Eric Goetz has my money

I have never personally met Eric Goetz. I have heard from people who know him and like him. However, right now I am not among them.

He bought ads from me at a time he knew his ship was sinking, and he knew he would not be able to pay for those ads. And he didn't, or at least not fully. I received a check for 1% of what I was owed, which is now framed and hangs on my office wall so that I don’t ever forget what Eric did.

Here is a story that was posted May 24, 2010 in Soundings Trade Only:

GOETZ FILES FOR CHAPTER 7 BANKRUPTCY
Bristol, R.I., boatbuilder Goetz Custom Technologies filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Rhode Island.

According to court documents, filed last month, the company claims $950,000 in assets and about $3.5 million in liabilities. It lists nearly 100 creditors in its bankruptcy filing.

Last December, Goetz Custom Technology, owned by Eric Goetz, laid off its entire work force for the second time in 2009, as work came to a halt on an 82-foot racing sailboat at the center of a lawsuit, which is still pending.

The boat was being built for Aegir Racing Ltd., the legal entity created by a Scotsman who hired Goetz to build the Rogers 82 in August 2008 for more than $6 million. In October, Aegir filed a lawsuit against Goetz in U.S. District Court.

Aegir claims the boat has a structural problem, "in that some bulkheads and longitudinal beams have not been fabricated or installed in accordance with the plans."

Goetz denies that allegation.

In early 2009, Eric Goetz's former company, Goetz Custom Sailboats, was petitioned into receivership. However, he bought the assets back in a March 2009 auction and created a new company.

The receivership was the result of ongoing cash flow problems caused by the company's inability to obtain refinancing and by the termination of a construction contract by one of the company's international customers, the company said in a statement at the time of the announcement.

Goetz could not immediately be reached this morning for comment.