I have quite a complex, messed up problem and would appreciate some opinion.
We have bought a used
Beneteau Sense 43 from a Spanish
Beneteau dealer. Part of the
purchase contract was fitting the
boat with a
spinnaker rigging, because we intend to use the
boat with a Parasailor downwind sail.
The
contract specifically said
-
asymmetric spinnaker rigging and Code 0
- spinnaker fitting
- 2nd stem roller
stainless steel bobstay
Got the boat delivered with all the extras agreed in the contract, including the spinnaker rigging.
Recently started using our new Parasailor Spinnaker. Used it for about 10 hours in light winds (max 15 knots). Then the spinnaker
halyard broke, and the boat ran over the sail. Were able to
salvage the damaged sail, sent it back to vendor for damage assessment.
The
halyard broke because below the exit hole on top of the
mast there was no swiveling block installed. The halyard chafed badly when we flew the sail on the side and finally broke.
However, the Seldén expert who helped us after the incident (and installed the missing block) confirmed to us in writing that such a block was a crucial necessity when fitting a Spinnaker rigging.
The next party involved is a professional yachting consulting who was hired by us to perform a rig check on the boat before we took her for the
cruise.
I have a checklist from him stating that everything (including the Spinnaker rigging) is OK. He did not see the problem.
Finally, our own stupid mistake was that we did not familiarize ourselves with the exact necessities of a spinnaker rigging. We thought that a) the Beneteau vendor would install the component correctly and that b) the consultant would catch any problems our rig might have.
Learned a lesson, hard. Don't ever trust other people. Verify yourself, even if that means that you have to learn every
single aspect of your boat.
We nicely contacted our Beneteau vendor, stated the problem and indicated that we consider the problem to originate from incomplete
installation of the rigging.
However, the Beneteau vendor is refusing to accept any responsibility. They claim that a swiveling block is not a part of the Beneteau spinnaker rigging (without proving this). And that they cannot be held liable for this problem. They agree that "it might be better to have a swiveling block below the outlet".
I then tried to contact Beneteau itself (very difficult to get in touch with them) and ask a simple question: what do I get if I order a Spinnaker Rigging on a new Beneteau Yacht? Does it include a swiveling block below the outlet?
Their answer came after several reminders and did not provide useful information. Beneteau told me that running a Parasailor "is not recommended" and that I am responsible to make sure that the rigging is appropriate if I choose to do so.
They did not answer if a swiveling block is part of a spinnaker rigging.
Now, I could also file the damage with our
insurance, but the amount retained plus increased yearly cost due to the damage do not make this look attractive.
Finally, I could also get back to my consultant. He did not see the problem with the Spinnaker Rig and testified that everything is OK. However, he is the guy I like the most in all this messed up situation. He has done a good job helping us with other things and probably simply overlooked the missing component.
Now it looks very much like we will be the idiots paying for a badly installed component on the boat.
Does anybody have any official
documentation on what is delivered by Beneteau if I order a Spinnaker Rigging on a new sailing yacht?