U.K. builder ordered to pay more than $1.5 million for faulty boat

[Bill O]

https://www.tradeonlytoday.com/indus...Z1eptCZW5pt12E

[boom23]

Originally Posted by Bill O

https://www.tradeonlytoday.com/indus...Z1eptCZW5pt12E

WOW!!!

That's very serious! I haven't heard of many lawsuits against boat manufacturers that have been won... It certainly does not inspire confidence in the company.

[Jim Cate]

From the company's press resease:

“Our shipyard is a specialist operation building world-class, luxury bluewater yachts.

They have a different idea on these values than I do!

And I bet that there are a few other companies who are very upset by this judgement. What a notion... a company being held responsible for the quality and fitness of their products. I kinda like it!!

Jim

[RaymondR]

Sounds like the builder has already been phoenixed, a technique commonly used by dodgy builders.

If I'd been the manager of a company which builds $800,000 boats I'd have had a crew ready to meet the damned thing and carry out the required repairs along with some really grovelling excuses given over an expensive dinner rather than have it get anywhere near a lawyer.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

Sounds like the builder has already been phoenixed, a technique commonly used by dodgy builders.

If I'd been the manager of a company which builds $800,000 boats I'd have had a crew ready to meet the damned thing and carry out the required repairs along with some really grovelling excuses given over an expensive dinner rather than have it get anywhere near a lawyer.

Hence the resignation of the MD.

[Tillsbury]

I can understand an owner being an idiot and taking a boat Bluewater before it had been commissioned and had proper sea trials. I’m surprised that a company like Discovery allowed it to happen. They should have refused to hand over until sea trials were fully completed to their satisfaction as well as the purchaser.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Tillsbury

I can understand an owner being an idiot and taking a boat Bluewater before it had been commissioned and had proper sea trials. I’m surprised that a company like Discovery allowed it to happen. They should have refused to hand over until sea trials were fully completed to their satisfaction as well as the purchaser.

Indeed. It is no credit at all to Discovery. They make beautiful boats but they screwed the pooch here.


Oyster, a much bigger company, went bankrupt and got phoenixed because of one single case of a keel falling off of a rich Russian's boat which was not well handled.


The defects shouldn't exist in the first place, and in that market niche you can't expect all of the owners to figure out how to shake down the vessel properly. But once they do exist they need to be dealt with with lightning speed and with whatever it takes to make the owner happy.



It's easier said than done -- these companies don't make huge volumes of boats and the net profit per boat is not all that great, and the cost of emergency remediation in a case like this can be huge. But if you want to play in that market niche, you have to figure this out, preferably on the side of the defects not appearing in the first place. A keel falling off an Oyster of course is totally egregious and unacceptable, but that's a different conversation . . .

[Tillsbury]

When I bought a new Westerly the director in charge of commissioning took the boat out on the sea trials. I mean, I was there because notionally it was the handover, and he let me sail the boat, but there was no question he was the skipper and he got every sail out, every device working, pushed the engine and electrics. He wasn’t going to let me take the boat without him being satisfied and then we ended up with a small list at the end of the sea trials that we both signed off on.

On the other hand, they went bust shortly after, but not because of my boat

[belizesailor]

Huge PITA for owner and likely the end of the builder. Probably a lot of other builders taking notice of this judgement.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

From the company's press resease:

They have a different idea on these values than I do!

And I bet that there are a few other companies who are very upset by this judgement. What a notion... a company being held responsible for the quality and fitness of their products. I kinda like it!!

Jim

Well, it's somewhat more complicated than that. If you read through the list of problems, they included stuff like generator wouldn't start and davits coming loose after hauling a big dinghy half way across the Atlantic in them. Not sure those are in the first place manufacturing defects.

[sailorboy1]

Its what happens when you huy one of those “built to a price boats”

Thats what everyone would say if it been one of more mass type builders.

[redneckrob]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Its what happens when you huy one of those “built to a price boats”

Thats what everyone would say if it been one of more mass type builders.

Thank you! That inane statement infuriates me given that literally everything is "built to a price".

[sailormed]

From the article "...... who purchased a 58-foot sailboat in 2017 for more $1 million."
Seems rather cheap for a 58 foot ocean cruising sailboat.

[AiniA]

We spent some time in Indonesia with a Swiss couple who had an early Discovery 55. A beautiful boat but you shouldn't have to replace the mast, rebuild the chain plate mounts, buy every litre of lubricating oil on a small island to enjoy your cruise. They had had one problem after another, far more problems than we add with our then almost 25 year old Bristol.

[anchorbend]

He was very fortunate to win his case, unlike the owner of a new Hallberg Rassy. Hopefully builders in the future will start to take notice.

https://www.boatdesign.net/threads/h...al-case.35445/