Defective Hulls Discussed Openly at TONE

Tim Jackett began inspections yesterday on Tartan 3700s at the TONE meeting at Redbrook Harbor, MA.

After crawling around the forward cabin with a torch, feeling around the forward water tank and looking under the sole near the transducers Tim Jackett declared to the owner that the boat had no issues or risk.

Tim went on to impress the owner by being completely open about the defects in the hull that split (and oddly announcing the hull number!) to a group of people. These were comforting words for one very relieved 3700 owner and those around him. Novis Marine/Fairport have admitted liability verbally to some even if just yesterday to their dealers a Memo obtained by this blogger read like it was the fault of an owner jamming his rig down and the USCG who came to the rescue of two sailors delivering the boat from New Jersey to Annapolis, MD.

While I think it is tremendous news that Tim Jackett spoke to owners at the TONE rendezvous about the layup issues and the problems in the Novis products this could have happened months ago. So could a letter to all 3700 owners asking them to check their rig tensions!

How regrettable though that it took over 6 months for Tim Jackett and Bill Ross to come forward. Based on my experience of working to resolve warranty issues and talking with a lot of four-digit Tartan owners, this would never have happened without being under the quality spotlight on this blog and on the Tartan Sailing Group at Yahoo!. Had the owner of the split hull not come forward via this Tartan and C&C blog then I know that Novis would never have admitted product liability issues existed in the way it was reported at the TONE meeting.

Perhaps now the folks in the Pacific Northwest with Tartans and C&C boats that have been trying to get a solution for months can re-engage with Tim Jackett and have better luck now the word is out that some hulls are prone to cracking and splitting. Read what FredZ thinks about Novis Marine at Sailing Anarchy.

So, for everyone that was not able to meet Tim Jackett yesterday in MA how do you get your Tartan four-digit hull inspected? That has to be the question every owner around the world should be asking. Email Tim Jackett now via this link and ask him today.

In other news, I did get one confirmation earlier today about the authenticity of Friday's Memo purported to be from Tim Jackett to all Dealers. Because of Novis Marine's inaccurate representations as well as this blogger's ongoing litigation, I will cover the contents of the document and all my findings in more detail at a later date. However, rest assured that I fully intend to expose the build issues surrounding the sail drive and all the electrical related issues that so many have suffered. I will continue my work at the pace the legal system will allow along the same zeal that has been applied to get Novis Marine to finally 'fess up' that they have a faulty epoxy hull layup process.

Memo from Tim Jackett to Dealers

In what appears to be a genuine Memo from Tim Jackett to all the Tartan and C&C dealers on Friday (7/20/07) it would appear Tim Jackett has launched a two pronged direct counter offensive to this blog.

One section of the Memo details what dealers should say about the split hull Tartan and the other the issues surrounding a failed sail drive. What appears to be missing is a formal advisory notice for all owners to immediately check their rigs and hulls.

I am getting validation of the authenticity of the Memo from a couple of sources, but erring on the side of safety and given certain data that I know only Tim Jackett and Bill Ross know and that is contained in the Memo, I am recommending Tartan owners should immediately check the rig tensions. In addition, if owners find their rigs have been been too tight they may wish to consider checking the hull and focus on stress cracks under the forward bulkhead.

The Memo details a number of key points in the split hull case and all but blames the USCG for towing the vessel too fast and the owner for over tightening his rig that caused the hull to fail. The Memo states "We concluded that although we may not know the exact cause of the damage to the hull, that it was the result of several contributing factors, including improper rig tuning".

Once I get final verification of the authenticity of the Memo, I will post more details that I believe every owner should have regarding the split and cracking hulls

Ongoing legal action prevents me from commenting on claims made by Tim Jackett about my own sail drive and other build issues other than to say the statements are inaccurate and misleading, presumably in a weak attempt to discredit this blogger and to divert attention from hard core safety and build quality issues of four digit Tartans.

Leverage of a Different Kind…(Split Tartan Part III)

Whether we like it or not people leverage people and businesses leverage businesses. However, when big business leverages their clients and personal assets to get what they want - is that good business, or an unethical act on the part of big business? One owner shared his opinions with me today.

I contend that it is clearly wrong for the owner being leveraged. It is wrong for other owners that need to know if their boat is at risk. It is wrong to have pertinent safety related data about a product (or component built in to their product!) kept from the public domain through unfair leverage of an owner(s) so that prospective owners cannot make informed buying decisions.

In my previous post I made mention of the small matter of paperwork needing to be processed before Fairport would ship the owner his repaired boat. Well, it seems that the small matter of paperwork and agreement between the owner and Fairport now includes having yours truly removing the photos of the hull splitting from this blog.

Can you imagine the pressure this owner and his wife are under when the manufacturer that has his boat hundreds of miles away from home port is this week insisting that a 3^rd party remove all internet photos before the boat will be shipped from OH? I heard his stress yesterday and today after the calls when all he wants is his boat back.

Out of respect for the owner and the relationship I have built up with him, this blogger will of course comply with the owner’s request. The photos have been removed from this blog.

Come on Fairport, you shouldn’t do this to a retiree and his wife who put so much money in to buying a new Tartan for their retirement travels. This blogger at least believes that such hush-up tactics and leverage are morally wrong and knowingly preys on an owner’s natural hunger to just have his/her boat back and sailing. It is especially painful to hear an owner "getting squeezed" when he stepped forward through this blog to let other Tartan community members know there is an issue with a 2005 Tartan 3700 hull and that other hulls may be at risk.

Again, I thank and applaud the owner for bringing his harrowing story to light and I hope with the removal of the photos today he and his wife will now have the opportunity to be on their boat in a matter of days.

Email Me Your Tartan Issues. Together we can make a difference.

A 2005 Tartan Splits Open at Sea (Part II)

The pictures here show a 2005 Tartan 3700 that literally came apart at sea.

The vessel itself was abandoned by the delivery skipper and his mate in December. (See previous post on this topic)

The pictures you see here show a comb that is poking in to the laminate layers of the hull. The hull not only split, but the hull was starting to delaminate. I have been told you can put a screw driver up in to the interior for the length of the split. The water was 3 feet deep in the interior. The crack runs for 30 inches under the forward bulkhead and terminates at the transducer through hulls (removed following incident).

[Image #1 Removed at Request of Owner - See Leverage of a Different Kind post]

[Image #2 Removed at Request of Owner - See Leverage of a Different Kind post]

[Image #3 Removed at Request of Owner - See Leverage of a Different Kind post]

To protect the identity of this boat and the owner I have not included photos of the topsides.

The boat is said to be fully repaired by Fairport Yachts to 'as new' standard (at the factory over the last 9 months) and should be on it's way back to the owner very shortly, pending some paperwork.

• So how many other Tartan 3700 hulls are out there at risk when in 5'-6' seas offshore?
• Was this a hull manufacturing defect, or as the owner was told by the factory months ago, the result of over-tightening the rig?
• Why has no other Tartan 3700 owner received a letter from Fairport Yachts about this with an advisory to have their hull inspected?

After seeing all the press about the Bavaria that lost it's keel and sailors died a few years back I only hope that the sailing press cover more of these types of issues and to push for (1) improved vendor disclosures (2) requirement for manufacturers to inform owners of significant potential risks they face under the 'duty to inform' code of ethics and (3) the need for owners to have the hulls (and other components) checked by a qualified yard ASAP.

Together, the Tartan 3700 and wider Tartan and C&C owner communities can bring about change and stop us all suffering in isolated silence as we all decide how best to balance our desire to keep sailing, while identifying build issues and asking collectively for real solutions to real problems in these boats.

In closing for this post I want to thank the owner of this particular Tartan 3700 for being completely unselfish in coming forward to share this hull issue and through this blog make these photos available to the community. While his hull build issue was possibly a one-off, at least he was bold enough to come forward and stand up for what is right for all owners. For all of us with a Tartan 3700 in the water (or in my case on the hard!), check your hull and of course, keep checking those sail-drives!

To speak up, or not speak up, that is the question.

I have been away in Europe the past couple of weeks and what a pleasant surprise while driving across Holland & Germany to keep receiving emails and calls from Tartan 3700 owners. The buzz of the week was perhaps caused by the Tartan 3700 blog. It seems that at least one owner is seeing substantial progress in his unfortunate case.

How much progress? In one of the many ‘Tartan owner vs. Fairport Yachts’ cases the latter party has unilaterally withdrawn their “egregious demand” that the owner pay over $50,000 in repairs. All of a sudden Bill Ross is not only prepared to call and waive the previous demand before releasing the boat, but is also offering to return the owners boat halfway across the country!

Did this sudden offer to make the customer whole come out of the blue because Bill Ross and Fairport Yachts had a customer service epiphany? Could it be the case that the good people in Ohio woke up [since they started to review this blog!] and go, ‘you know, it is morally wrong to hold a client’s $300,000 boat for ransom’? Is there any connection with the owner about to get his boat back without having to pay $50,000 and a possible requirement to stop the news ‘leaks’ that could be bad for Tartan business?

Judging by the electronic traffic emanating from a certain town in Ohio and listening to owner’s stories an epiphany is far less likely than Bill Ross is now having to take build issues seriously as a result of recent market buzz that is definitely bad for business. As one owner indicated to me yesterday, 'without [the] Tartan 3700 blog we would never have had a call and a drop in the demand for payment'.

So this brings me to the thorny and often discussed topic of how much should you make public about your boat and your build issues? That is a matter for each owner and the amount they wish to share, however, this blog gives owners the ability to present their issues, get connected with other owners on a platform for change. Perhaps in its own small way this blog about our customer service nightmares and Fairport builds has started to make Fairport Yachts realize that they cannot keep treating owners as they have in the past. So keep the photos and issues coming in at mako3700@gmail.com and together we can help get results and get Tartan to address flawed processes that leave owners with failed hull lay-ups, faulty wiring, rudder failures, leaking gas hoses and many other potentially life-threatening build issues now on record across the fleet.

…and so to the photo above: This is of a late model Tartan 3700 keel showing the trailing edge ‘blown out’. Based on more evidence coming in regarding sail-drives and keel electrolysis issues I encourage all Tartan 3700 owners to haul earlier than planned to check:

• sail drive lower legs and
• sail drive zincs and
• the leading & trailing edges of your keel and
• get your 12v DC and 110v AC systems checked to ensure they meet ABYC build standards…