Jan. 2016, we ordered our dodger from Genco at the Toronto boat show. We dealt with Jonathan and everything went well. The dodger looks good, it fits well and was installed early June.
At the Jan 2017 boat show, we ordered a bimini with solar panel topper. Jonathan was busy, so we placed the order with Nat. We discussed the solar panels with Nat, and purchased a kit of 3 flex panels at the same show. Timing was also to be June. However we were not ready for measuring until late June. We reached out to Genco but didn't hear back for 3 weeks. I finally went down to see them in person. It was almost the end of July. We already delayed our vacation to August. A measurement was set for the following week, only to have Genco cancel after waiting for 5 hours for them to arrive. They arrived late for the second appointment date, this was frustrating. Eventually, Aug 11 we had everything.
We went home to finish packing for our vacation. It had rained while we were away, such that when we returned to the boat we saw rain had leaked right through the bimini material. It was not properly waterproofed. We also realized the connector piece from the bimini was not cut properly, the zippers were off centre, and it hung poorly. The tubing had 2 joiner sleeves to save money. Nothing like the dodger quality at all. We installed the solar panels at night, and noticed the next day that the velcro holding the solar panels was starting to release. It became a daily routine, to re-stick the velcro on the 3 solar panels.
We returned early from our vacation, and got in touch with Nat at the end of August. We presented Nat with a list of issues, photos and he proceeded to white mark the connector. We agreed to let them make the necessary updates over the next season. The solar panels and bimini were returned to Genco in October.
By March, I was reaching out to Genco inquiring about the progress. In May, they finally had the work done and I went down to pickup the solar topper.
Much to my dismay, they had drilled the grommets out of every solar panel. I checked the solar panels and they were not performing properly. I returned them to the retailer for testing. They established the panels were under performing from cracks primarily at each of the drilled holes. They also informed me that my warranty was void due to drilling the panels. I informed Genco they will need to replace the panels as they drilled without informing us or receiving our consent.
By late June this year, Nat returned the balance of the bimini and
connector. We were completely disappointed. The solar panel topper was difficult to install, and when it was on, it was wrinkled and fit poorly.
The connector was not updated to fit and returned with the same white marks. All pieces of our bimini that we used for 6 weeks was now soiled and looked used.
We were furious, and I issued an email for Genco to take back everything and issue a full refund. I never received a call from Nat, just a confirmation email, that a cheque would be waiting but I had to return everything myself.
I don't know why the bimini went so poorly when the dodger went well. I
cannot recommend Genco from our experience.