Tartan and C&C Boats

Action: Customers Sue Novis. Re-Action: Novis Sues Customers

2007-11-26T17:00:00.000-06:00

Well, I can hear a few of the Tartan Yahoo! Group crowd cheering at this news and wishing me good riddance and bon voyage from the internet after Bill Ross of Novis Marine has decided to sue yet another customer.

Earlier this evening I picked up papers that seek to punish me for telling the truth, asking tough & legitimate questions and expressing opinions based on hard data from other owners and dealers on things from stainless steel corrosion, sail drives corroding out, cracking and split epoxy hulls.

Yes, that is right. Today I received a summons from an OH court that Novis Marine is attempting to use to prevent me from sharing all that I know and have discovered since May 2007 on the Tartan and C&C epoxy boats. As you know from this blog, I am suing Novis Marine and Yanmar in Harris County, Texas. I guess today's retaliatory and baseless lawsuit on the part Novis Marine is one way to prevent my discoveries making their way to fellow owners and for the intelligent buyer to make up their own minds. The library of data I found outside of the ongoing formal legal discovery process is significant - especially for any Tartan with a Yanmar sail drive built between 2004 to mid-2006.

You will note that John Vito has also been very quiet in recent weeks on the Yahoo! board that the Novis monitors. Looking at the Lake Co. OH court records John to has been silenced by the same legal tactics (aka lawsuit) as I have been. Two clients with good data suing Novis over defective product and all we have is prevention of Free Speech here in America. The only difference would appear to be that Bill Ross (an attorney) and Novis' attorney, Dan Gourash, waited until 11/15/07 to process the papers on me and ironically it was put in to action just 1 business day after Bill Ross sent his expert, Andy Drumm, as the defendant's [Novis] examiner alongside Yanmar on my boat on 11/9/07.

Anyway, I am sure the many happy four-digit owners cannot fathom how your manufacturer can launch such action against a fellow owner, but rest assured I will not wither when Free Speech as protected under the First Amendment of the US Constitution is under attack. Now just imagine owning one of these ~$300,000 boats and discovering what I did about the build quality and when I was not shy about raising legitimate safety centered questions and in back channel you are called a 'blog extortionist' and have been 'defamed'.

As John Vito said on Yahoo! of his experience with Novis Marine, I would not wish this ownership and warranty/customer service experience with Novis Marine on my worst enemy.

I will leave you now with a quote from one of my favorite US Presidents and from which I think we can draw a great parallel (below).

"We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people." ~John F. Kennedy

"We are not afraid to entrust the American yacht buyer with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, real customer experiences and competitive values. For a modern boat manufacturer that is afraid to let its market judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a boat manufacturer that is afraid of its current and potential client base." ~ GTS

Regards to all my readers for now and until I have my day in the courts of TX and now maybe in OH if that applies!

About me: An owner of a new 2005 Tartan 3700 that has had just ~20 engine hours on the2nd Yanmar sail drive since 1/26/06 and has been largely unavailable to me and my family because of the standard of manufacturing. Two weekends away on a broken boat with no LPG at $149,000 and counting per weekend!

New Evidence: How Much Can a Little Zinc Support?

2007-11-16T16:40:00.001-06:00

The picture above says so much. Based on the ongoing investigations and new statements by vendors I highly recommend that every Tartan or C&C owner with a Yanmar sail drive owner check your drive well. (This may be especially important for Novis boats manufactured from early-2004 through mid-2006).

Go beyond the zincs: check the drive body well for any surface defects. Signs of paint bubbling could be signs of an imminent break out and then a freely eroding aluminum drive leg like you see above. Do not ignore even the smallest amount of pitting!

Certain owners who have Gori propellers may be better off as the bronze 'cathode' is being somewhat 'supported' by the zinc on the prop, but remember that the small Yanmar sail drive zinc, according to Novis staff just last week, is only designed to support the aluminum drive leg and not all the boats other systems and submerged metal.

While the Novis range of boats do benefit from having 'plastic' through hulls remember you have a lead keel (highly cathodic), bronze through hulls for the air-con water intake (cathodic) and a stainless steel rudder stock (less cathodic). Remember the bonding system too and as noted in previous posts while you are checking your drives, check for bubbling, or worse broken paint on your keel - especially the forward and trailing edges.

Owner offer: If anyone has a failed sail drive from a Tartan or C&C (2000 onwards) please let me know at mako3700@gmail.com. If your corroded drive qualifies, I will buy it from you with a small donation to your favorite charity. I will pay shipping and all you need to do is drop it off at a UPS Store. For more details, please email me.

Remember, what you are seeing above is a Yanmar SD50 sail drive that was on the boat for a little less than a year, approximately 20 engine hours and had the zincs changed every 60 days before the casting failed. Yes, it had zincs on at the time it was hauled!

Tough Week to Try Finding the Truth

2007-08-25T08:15:00.000-05:00

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.

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

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

2007-08-07T12:22:00.000-05:00

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.

Defective Hulls Discussed Openly at TONE

2007-07-21T16:42:00.000-05:00

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

2007-07-21T00:56:00.001-05:00

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)

2007-07-18T17:37:00.000-05:00

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)

2007-07-16T20:02:00.000-05:00

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.

2007-07-12T06:24:00.001-05:00

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…

Hulls, Sail-drives, Keels and Electrical

2007-06-29T17:39:00.001-05:00

A good week with fresh input from various owners around the US. The issues reported this week relate to keel alignment and other keel problems, a hull splitting underway (see previous post), swim ladder failures and of course the electrics & sail-drive related electrolysis that started all this.

In my own situation I am pleased that we have some positive progress, but alas Fairport Yachts remain silent.

Thanks to those that contacted me this week with your Tartan issues and frustrations. Keep them coming in and keep spreading the word. Clearly the word is starting to percolate that there is a site that allows our Tartan build issues to be heard and shared without a single owner feeling like they have to expose their boat (and hull#) as a 'problem' boat on the other sites. Given your input and positive feedback this blog will expand to include other serious non-sail-drive issues Tartan owners are having. I'll report back on key issues and will be happy to network and connect owners that have common issues. Already I have put together owners that have shared problems with rotting cabin soles, short zinc life and other issues that people are struggling with individually. Email Me Your Tartan Issues

Tartan 3700 Hull Split - I have seen the photos!

2007-06-27T17:46:00.000-05:00

I have now seen the photos of the split and delamination of the Tartan 3700 hull I mentioned in my last post. It is truly shocking and as a result I urge every Tartan 3700 owner to have their hull checked forward of the through-hulls below the forward water tank.

In the case of the very young 3700 that failed, it is clear that there was no impact damage. The owner assures me that the boat has never been grounded. There are no signs of the hull, or keel hitting any objects. It looks like the 'two halves' of the hull just started separating along the centerline. The crack went straight through the hull. In addition, the separated hull started to delaminate. The surveyor says its material defect, the insurance company says it's a manufacturing process issue and of course the only one left in the middle is the owner!

I asked the owner about the conditions at sea when it happened and he told me the boat was in 5'-6' seas down the NJ coast. The captain (delivering the boat for the owner) and had just started bearing away after being close hauled. By the time the USCG appeared the crew had over 3' of water inside the boat.

What is interesting is that Fairport have told the owner that the hull splitting was not material failure, but was the direct result of the owner having the rig installed 'too tight'. So does this mean that with a Novis epoxy mast Tim Jackett's design has now placed the hull as the weakest point of the Novis/Fairport design?

So how many of the other boats in the 3700 fleet are too tight? Is your Tartan 3700 hull in danger while making way at sea? How many of us are sitting on a passage time-bomb waiting for the hull to split along the centerline?

Why haven't we heard a thing from Fairport Yachts about this? I sure would have been on my boat with my rigger to check tensions if Bill Ross would have sent me an advisory letter stating that if I didn't tension the rig correctly that my hull would split in just 5'-6' seas! What happened to the concept of a 'duty to inform' over such a potentially life threatening issue as hull failure and rig tensions?

Finally, take a look at this article from Sail Magazine and see why I mention above the 'two halves' of the hull. The hull us laid up in two swings of the female mold. This is standard practice across the industry, but is there a problem with the epoxy layup? Along with their "traditional building methods" did Fairport also throw out quality control on something as basic as hull layup?

Come on Fairport, what's the science behind the hull failure and if it happened to one of the new 3700's what's to stop it happening again - and next time resulting in loss of life at sea?

What a Week for Tartan Fleet News

2007-06-23T13:00:00.000-05:00

This week has been another solid week for discussions and interviews with other Tartan owners.

I was shocked to discover that the hull on a 3700 had split under the forward bulkhead while under way. The event occurred last December. The owner seems to be in a terrible position and is still without his boat. The parallel universes that so many owners seem to be in with these boats is amazing. To hear about the boat splitting wide open, the salvage vs towed legal issues, the repair nightmare and his ongoing horror story trying to get his boat back is gut-wrenching.

The data gathered to date by very generous, frustrated and concerned Tartan and C&C owners has helped me get a very clear picture of both random build issues and some that have patterns.

Here is one section of an email I received this week from an ex-Tartan dealer:

"Your problems with the Tartan product are alarming but not unusual. I certainly don't know the law, but I know that many owners have been driven to distraction by some of the manufacturing practices, many of the business practices, and all of the service practices of the company."

So I am left this Saturday asking myself this question: When will Yanmar USA and Bill Ross acknowledge the build issues in their product(s) and make things right - for this owner and all the Tartan/C&C owners on a pro active basis?

So here is what is puzzling to me as a businessman: I am discovering potentially life threatening build issues within the Tartan 3700 fleet that Fairport Yachts surely knows about. I have no doubt some of these issues may even run across the 3400, 3500, 4100, 4400 fleets and all the boats manufactured in OH. Yet to find out this week that a boat manufactured around the same time as MAKO had split open while at sea is surely news the 3700 owners should know about. If a hull splitting 30 inches long below the forward bulkhead (as reported to me by the owner) would have occurred on an aircraft in flight the FAA would be involved and the fleet would be grounded until such time as all the airframes have been inspected. The manufacturer certainly would be all over the defect. The FAA would issue an Airworthiness Directive (AD) and inspections and repairs would be paid for by the manufacturer. Now I don't know whether the boat involved was affected by a previous grounding, or if there are other such issues, but surely with the manufacturer knowing that at least one of their hulls has split below the waterline, surely an advisory notice to customers would be the least Bill Ross could pro actively send out. Surely as an attorney he knows the inherent liability Fairport Yachts has by failing to disclose issues with the hulls splitting and cracking, faulty hull-deck joints, faulty wiring, faulty sail drives, faulty stainless steel used with life-lines and other [significant] issues that are now being well documented.

Still No Response from Bill Ross in OH

2007-06-22T17:46:00.000-05:00

It is now Friday 6/22/07 and Bill Ross has still not responded as he said he would. There has been no progress from Fairport Yachts or Yanmar and repeated calls to Bill Ross and Yanmar to discuss this matter have not been returned.

In my opinion, I think Bill Ross is simply attempting to play a rather obvious legal chess game by ignoring us and thinking that my wife and I were bluffing when we communicated in our Demand Letter that we will sue all the parties involved under the DTPA. We have provided Bill Ross and all the parties a very elegant way to settle matters and yet Fairport (part of Bill Ross' Challenger Co's) and even Yanmar USA ignore calls this past week. We're trying to do the right thing and give the responsible parties an easy and fair way out of this mess. After all, the pictures here show what boats look like after a hurricane rolls through from the Gulf of Mexico.

The record will show that we have given all the parties the best and most economic way to have this matter go away and yet it has been rejected, or at best is being ignored. MAKO remains on the hard at $75/day and we progress day-by-day through hurricane season. Fairport Yachts, Yanmar and the dealer continue to gamble with the liability as they hold up resolution of the sail drive and provable build issues on MAKO.

Removed All Personal Property

2007-06-17T17:08:00.000-05:00

Today was a very sad day for the family. We spent the last few hours taking every personal effect off our MAKO. Through monsoon-like storms we managed to get every item off the boat that we could.

Our intention was to (1) make the boat ready for immediate pickup by the parties as quickly as they could after they accepted our reasonable demands and (2) removal of the the items that might get looted after a hurricane swept through the yard and if (as it seems) the parties continued to delay matters.

Bill Ross' commit comes and goes

2007-06-15T14:42:00.000-05:00

The owner of Fairport Yachts, Bill Ross, had committed on 6/12/07 to have a response for us to our Demand Letter by 6/15/07. No response was received.

Dealer Walks on All Responsibilities

2007-06-13T15:01:00.000-05:00

The dealer finally sent a response to the demand letter today.

The dealer rejects that there was any breach any express or implied warranties, nor was there any fraud, negligence, negligence representation, violation of Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA) or breach of contact [sic] by the dealership. Thus, the dealership is not prepared to entertain or accept the owner's demand.

Oh well, at least we understand the dealers position and thankfully he took the time to write a letter detailing his final position on the matter.

The Response Deadline Comes and Goes

2007-06-12T14:41:00.000-05:00

Here is what we got back from the parties:

The Tartan Dealer: nothing, no response!

Fairport Yachts: Bill Ross sends a quick email and states he needs a report report from his customer service department on the matters listed in our demand letter later that week when his customer service manager [Andy Drumm] returns to the factory. Bill Ross commits to respond at that time. Self imposed deadline for committing to respond is now 6/16/07

Yanmar USA: Looking in to the claims and will get back to us. Request for additional data*.

*It is known that the dealer has reported on the state of the sail drive after seeing the boat in the yard and that the parties are all fully aware of the state of the sail drive.

Hurricane Season Starts!

2007-06-01T18:50:00.000-05:00

Yep, MAKO is on the hard and is just 12 miles from the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Yep, it's hurricane season and all eyes will be on the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

I hope those parties involved in the MAKO saildrive and build issues don't feel too disconnected from the weather events in TX!

Demand Letter Sent

2007-05-31T17:00:00.000-05:00

This is the day the Demand Letter was sent to the Tartan dealer, Fairport Yachts and Yanmar USA.

What Every Reader Should Know

2007-05-21T14:32:00.000-05:00

Every reader should know that getting to 5/21/07 with this boat has been far from easy. My wife would say and I would have to somewhat agree "It's been a nightmare". The boat was self commissioned by my wife and I through 2006 and it was a very ugly process to discover the build issues.

Ongoing legal action against Fairport Yachts prevents me from listing all the issues, but suffice it to say several were life endangering and almost everything was related to the poor quality of construction. We're not talking small things and oversights, we are talking major discoveries.

My wife and I believed that we were through the major items of repair and correct installation and were looking forward to 2007 being the year that we would finally get MAKO to be our Texas cruising platform. Memorial Day was to be the first of three multi-day passages along the coast. We were intending being the Harvest Moon Regatta for the first time in 3 years.

Emergency Haul Out

2007-05-21T14:14:00.000-05:00

My thanks to Tow-BoatUS and the good people at the yard for understanding the issues and the need to immediately haul and block my boat. They understood the EPA issues and knew I responded as fast as I possibly could from Sunday PM to Monday AM.

By 2PM the boat was on the hard. Unable to be in the water because of the oil that was somehow being forced from the saildrive the hard is the only place the boat can be to avoid fines. However, the thought that MAKO would have to be on the hard during the 2007 hurricane season filled us with dread.

With the boat on the hard and the awful destruction of the sail drive in front of all on land, the investigation and analysis began to understand why this boat was losing sail drives at the rate of one per year. So began the discussions with the dealer, Tartan and of course Yanmar.

What a Discovery

2007-05-20T17:04:00.000-05:00

It was a nice Sunday afternoon a week before Memorial Day weekend. We were having a nice family weekend getting the boat ready for a Memorial Day passage to Freeport and Offats Bayou.

It was while cleaning the Flag Blue AwlGrip topsides that my son noticed the small pools of oil on the surface next to our dinghy. We were seeing oil come from under out boat! They kept coming!

It was a little over 12 months ago I had seen the same thing happen - the day I completed the transaction with the dealer and purchased the boat. The oil was coming from the 'new' saildrive! I knew it then and there.

Within 30 minutes I had the diver on site. The same diver that had been diving on our boats for over 5 years and who had completed every zinc change on MAKO during the past year and a bit. He was kind enough to respond and break in to his Sunday afternoon. His report was damning.

So began the most recent saga of the ownership on MAKO.

Welcome to the Blog for MAKO 3700

2007-05-20T17:00:00.000-05:00

This is the blog for a Tartan 3700 called MAKO. A lovely example of a beautifully designed boat by the ever talented Tim Jackett.

The blog is the chronology of the events and goings on between MAKO's owners and the manufacturer, Fairport Yachts following the discovery in May 2007 that we had 'lost' our second Yanmar Saildrive in 2 years.

The focus is not on the specifics of the issues we have had with the boat, but rather the timetable of events following the discoveries and having to immediately take the boat from the water to its current resting place on the hard at a Texas boat yard.