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25-11-2009, 18:13
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#31
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 9
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Hi Doug,
I will send you a private message too.
Amanda2
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26-11-2009, 15:33
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#32
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Marine Service Provider
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Burraneer Bay, Sydney.
Boat: Fountain Pajot, He'lia 44
Posts: 327
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Orana-DtM
Hi Daniel have sent private msg.
Gordon.
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26-11-2009, 15:39
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#33
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Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Brisbane Australia [until the boats launched]
Boat: 50ft powercat, light,long and low powered
Posts: 4,409
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Amanda2
Hi Doug,
I will send you a private message too.
Amanda2
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Garrgghhh, you've got me, I MUST know what the story is
Could you please send me a PM as well
Thanks
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26-11-2009, 15:47
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#34
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 9
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Cat Man Do, I will send you a PM too.
So sorry, I didn't mean to make everyone curious by being secretive about it. It's just that I want to handle this carefully, because I don't want to ruin Lightwave's reputation if it's undue.
That said, it's been more than two days since we've sent them a list of issues, but we haven't had any response back from them - no phone call or email whatsoever. This can either mean that they are getting things organised in the background or that they ignore us...
Amanda2
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26-11-2009, 16:13
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#35
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Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: on board, Australia
Boat: 11meter Power catamaran
Posts: 3,648
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Amanda,
could you please send me a PM regarding lightwave also.
thanks
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27-11-2009, 04:38
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#36
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 1
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Kick it to me... :)
Could you message me as well? My wife and I have been researching cruising cats, and the lightwaves have had some good recommendations...
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29-11-2009, 17:35
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#37
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Brisbane
Boat: Lightwave 45, sold nov 2020.Previous self built Roberts 36
Posts: 217
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Amanda2
Hi Daniel,
I just sent one of the other forum members a private message in regards to this and I will send you one too.
At this stage I'm a bit hesitant to write in too much detail about the problems we've had on the forum, because we can easily be identified by that, and we're hoping we can still work things out with Lightwave in a friendly way.
Amanda2
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Hi Amanda,
we have been interested in a LW 45 for a while now, and visited the 45 Grande at the sancturay cove boat show, and also went to see 47 motor sailor in the factory. The boats always look very well finshed and well set up for cruising with solid deck and mooring gear etc.
Without compromising your postion, I too would be interested to hear about the hassles, Thanks Glenn
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29-11-2009, 20:02
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#38
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Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Was Sydney, now Austin, TX
Posts: 30
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Hi Amanda,
Thanks for your PM explaining your issues with your LW 45. I would urge you to post your experiences with your boat and the LW company on the forum. I really don't see any downside to it, as you are very thoughtful and respectful in your explanations and concern for seeing some resolutions to your problems. On the plus side, sharing your experiences with the folks on this forum will give those of us considering a LW some valuable information and could prevent some of the issues you have experienced. Hopefully the LW company will realise that open and honest discussion of positives and negatives gives them (like all manufacturers) the opportunity to improve in the future.
Regards,
Doug
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29-11-2009, 21:23
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#39
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 9
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Hi all,
In the meantime my husband and I have had a meeting with Lightwave to work through the issues and I have to say, it was very productive, so we have renewed faith in both Lightwave and our boat in particular. A number of the issues we've raised were not as major as we thought they were and at Lightwave they explained to us what the cause of them may be and how they may be resolved. Other issues were major, but we've come to a satisfactory understanding of those too. Initially we weren't sure what to think of the late response by Lightwave, but it became apparent during our meeting that they had been working behind the screens and investigating stuff. They also appreciated our feedback, because it will indeed help them to improve.
Nonetheless I would like to share a few issues with all of you.
In January 2008 my husband and I placed an order with Lightwave to build a 38’ sailing catamaran for us. The vessel was delivered in September 2008. During the journey down from the Gold Coast where it was built to Port Macquarie where we then lived, we had an issue with our head sail due to an improperly installed furler. This issue was then fixed, but it could have taken the entire mast down while we were out at sea.
[We discussed this issue with Lightwave today and apparently Profurl have looked at their design for improvements after we had our incident, so that's a positive thing that came out of it.]
In December 2008 I was head hunted for a job in Canada, so my husband and I sailed up from Port Macquarie to the Gold Coast to have our vessel put on a dry dock. During this trip the lazy jacks were pulled out of the spreaders, as a result of which the entire main sail came down while we were way out at sea. On our arrival at the Gold Coast the lazy jacks were fixed. However, we contacted the sail maker who advised that it was ridiculous that we didn’t have a topping lift installed which would have properly carried the weight of the boom and would have prevented the lazy jacks from being ripped out of the spreaders.
[During our meeting today Lightwave explained to us what the drawbacks would be in terms of chafing of the topping lift against the main sail. My husband then came up with a different construction that may support the boom a little bit better, but this construction is still to be worked out in further detail.]
In November 2009 my husband and I returned from Canada and our vessel was launched back into the water. We sailed up from the Gold Coast to Raby Bay by going around North and South Stradbroke Island and Moreton Island, only to find that both our engines started to fail one by one. Before we returned from Canada we had asked Lightwave who was looking after our vessel in our absence, to carry out engine maintenance so that the vessel would be ready for use again. However, the subcontractor carrying out the engine maintenance failed to check the fuel which, as we found out at sea, contained fungus (even though we had put Fuel Doctor in the fuel before we left for Canada as recommended in our vessel’s Owner’s Manual which is written by Lightwave).
[At Lightwave they were surprised that Fuel Doctor didn't work in our case and a few other possible causes were mentioned as to how the fungus could have grown in the diesel. Apparently a lot of people swear by Fuel Doctor and we had just been unfortunate that it didn't work in our case. Lightwave have loaned us one of their drums to help us pump out the contaminated fuel, so we can clean the tank and then fill it up with fresh fuel.]
To cut a long story short, we have found ourselves in a life-threatening situation three times. In addition to that, we are now also finding things on our vessel that are falling apart, such as cracks in the hull structure, cracks in the saloon table, broken inspection holes, electrical cables coming loose, to name a few.
[These last-mentioned issues were pretty minor, but everything adds up of course. During our meeting with Lightwave we concluded that the cracks in the table and also parts of the flooring coming loose and shrinking, was probably due to the amount of sunlight, UV and heat, the boat had to cop while it was on a hard stand. Most of them can be fixed and are mainly cosmetic issues. The cracks in our bunks weren't actually cracks in the hull, but were also a cosmetic issue and caused by a joint under the thin panel on which the matresses lie.]
Amanda2
P.S.: I have shortened my inserted comments, but Lightwave have given us a very detailed explanation of everything, which we greatly appreciated.
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29-11-2009, 22:15
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#40
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Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Out of the Office
Posts: 909
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Good job
daniel
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29-11-2009, 23:22
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#41
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Marine Service Provider
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Brisbane Australia
Boat: Multihulls - cats and Tris
Posts: 4,859
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As some of you may know I am a journo with Multihull World Australia. I contacted Roger Overall at Lightwave Yachts regarding this matter to seek a comment. Roger indicated that he was reluctant to speak an an individual case to any great extent, primarily out of privacy considerations for the client. Having said that Roger indicated to me that he believed the company had responded strongly and positively to the concerns raised by this matter and was seeking to continue to work with the people involved.
He regretted any negativity surrounding the delay but he had been speaking with suppliers and working through the issues.
He further indicated that he would welcome any contact from any person with an interest in the Lightwave and would be only to happy to discuss with people how the factory deals with the inevitable bumps in the road.
He also indicated that business was good and that the factory had a healthy order book and that was keeping him busy as well. They have some interesting projects underway including consideration for a client on a 45 with a slightly more sport focus. The details are being worked through and I may be able to do a story on that in the future. ( i have previously done one on a 38 with a dagger-board and a lighter build etc.)
At a personal level, I have always found Roger and Louise to be extremely nice and decent people. They are very friendly and supportive and have an excellent reputation as employers. I would be suprised if Roger intentionally ever hurt anyone in a business sense.
I also know Roger to be a bloody fast Cat sailor who has an excellent history of racing his own boats (the raider).
I will follow the story a little more but it would appear that Lightwave is behaving in the way I would expect them to, honourably and decently.
If its not breaching any guideline here the contact for Roger is mail@lightwave.com.au
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29-11-2009, 23:39
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#42
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Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Brisbane Australia [until the boats launched]
Boat: 50ft powercat, light,long and low powered
Posts: 4,409
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Amanda2
During the journey down from the Gold Coast where it was built to Port Macquarie where we then lived, we had an issue with our head sail due to an improperly installed furler. This issue was then fixed, but it could have taken the entire mast down while we were out at sea.
[We discussed this issue with Lightwave today and apparently Profurl have looked at their design for improvements after we had our incident, so that's a positive thing that came out of it.]
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Something happened with your furler
It was fixed
The mast did not fall down
Quote:
During this trip the lazy jacks were pulled out of the spreaders, as a result of which the entire main sail came down while we were way out at sea. On our arrival at the Gold Coast the lazy jacks were fixed. However, we contacted the sail maker who advised that it was ridiculous that we didn’t have a topping lift installed which would have properly carried the weight of the boom and would have prevented the lazy jacks from being ripped out of the spreaders.[During our meeting today Lightwave explained to us what the drawbacks would be in terms of chafing of the topping lift against the main sail. My husband then came up with a different construction that may support the boom a little bit better, but this construction is still to be worked out in further detail.]
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I agree with the sailmaker, loosen off the Topper/spare halyard while sailing and there will be no or minimal chafe or take it back to the mast or out to the chainplate when sailing and there will be none.
Quote:
We sailed up from the Gold Coast to Raby Bay by going around North and South Stradbroke Island and Moreton Island, only to find that both our engines started to fail one by one. Before we returned from Canada we had asked Lightwave who was looking after our vessel in our absence, to carry out engine maintenance so that the vessel would be ready for use again. However, the subcontractor carrying out the engine maintenance failed to check the fuel which, as we found out at sea, contained fungus (even though we had put Fuel Doctor in the fuel before we left for Canada as recommended in our vessel’s Owner’s Manual which is written by Lightwave).[At Lightwave they were surprised that Fuel Doctor didn't work in our case and a few other possible causes were mentioned as to how the fungus could have grown in the diesel. Apparently a lot of people swear by Fuel Doctor and we had just been unfortunate that it didn't work in our case. Lightwave have loaned us one of their drums to help us pump out the contaminated fuel, so we can clean the tank and then fill it up with fresh fuel.]
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Just as well you had sails so as to still be able to continue under your PRIMARY mode of propulsion.
Perhaps some 500fg filters or similar and spares should be installed as well
Quote:
To cut a long story short, we have found ourselves in a life-threatening situation three times.
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How do you figure that?
I cant see anything overly life threatening in those examples, just sounds like a normal shakedown/delivery trip
Now you have got rid of a few bugs and hopefully learned something
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29-11-2009, 23:40
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#43
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 9
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Hm, Factor, I'm not sure if I appreciate the fact that you went to Lightwave to seek comment on this, because the discussion we had with Lightwave was very positive. I left this message on the forum to show to everyone that we still have strong trust in Lightwave's company and that the issues have been dealt with in a satisfactory way. We both believe in Roger and Louise as well, and that's why we wanted to work this out with them, and we did. Perhaps you have misunderstood my previous post, but it was very much to show to everyone that the air is clear and there is no need to doubt Lightwave's business.
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30-11-2009, 00:03
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#44
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 9
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Cat Man Do,
I'm sure to you as a seasoned sailor this seems like a normal bumpy ride. But we are only novices when it comes to sailing, so as you can understand we were freaked out by certain things and didn't know what to expect. This is also the reason why I turned to this forum to find out other people's perspectives on this and, as I said before, we have absolutely no intention of harming Lightwave's reputation. There is always the dilemma of unintentional negativity if you speak up and ask publicly for assistance when you're facing problems or keeping quiet when you shouldn't have and could have prevented problems for fellow-sailors.
Amanda2
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30-11-2009, 02:56
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#45
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Marine Service Provider
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Brisbane Australia
Boat: Multihulls - cats and Tris
Posts: 4,859
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[QUOTE=Amanda2;367125]
Quote:
Hm, Factor, I'm not sure if I appreciate the fact that you went to Lightwave to seek comment on this
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,
Appreciate it or not - I am a journo - asking questions is how I make a dollar
Quote:
because the discussion we had with Lightwave was very positive.
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Thats great - cause I always was of the view that they were good people.
Quote:
I left this message on the forum to show to everyone that we still have strong trust in Lightwave's company and that the issues have been dealt with in a satisfactory way. We both believe in Roger and Louise as well, and that's why we wanted to work this out with them, and we did.
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Again I am genuinely pleased
Quote:
Perhaps you have misunderstood my previous post, but it was very much to show to everyone that the air is clear and there is no need to doubt Lightwave's business.
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Yes I think I must have. Perhaps the word horrors had something to do with it. But that's okay - all's well that ends well.
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