Tough Week to Try Finding the Truth

The post this week is all about the other posts and the mis-information game. This has been a tough week to be a blogger simply trying to get the the right questions answered. This cartoon from the Truman Library is an indication of the situation with the posts this week. The truth about what happened to a Tartan 3700 that did split open last December has still to fully come out.

I have received many communications this week regarding the surprise actions of Jim B., the owner of the split hull that worked with me on this blog. I last spoke with Jim B. on Monday when he once again asked me to remove the photos he had previously wanted people to see. Many have told me that 'Jim B's' post on the TartanOwners.org website (and other places) is damning for this blog and blogger.

Several have questioned if this blog is really just a personal vendetta mechanism and if I am not just trying to destroy Novis Marine. Nothing could be further from the truth. Now I could sit here and tell my readers a long history of events and publish extensive call logs of my conversations this summer with Jim B., but I won't. Instead I'll let you be the judge. Below is the very first email I received from 'Jim B' that started a working relationship that I [now wrongly] believed was born of a desire to jointly help ALL Tartan 3700 owners minimize the chances that their boat might split without warning and that together we could potentially save sailors lives.

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From: jabren312@xxxxxx.xxx [mailto:jabren312@xxxxxxxx.xxx]
Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2007 11:05 AM
To: gxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: Re: Tartan 3700 Question

hi just reading this e mail yes boat nearly sunk . it is in ohio bill ross is not doing the right thing they do not stand behind there boat they have had the boat for 6 months .they moved the bboat to ohio with out my permision. Then they say they repared the boat with out my perminsion. Now they wont finish the work and are holding the boat and will not return it . they havea big problem.

again this is the firsttime i looked at my e mail jim bxxxxxx

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See what's free at AOL.com.

(The ONLY edits on the email shown above are the email addresses and the owner's last name. All the rest is exactly what was sent to me.)

So if you have gotten to this point, you will see I am as committed as I was after receiving Jim B's email in June to try and find the truth. The evidence I have gathered does not allow me to subscribe to a one-off poor lay-up, or accept a white-washing of the issues that have caused a 2.1% publicly recorded hull structure failure rate which nearly cost the lives of two sailors.

Yes, some of you have heard Tim Jackett talk at TONE and give words of comfort to a few owners. Other owners are reporting what Tim and the dealers are saying about this topic and this blog, but why is there is no publicly available advisory from the factory?

As an owner I want to know for myself and for the safety of all Tartan owners and their crews the following:

• In Jim B's post he states "...the problem with the hull laminate...". So what caused an epoxy hull lamination to fail in what Jim reported to me was 5'-6' seas?
• Is the lamination design wrong?
• Was there insufficient material specified, or used in that region of the hull?
• Was there a manufacturing defect caused by personnel issues on the shop floor that may have resulted in the e-glass being laid incorrectly?
• Was there another issue in the layup?
• Can the failure (design or manufacturing) in Jim B's lamination truly be isolated just to his boat? (My hypothesis today is 'probably not'. The hull cracking reported by FredZ on Sailing Anarchy in March 2007 (see previous post) on his 3700 was over 20+ hull numbers away from Jim B's boat.)
  
• The previous statements by Jim B. to me (and mirrored in a Memo purported to be between Novis and their dealers) was that the Jim B. was to blame for improper rig tensions causing his hull to split. If that is the case, why are there still no 'do not exceed this rig tension' specifications published by Novis Marine?
• Why did the factory keep quiet on Jim B.'s lamination failure when according to FredZ Novis just brushed off his request for warranty help to fix his 100+ hull cracks?
  

These are the big questions that until Novis goes public with their findings from working on Jim B's hull failure hang heavy over these builds and layups. It is regrettable that Jim B. has needed to change his position now he has most likely reached some accommodation with Novis, but this will not be the end of the legitimate quest to obtain the truth from Novis Marine on why these hulls can fail without warning.

It is Done, The Split Hull is Home in NY

I am very pleased to report that the split hull owner's 3700 was delivered back to him last week and that on Friday he and his wife accepted the boat. This is great news and I am very excited for them both. I hope he gets to enjoy the rest of the fine NE sailing season.

Working with the owner as I have in recent weeks has been a pleasure. I know he has been under incredible pressure from all sides and so the positive news makes all this blogging more worthwhile.

His boat was originally picked up by the USCG on 12/7/06 before being taken under tow by the USCG and then a commercial operation. The boat was then taken back to OH. The boat was repaired and re-manufactured. (It had 3' of water in the hull after being towed). Today it is said to be 'better than new'.

The national media will not touch this story because "there is no blood in the water" and because of concern over advertising revenue, but I will. It is real, it actually happened and owners must be made aware that they must check their rigs and hulls. While the split hull may be the only one to have split clean through, that is simply one too many to have the weakest point of the vessel's systems to be the centerline of the hull laminate. (2.1% publicly reported hull skin failure rate).

This is likely my last post for a while now that the split hull owner has his boat back. I will return in the fullness of time with data on the saildrive and electrical issues. However, before I leave you, think about the following questions before you sail your Tartan or C&C again without getting an inspection from Tim Jackett* of Novis Marine.

1. Have you had your Tartan or C&C hull inspected*?

2. Is your rig too tight?

3. Have you checked your rigger's tension to be within the specifications that Novis Marine prescribes?

4. Where can I find the rigging tension specifications?

5. What is the hull inspection cycle?

6. Do I have an easily accessible canister-type life-raft and is it current?

These are just a few of the questions that I am sure any safety-centric owner (or his wife/husband/partner) could be asking before any passage offshore.

At the end of the day, Tim Jackett undoubtedly designs a lovely looking range of boats. That and all the slick blue-water capable marketing about epoxy hulls and carbon epoxy masts is the reason why we all go and spend a small fortune on these boats. I am sure that there are many that have no issues at all and yet for so many of us they are nothing but a liability from one repair to another - however much money and time we keep throwing at the deficiencies that we find.

Keep your eyes on constant watch for stress cracks, bulkhead movement, liner and tabbing problems, electrical anomalies and all the big-ticket safety items!

Adios for now....

* Owners are reporting that if you write to Tim Jackett he will respond quickly and get you setup directly or through a dealer with details on how you can use a digital camera to photograph certain areas and potential points of failure - likely based on their findings with the split hull. After he sees the photos Tim Jackett will provide his considered opinion on the risks your boat may have of splitting.

PS. Thanks to all of you that have generously given me so much data and especially to the split hull owner and his wife.