Brandons boat should be a nice boat. Looks like a nice hull from what I have seen and he knows the builder so it should be made to his liking. Only downside I can see for Brandon by going with a builder who has such a limited production is that it could be tough to sell a brand that only has one or two out there and doesnt have an established reputation. Brandon will certainly help that though through his site.
As far as him not getting a Judge, Brandon was gracious enough to come see us for a sea trial and we appreciated that. I even think he was very suprised at the performance, quality, and layout of the boat. We ran a 22cc for him on a day just prior to some storms and probably 15 knot winds in Eastern Bay. We stayed dry and the boat performed great with a single 150 Honda. He even went as far as to say he was shocked at how nicely the boat rode in the solid 2' chop. He also seem surprised at the amount of deck space the boat had for a 22'er. Only thing I think he would have like to seen was a little more speed. With the 150 Honda, t-top, 3 on board, full fuel, gear, etc. we hit 34 knots (just over 39 mph) in the chop. While the boat does 40mph with a 150 and t-top, I think if Brandon chose the Judge he would have gone with a zuke 175 which puts the top speed in the mid 40's.
I will say I even enjoyed getting to know Brandon. It is funny how when you meet someone off line and/or not in a political setting how nice it is just to talk boats and fishing with someone who enjoys it as well. Bill and I certainly appreciated him giving us a good look. I think he enjoyed checking out the boat as well. Hopefully we can put him in a Judge in the future.
It was funny to see how many hits all the speculation the thread about him buying a boat got. I think there are over 9000 views at this point...
