Thoughts on C4 Waterman
« on: September 28, 2016, 05:22:14 PM »
It kind of seems like they just vanished other than SUPsquatch and some inflatable river action video ive seen. What happened ? is there anything good coming out from them?
ALOHA

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Re: Thoughts on C4 Waterman
« Reply #1 on: September 28, 2016, 10:59:30 PM »
They did seem to flame out for a while, but they are still around in Hawaii at least. They are making nicely priced surf sups that aren't quite bleeding edge in terms of design or construction, so that might be why they don't get as attention here. Certainly worth a look if you typical starboard and naish boards don't seem to have enough volume for you.

Area 10

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Re: Thoughts on C4 Waterman
« Reply #2 on: September 29, 2016, 01:18:45 AM »
I think maybe they are aiming for a different market these days - the outdoor/inland one rather than the ocean one. It's tough for non-windsurf brands to compete with the distribution/retail setups that the windsurf brands have. So, given that this forum is dominated by windsurf brands, this maybe why we don't hear much about C4 Waterman any more. It's a shame really - there were a couple of years at the beginning of SUP where C4 Waterman were the most innovative brand out there. They had production 14ft downwind boards on the market before just about anyone else, and were one of the first (maybe the first?) brand to internationally market "short surf SUPs" (although they'd be considered long these days). I owned three of them, and had a lot of fun with them. But I think they ran into production problems when they switched from Boardworks as their producers and then a series of other issues, together with the advance of the windsurf brands, meant that they had to re-group and reconsider, at least in terms of sales outside their home market. But I'm sure someone else here will know more details than I do. Their 10-6 was one of the most popular SUPs here in the UK for a while, and I still see them around, along with many of the award-winning 9-3 and 9-6 Subvectors.

esskay1000

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Re: Thoughts on C4 Waterman
« Reply #3 on: September 29, 2016, 01:56:12 AM »
I still have and use my C4 iSUP inflatable from 2009, and the thing is still bomber. It's been roughed up and slammed into rocks more than it's deserved, including many trips with a bike on it, and it's still holding up fine.  I hope they stay around as I'd definitely buy another board from them based on my experience.
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Badger

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Re: Thoughts on C4 Waterman
« Reply #4 on: September 29, 2016, 04:20:55 AM »

It's also possible that the original C4 Waterman company no longer exists.

When companies go out of business, it's quite common for them to sell the name, allowing a new company to capitalize on the defunct company's prior success.

The Schwinn bicycle company is a perfect example. Schwinn was family owned for over a century until they went out of business back in the 80s and sold the right's to the name. Schwinn is now a cheap department store brand from China with no connection to the original company. Same goes for Raleigh bikes and likely many others.


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Fog City Rider

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Re: Thoughts on C4 Waterman
« Reply #5 on: September 29, 2016, 10:01:24 AM »
They were acquired by Wenonah canoes, which also owns Current Designs kayaks.  In theory, that should have helped with distribution to all the kayak/canoe shops out there which also carry SUP now. 
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Sup-position

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Re: Thoughts on C4 Waterman
« Reply #6 on: September 29, 2016, 11:43:57 AM »
We have been a C4 Dealer since 2009

They were then made by Boardworks.

They went on their own for a short spell

And are now part of Winonah Canoe.

They have trimmed their product offering
And offer minimal color options...

The SUP Sales are separate from the other offerings...
Although I can sell their other lines as well...
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Badger

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Re: Thoughts on C4 Waterman
« Reply #7 on: September 29, 2016, 06:15:06 PM »

They were acquired by Wenonah canoes, which also owns Current Designs kayaks.  In theory, that should have helped with distribution to all the kayak/canoe shops out there which also carry SUP now.

Were "they" acquired or was merely the C4 name acquired?

Sounds to me like "they" (what was the C4 company) no longer exists.


« Last Edit: September 29, 2016, 06:26:37 PM by Badger »
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blueplanetsurf

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Re: Thoughts on C4 Waterman
« Reply #8 on: September 29, 2016, 11:12:05 PM »
I know a bit about this as we used to be the Hawaii Boardworks distributor and sold the C4 Waterman boards when they first came out.  They opened a shop across the street from us a couple of year ago and although the ownership changed, the local crew that runs the business here in Hawaii is still the same and Todd Bradley is still in charge of the local operations.   From what I understand, the back end of the business (POS system, website, marketing) and sales outside Hawaii are all run by Wenonah Canoes from the mainland.  Dave Parmenter is no longer involved and he was the one driving the innovation in the shapes. 
« Last Edit: September 29, 2016, 11:18:31 PM by blueplanetsurf »
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