My 420 demo ride in
Fort Lauderdale never left the
dock, this was bad as I still have no idea how the boat
sails or regenerates power to the batteries. But on the good side, because we had already put an deposit down long ago none of the Cat Co salemen wanted to spend much time with us and went out on the other boats and left my brother and I alone on the boat for about 3 hours to explore the boat and systems in detail without anyone watching over our shoulders. We were even able to access the inside of the breaker panel cabinet that houses the AC breakers, the DC breakers, the 5 position switch, the
motor switch. and the 72V circuit board with relays. From my pictures I was able to find most of the breakers on-line. The batteries are "Tudor" which is the European name of Exide batteries, so their availability for replacement should be no problem. I have many detailed pictures of boat electronic and systems that I would be happy to pass along to others on request.
I am considering writing an e-mail to Nick Harvey at Lagoon America to discuss a few major concerns I have and I was wondering if any of you potential 420 owners would like to add any questions to the ones I am discussing below. I am trying to keep my questions at this time to a more general nature, and not with specific design issues. I would also like to know if you would like to receive a reply to the questions posed directly from Lagoon, by adding your name, Brokers name, and your e-mail address to my (our) letter to Lagoon. Anyway here are some of my concerns that will be included in the
email:
1) I would like to get an up date on the
delivery schedule, and for Nick to confirm that the latest 6-7 week delay is the last, and in my case,
hull #11 will come off the line in
France the last week of January 2007. My 8 week cushion between
delivery to the
BVI and my first booked rental has now shrunk to only one week!
2) Having witnessed the
electrical system up close and in pictures I can tell you that it is fairly complex. Who is going to fix our new 420's if they need
service as much as the first 3 experimental boats have? It seems only fair that Lagoon sponser an on board electical
training session for interested 420 owners or future technicians as soon as possibe after the first of the year. In these sessions everyone should be given an
electrical schematic and a
parts list of the components and their manufactures. (Even if I/we have to pay for them)
3) For the
safety of families or delivery captains heading out to sea to cross the Atlantic, it seems only prudent that they have some knowledge or list of the special
electrical spare
parts they might need to carry with them on their journey. This first parts list must come from Lagoon as they are its only source. This is why Lagoon needs to be more open with its owners as to what problems they are experiencing, and what parts they are having to change out or replace. Sources for
purchasing these spare parts should also be made available. Maybe if Lagoon were a little more forthcoming in their progress updates for the boat, there wouldnt be so much rumor and speculation as to what they are doing right or wrong!
4) Because there is no longer any time to test the new "changes" being made to the
propulsion system, the first 15 or 20 boats off the line will be the new "experimental 420's", replacing the first 3. With this in mind how long will Lagoon bankroll the fixing or changing out of problem parts that are not functioning properly or continually failing? How will Lagoon help us keep updated in their latest changes to the basic drive systems components?
5) One such rumor is that the regeneration from the motors while sailing is not producing nearly as much energy as expected. It would be nice to see some actual figures as to the amount (amps) of recharging that actually takes place at varying speeds and conditions. Surely someone at Lagoon has logged this data. Did you, Nick, experience regeneration on your trip down from
Annapolis?
These are some of the questions that have come to my mind since returning from
Fort Lauderdale. Again I would like to hear from other owners if they would like to become part of the letter/e-mail to Lagoon America's Nick Harvey? I feel that we will have a greater chance of success in dealing with Lagoon if we stick together and use the numbers
game to our advantage. If you would like to join this e-mail, just send me your questions to include, and I will send everyone a copy of the e-mail before I send it on to Nick with all our names and
email addresses for him to respond to.
Let me know what everybody thinks,
Douglas Lundy
dblundy@prodigy.net
Letter to Lagoon
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