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Catbuyer · 30-11-2015, 17:58

Hi all after heavy "My judgement" research and lots of reading I would like to get feedback on the following items ...

The aftersales and delivery support for me is very important issues and will be a key factor in my choices. So I'm now down to 4with a long short on number 5
And the boats we are look at are around 55' feet

"Catana"

1 "Long shot " it looks like once they have delivered the boat they basically leave it and it is a big struggle to get things fixed And it is at the lowest priority for them

outremere

2 I barely hear anything nor can find anything when it comes to after service .. do they Fix those issues in order to get the boat delivered and I good working order ??

alibi
3 "I'm aware not many are sailing pressently" but my impression is they fix the things that needs to be done ??

schooning

4 design how is the support provide from the designer and We are thinking about having one build in Europe in Latvia

O Yachts

5 service and after sales support ... ???

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tp12 · 01-12-2015, 04:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catbuyer

Hi all after heavy "My judgement" research and lots of reading I would like to get feedback on the following items ...

The aftersales and delivery support for me is very important issues and will be a key factor in my choices. So I'm now down to 4with a long short on number 5
And the boats we are look at are around 55' feet

schooning

4 design how is the support provide from the designer and We are thinking about having one build in Europe in Latvia

Sent from my HTC One using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

I can't speak for the others and I haven't built a Schionning but I have dealt with the people at Schionning and they have been nothing but helpful. Regarding design support, on their website they talk about being available for phone calls, skype calls etc and given they've been so responsive to me I'd imagine that they'd be very supportive. They also mention they have a Europe agent for sourcing the kits etc.

My best advice on this would be to contact Schionning directly, their email address ... info at schionningdesigns dot com dot au

Oh and great problem to have, by the way

Catbuyer · 01-12-2015, 06:31

Tp yes they have and as fare as my knowledge with the European agent that is O-yachts but they haven't build any

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tp12 · 01-12-2015, 14:36

I understand that a few boats have been built in Europe but I wouldn't be able to furnish details. If you contact Schionning they will though. Schionning gave me the contact details of someone building a GForce1400C in here in NSW that I'm going to go and see.

BigBeakie · 01-12-2015, 15:31

Catbuyer,

You have listed both production and custom one off build. If it is production, you will have some options on what equipment you can choose, but limited to no options on how your boat looks re the layout, the GA.

If going the one off route, make sure the designer you choose provides very detailed plans for the builder. By detailed, I mean very, very detailed, with extensive building notes. I have helped build 2 cruising cats and both designers only provided rudimentary drawings, and it slowed things down and provided lots of opportunity for errors.

A cruising cat can have up to 100 pages of design drawings/building notes. Many "designers" can draw up general view plans and they all look pretty ( 10 to 20 pages), but then the builder has to figure out for them self how to build the thing, and guess what happens then? In such cases, builders make decisions on load paths, composite engineering, and other things that they are not technically qualified to decide. Then if something breaks, you get fingers pointing between the designer and builder, and you are caught in the middle.

Enjoy the journey

paxfish · 02-12-2015, 05:27

I never take this approach with my stuff. Vehicles, boats, houses, etc.

I start from the premise that there will be no competent service available. My first line of defense is research and D.I.Y.

Research heavily to identify the best quality you can afford, and then address issues as they arrive, D.I.Y. That way, I know it was done properly! If I get stuck, there are plenty of resources that have the answer.

And If something fails, I am familiar with it and the potential resolution.

Then again, I would never buy a NEW boat!

Doe818 · 02-12-2015, 05:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catbuyer

Hi all after heavy "My judgement" research and lots of reading I would like to get feedback on the following items ...

The aftersales and delivery support for me is very important issues and will be a key factor in my choices. So I'm now down to 4with a long short on number 5
And the boats we are look at are around 55' feet

"Catana"

1 "Long shot " it looks like once they have delivered the boat they basically leave it and it is a big struggle to get things fixed And it is at the lowest priority for them

outremere

2 I barely hear anything nor can find anything when it comes to after service .. do they Fix those issues in order to get the boat delivered and I good working order ??

alibi
3 "I'm aware not many are sailing pressently" but my impression is they fix the things that needs to be done ??

schooning

4 design how is the support provide from the designer and We are thinking about having one build in Europe in Latvia

O Yachts

5 service and after sales support ... ???

Sent from my HTC One using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

I guess when you buy one you'll find out Mike.

ramblinrod · 02-12-2015, 09:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catbuyer

Hi all after heavy "My judgement" research and lots of reading I would like to get feedback on the following items ...

The aftersales and delivery support for me is very important issues and will be a key factor in my choices. So I'm now down to 4with a long short on number 5
And the boats we are look at are around 55' feet

"Catana"

1 "Long shot " it looks like once they have delivered the boat they basically leave it and it is a big struggle to get things fixed And it is at the lowest priority for them

outremere

2 I barely hear anything nor can find anything when it comes to after service .. do they Fix those issues in order to get the boat delivered and I good working order ??

alibi
3 "I'm aware not many are sailing pressently" but my impression is they fix the things that needs to be done ??

schooning

4 design how is the support provide from the designer and We are thinking about having one build in Europe in Latvia

O Yachts

5 service and after sales support ... ???

Sent from my HTC One using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

You are going the correct route to determine post sale service reputation / history.

If little to none is available, all I can suggest is to develop the best relationship possible with the person responsible for selling (to get the best price) the person responsible for building (to get the best construction) and the person responsible for honouring the written warranty (to get the best post sale service).

RamblinRod
About Sheen Marine

brianlara 3 · 02-12-2015, 11:56

Give very favourable consideration to building your own Schonning. (and I'm not connected IAW).
BUT. I met a guy, Richard Fiddes, in Sydney OZ, in any 2010 who personally supervised the construction of a 53' Schonning using SOTA practice. This was in Western Australia after Richard sold his businesses.
He and Michelle raved about the design and ongoing support which Schonning supplied and this cat wasn't built overnight.
"THOR" sailed clockwise from Perth to Sydney and then the back across the top to Thailand and many other SEA countries.
Schonning have an awesome reputation in this country for support and his designs are becoming legendary.
If you have the wherewithal to build (eg composite) and PERSONALLY SUPERVISE construction then surely with a lot of patience you'll end up with worlds best practice and for less money too.IMHO.

D&D · 02-12-2015, 14:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by paxfish

...never buy a NEW boat!

+1

...and FWIW, we'd never consider any one-off (non-production) vessel either. For all their faults and limitations, production vessels enjoy both the testing experience of previous launches (and sea time) and the advantage of well known layout and components when seeking service far away from the builder. Of course if you're a marine engineer or confident of 100% across-the-vessel DIY service, that changes the perspective dramatically.

We wish the OP success in the search!

Steamer · 03-12-2015, 00:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by D&D

+1

... we'd never consider any one-off (non-production) vessel either. For all their faults and limitations,

... one sunny day you may find out you were wrong!

Catbuyer · 03-12-2015, 02:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by ramblinrod

You are going the correct route to determine post sale service reputation / history.

If little to none is available, all I can suggest is to develop the best relationship possible with the person responsible for selling (to get the best price) the person responsible for building (to get the best construction) and the person responsible for honouring the written warranty (to get the best post sale service).

RamblinRod
About Sheen Marine

I'm trying my best to figure things out but it ain't easy... And I find it hard to believe that almost none owners of outremere don't have any issues compared to what I read regarding catana or are they just on top of things ??? I found alot of things regarding new build catanas

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D&D · 03-12-2015, 13:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steamer

... one sunny day you may find out you were wrong!

In the meantime, we are enjoying lots of sunny (and plenty not-so-sunny) days finding we're just right.

Each to their own eh?

tp12 · 03-12-2015, 14:25

If people want to buy some safety margin or peace of mind by spending more to buy a production cat then that's their choice and as long as they're out doing what they want, they'll be happy. Being happy is the most important bit. Not whether your cat is a prod one or not.

If you don't feel the need to do that and go the custom/build route then great, as long as you're out doing what you want to do, you'll be happy.