I think we have pretty much established to everyone’s satisfaction that refitting old boats, while possible, is difficult and time consuming to do, sometimes financially disastrous, and fraught with the risk of finding serious things wrong that were missed in the survey.
But the biggest problem with refits is that doing one well requires a lot of knowledge that is best gained by owning a voyaging boat—Catch 22. Even Poor Stupid Bob (alias John) has since done a not too painful refit using what he learned the hard way the first time.
But how do you get your first boat and get out there? What about buying a brand new boat? That should be great if you have the money, right?
Let me tell you a story about my friends Paul and Pam (not their real names).
While I would not expect you to name the couple, I wish you had named the builder and gear manufacturers. I’m considering a generator, and I want to know which brand to avoid!
Hi Scott,
The generator was from Ample Power. The windlass from Lewmar.
Who was the manufacturer and what was the model? Different boatbuilders, after all, have different reputations and boatbuilding practices.
Hi Jerry,
As you know, we normally name names here at AAC. But in this case Paul and Pam specifically asked me not to. Read the post for why.
But understand that this post was the result of many interviews with new boat owners on both sides of the Atlantic. Pam and Paul’s story is not an isolated case.
Perhaps you could name the names of the “very few” builders that do not have these problems? It is always good to reward the virtuous even if you do not want to name those more questionable.
Hi Brian,
I’m afraid that part of the post was more a matter of trying to be positive than a statement of known fact. I don’t have a go to list of known good boat builders. I had hoped that people would come forward with recent first-hand accounts of good new boat buying experiences, sadly, even though well over a thousand people have now read the post, that does not seem to be the case.
I can say that Colin, AAC European Correspondent, is supervising the build of two boats from Boreal in France, and so far he is very impressed.
Hi All,
Please note that I did not write this post to out a particular boat builder or a gear manufacturer(s), but rather to highlight an industry wide problem: Most new boats are not ready to go to sea and it takes a huge amount of time and money to fix that.
Thought that Lewmar V2 windlass looked familiar! Last spring at about this time I arrived in Panama to join a nearly new custom 63′ Bob Perry designed ULDB cruiser for a sail up through the Caribbean. Of course there were a few things that needed to be fixed on the boat—–. Foremost among them, the windlass that had stopped working in the San Blas a couple of months ago and hadn’t fixed itself while sitting in the marina waiting for the owners to return from the states.
Check out the size of the sealing flange where it contacts the deck, then consider the force applied when pulling the anchor that is hooked behind a coral head—. (even though the windlass is only 1/2 the size needed for a 63′ boat.) Now try to remove the rusted bolts (remember the salt water that entered through that undersized sealing flange?)
Oh well, we’ll fix it in the Caymans. The crew can haul the anchor by hand—that is what we have crew for, right! Fortunately one other crew was smaller in girth than I and manged to get in position to remove the bolts. Now the only thing holding it together was rust. All it took to separate the windlass was a spinaker pole as spreader, very strong masthead halyard, and an electric winch.
I wonder how long it will be until the replacement V2 Lewmar strips its drive gears?
I think my next windlass will be a Lighthouse.
We could never afford a new boat and are outfitting some 30 year old classic plastic to live on. I have spent a life time in aviation; pilot / mechanic / manager. In my humble opinion the sailboat world is seriously broken; shoddy designs, amateur installations, non-existent quality control, and product support that is nothing of the kind. Surveys are an expensive joke and “technicians” appear to be those who flunked High School shop class. There have been exceptions but at this point, anytime I have to deal with anyone in the sailing “industry” I assume I am being lied to, deliberately mislead, and overcharged (by a factor of at least 4). A used car salesperson would be embarrassed by what passes as ethics in the sailboat world and, though I read them all, I don’t belive much of anything that is printed in the industry magazines. (When is the last time you saw anything negative written on any boat in one of them?)
Off shore sailing is not for the faint of heart – and that starts the first time one even thinks about buying a boat.
Hi Tim,
A very true comment, sadly. In my experience, trades people from other industries (I’m one) are always appalled by the standards in the marine industry. And a very good point about new boat reviews.
I have noticed in other industries, automotive and photography for example, that usually the only time trade publications list product deficiencies is when the manufacturer offers a new improved version.
Hi Douglas,
Oh, I don’t know. There are some very good photography review web sites that produce balanced reviews, including weaknesses, of new gear to a much higher standard that yachting mags do. Not sure about cars, I’m not a car guy, but what about consumer reports and Which?