SD Boatworks

In response to Mr [redacted] 's complaintSD Boatworks completed rigging work at Mr [redacted] 's request in October of The standing rigging was replaced, as well as various other workMr [redacted] was satisfied with all the work and paid his bill promptlyHe did not ask SD Boatworks to go sailing on the yacht or conduct any sea trials after the replacement of the riggingMr [redacted] has now sailed his boat for over a year and half way around the globeOn his travels he has done other work on the rigging without consultation of SD BoatworksWe are not aware of the full extent of what work he has had done, but it includes at least re-tuning all the rigging which he reported to us on 12/28/via e-mailThis included tightening shrouds and tightening the babystay.On 8/3/Mr [redacted] was in Hawaii and he contacted us to report that he had broken his babystayThe photo of the fitting which failed is attachedOf importance is the very clear bend in the fitting, which should not be thereThis fitting is loaded in-line and would not bend in its load path which is straightThe only way for it to become bent is if another force acted upon it (very likely a halyard that got wrapped under it and loaded while hoisting a sail)This type of break is caused by operator error and was not a manufacturer defect in the fittingWhile we did not send Mr [redacted] a free replacement, we did send one to him at our cost to help him out.On 11/15/Mr [redacted] contacted us to report that his headstay had fallen downHis e-mail to us was as follows:"Hey guys, I wish I didn't have to contact you like this but we have a major problemWhile sailing from Tonga to New Zealand the forestay came downThere was no visible damage it just unthreaded itself at the mast head while we were rolling it upThe furler top is gone and the foil bent and twisted, the drum is the only usable partThe rod of course is badly bent and the genoa needs a couple spots fixedI'm sure that this must fall into the warranty categoryWill your insurance cover these repairs? I'll take pictures today and send them."While Mr [redacted] 's report makes it sound like the headstay just came down unexpectedly, the report that one of his crew, [redacted] , posted on [redacted] paints a very different story:"A quick brief on our day passage to NZWe made a quick stop in Minerva Reef where we feasted on fish and lobsterAfter three lovely days there we weighed anchor and headed to NZWe Encountered a front with winds 20-25, gusts of Auto pilot having a hard time keeping up with weather helmChecked in with morning net on SSB, wiki stepped in water, found both bilge pumps not workingTook two hours to fix, and find the leak through a ventilation port from the engine roomWe went to listen to the SSB at 0830, and found out that the SSB was stuck in display mode, so we weren't able to check the weatherWe went to reef the main, and the reef point on boom broke, when our crew member was holding onto the mast, and his hands slipped while a huge swell swept underneath us, and he fell onto his lower back on the life lines, it was a close call! Rolled up the headsail, and the reef line block brokeThen we dropped the main, and put out the headsail, attempting to only half unfurl the Genoa, it broke the head stay at the top of the mastThen that st fell in the water where it does not belong, we all three lashed it down along our port sideAnd jury rigged the two halyards to the bow to act as a head stayAll of it on ***We had fish everyday...." The post continues about fishing after thisPlease see attached image of this post on [redacted] .After Mr [redacted] reported the headstay falling down we asked him to send us some photos of the part that brokeI have attached a couple photos that he sent, which show that the part did not actually break, but rather the threads just came looseAdditionally, one of the photos at the top of the mast shows that the halyard restrainer is broken and missing its sheaveThis is a stainless fitting in photo at the bottom of the screenThe fitting should have a black roller which keeps the halyard from wrapping around the headstayThe photo clearly shows this part to be missing, which would mean that the jib halyard would be able to wrap around the headstay while furling and unfurling the sail, which is a common cause of damage to the top of a forestayThis would make sense given that the headstay came down while the sail was unfurling.To summarize,SD Boatworks performed work on Mr [redacted] 's boat in Mr [redacted] successfully sailed half was across the globe over a period of more than a yearHe has conducted his own maintenance and adjustments to the riggingThe fittings that he reported to have failed were an issue of improper use, and improper maintenanceWhile sailing offshore, seasoned sailors will check their rigging every few days, specifically looking for fittings to wear or for threads to loosenBy having the forestay fitting unthread itself, in combination with the halyard restrainer being broken, and the description of the incident from Mr [redacted] 's crew, [redacted] , it is very clear that this is not an issue of bad worksmanship by SD Boatworks, nor would it be covered by any warranty, either SD Boatworks or the manufacturer of the fitting, BSI.We are available for further comment and we are happy to provide all e-mail correspondence between SD Boatworks and Mr [redacted] upon request.Kind Regards, [redacted] Owner, SD Boatworks

As stated previously, this customer had this work done over a year ago and has since sailed his boat half way around the worldRoutine maintenance is required on all ocean going yachts, primarily in the form of visual inspections of the equipment to look for wear, chafe, loosening of threads, etcThis clearly falls into this category as the fitting did not break, the threads simply unscrewedHad this been an installation error it would have occurred much earlier in the customer's journeyBy having no issues until having sailed for over a year on the open ocean this clearly demonstrates that the workmanship was done in the proper manner

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below
Please excuse the tardiness of this response I have only recently received back the final invoice for the rigging repairs along with a summary of the things found wrong during the rigging inspectionI have attached here a two page invoice for the repairs from *** *** along with a photo showing the halyard wrap preventer wheel that *** claims was missing. ***'s previous response contained a long list of our history of dealings and had left out facts to attempt to make me sound like an incompetent sailorI will go over these quicklyThe reason the boat was not test sailed is because he was nearly weeks late in completing the rigging and it wasn't finally installed until the week of our leaving the country at which point we unfortunately had engine problems and could not leave the dockSecondly while in La Paz Mexico I did tighten up the rig and send him an email regarding this. I then called him from the bar that night and when we spoke on the phone he told me the rig had been set tight and should need no adjustmentsI turned it all back to exactly the way it was the very next day and I have this in my sailors logbook if anyone would require further proofThe rigging piece that he claims I bent and broke was not in Hawaii but in French Polynesia I have had it inspected and it is not bent it, simply broke from being defective. The whole reason for my contacting the Revdex.com in the first place is because I now have proof that SD Boatworks improperly installed the forestay fitting which did cause the forestay and furler along with headsail to come down and in many cases this is catastrophic to the boat and even potentially life-threatening to the crewUpon sending this information to *** he continued to refuse to take any responsibilitySo although three lives were put in danger along with the possibility of sinking my ship *** has made no apology and no attempt to make this right in anywayI'm wondering if it's not legal to operate a business that damages property and potentially puts lives in danger, and then refuse insurance coverage of any type when you make a mistakeI think anyone would agree that with the proof I've submitted that SD Boatworks needs to take full responsibility for this and that is my reason for contacting the Revdex.com for help. I'm very grateful that I can still get someone's assistance while I'm halfway around the world, thank you for your time. *** *** ***
Regards,
***n ***

As stated previously, this customer had this work done over a year ago and has since sailed his boat half way around the world. Routine maintenance is required on all ocean going yachts, primarily in the form of visual inspections of the equipment to look for wear, chafe, loosening of threads, etc. This clearly falls into this category as the fitting did not break, the threads simply unscrewed. Had this been an installation error it would have occurred much earlier in the customer's journey. By having no issues until having sailed for over a year on the open ocean this clearly demonstrates that the workmanship was done in the proper manner.

In response to Mr. [redacted]'s complaint. SD Boatworks completed rigging work at Mr [redacted]'s request in October of 2014. The standing rigging was replaced, as well as various other work. Mr. [redacted] was satisfied with all the work and paid his bill promptly. He did not ask SD Boatworks to go...

sailing on the yacht or conduct any sea trials after the replacement of the rigging. Mr. [redacted] has now sailed his boat for over a year and half way around the globe. On his travels he has done other work on the rigging without consultation of SD Boatworks. We are not aware of the full extent of what work he has had done, but it includes at least re-tuning all the rigging which he reported to us on 12/28/2014 via e-mail. This included tightening shrouds and tightening the babystay.On 8/3/2015 Mr. [redacted] was in Hawaii and he contacted us to report that he had broken his babystay. The photo of the fitting which failed is attached. Of importance is the very clear bend in the fitting, which should not be there. This fitting is loaded in-line and would not bend in its normal load path which is straight. The only way for it to become bent is if another force acted upon it (very likely a halyard that got wrapped under it and loaded while hoisting a sail). This type of break is caused by operator error and was not a manufacturer defect in the fitting. While we did not send Mr. [redacted] a free replacement, we did send one to him at our cost to help him out.On 11/15/15 Mr [redacted] contacted us to report that his headstay had fallen down. His e-mail to us was as follows:"Hey guys, I wish I didn't have to contact you like this but we have a major problem. While sailing from Tonga to New Zealand the forestay came down. There was no visible damage it just unthreaded itself at the mast head while we were rolling it up. The furler top is gone and the foil bent and twisted, the drum is the only usable part. The rod of course is badly bent and the genoa needs a couple spots fixed. I'm sure that this must fall into the warranty category. Will your insurance cover these repairs? I'll take pictures today and send them."While Mr. [redacted]'s report makes it sound like the headstay just came down unexpectedly, the report that one of his crew, [redacted], posted on [redacted] paints a very different story:"A quick brief on our 7.5 day passage to NZ. We made a quick stop in Minerva Reef where we feasted on fish and lobster. After three lovely days there we weighed anchor and headed to NZ. We Encountered a front with winds 20-25, gusts of 30. Auto pilot having a hard time keeping up with weather helm. Checked in with morning net on SSB, wiki stepped in water, found both bilge pumps not working. Took two hours to fix, and find the leak through a ventilation port from the engine room. We went to listen to the SSB at 0830, and found out that the SSB was stuck in display mode, so we weren't able to check the weather. We went to reef the main, and the reef point on boom broke, when our crew member was holding onto the mast, and his hands slipped while a huge swell swept underneath us, and he fell onto his lower back on the life lines, it was a close call! Rolled up the headsail, and the reef line block broke. Then we dropped the main, and put out the headsail, attempting to only half unfurl the Genoa, it broke the head stay at the top of the mast. Then that st fell in the water where it does not belong, we all three lashed it down along our port side. And jury rigged the two halyards to the bow to act as a head stay. All of it on [redacted]. We had fish everyday...." The post continues about fishing after this. Please see attached image of this post on [redacted].After Mr. [redacted] reported the headstay falling down we asked him to send us some photos of the part that broke. I have attached a couple photos that he sent, which show that the part did not actually break, but rather the threads just came loose. Additionally, one of the photos at the top of the mast shows that the halyard restrainer is broken and missing its sheave. This is a stainless fitting in photo 5 at the bottom of the screen. The fitting should have a black roller which keeps the halyard from wrapping around the headstay. The photo clearly shows this part to be missing, which would mean that the jib halyard would be able to wrap around the headstay while furling and unfurling the sail, which is a common cause of damage to the top of a forestay. This would make sense given that the headstay came down while the sail was unfurling.To summarize,SD Boatworks performed work on Mr. [redacted]'s boat in 2014. Mr. [redacted] successfully sailed half was across the globe over a period of more than a year. He has conducted his own maintenance and adjustments to the rigging. The fittings that he reported to have failed were an issue of improper use, and improper maintenance. While sailing offshore, seasoned sailors will check their rigging every few days, specifically looking for fittings to wear or for threads to loosen. By having the forestay fitting unthread itself, in combination with the halyard restrainer being broken, and the description of the incident from Mr. [redacted]'s crew, [redacted], it is very clear that this is not an issue of bad worksmanship by SD Boatworks, nor would it be covered by any warranty, either SD Boatworks or the manufacturer of the fitting, BSI.We are available for further comment and we are happy to provide all e-mail correspondence between SD Boatworks and Mr. [redacted] upon request.Kind Regards,[redacted]Owner, SD Boatworks.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Please excuse the tardiness of this response I have only recently received back the final invoice for the rigging repairs along with a summary of the things found wrong during the rigging inspection. I have attached here a two page invoice for the repairs from [redacted] along with a photo showing the halyard wrap preventer wheel that [redacted] claims was missing. [redacted]'s previous response contained a long list of our history of dealings and had left out facts to attempt to make me sound like an incompetent sailor. I will go over these quickly. The reason the boat was not test sailed is because he was nearly 10 weeks late in completing the rigging and it wasn't finally installed until the week of our leaving the country at which point we unfortunately had engine problems and could not leave the dock. Secondly while in La Paz Mexico I did tighten up the rig and send him an email regarding this. I then called him from the bar that night and when we spoke on the phone he told me the rig had been set tight and should need no adjustments. I turned it all back to exactly the way it was the very next day and I have this in my sailors logbook if anyone would require further proof. The rigging piece that he claims I bent and broke was not in Hawaii but in French Polynesia I have had it inspected and it is not bent it, simply broke from being defective. 
The whole reason for my contacting the Revdex.com in the first place is because I now have proof that SD Boatworks improperly installed the forestay fitting which did cause the forestay and furler along with headsail to come down and in many cases this is catastrophic to the boat and even potentially life-threatening to the crew. Upon sending this information to [redacted] he continued to refuse to take any responsibility. So although three lives were put in danger along with the possibility of sinking my ship [redacted] has made no apology and no attempt to make this right in anyway. I'm wondering if it's not legal to operate a business that damages property and potentially puts lives in danger, and then refuse insurance coverage of any type when you make a mistake. I think anyone would agree that with the proof I've submitted that SD Boatworks needs to take full responsibility for this and that is my reason for contacting the Revdex.com for help. 
I'm very grateful that I can still get someone's assistance while I'm halfway around the world, thank you for your time. 
[redacted]
Regards,
[redacted]n [redacted]

In response to Mr. [redacted]'s complaint. SD Boatworks completed rigging work at Mr [redacted]'s request in October of 2014. The standing rigging was replaced, as well as various other work. Mr. [redacted] was satisfied with all the work and paid his bill promptly. He did not ask SD Boatworks to go sailing on...

the yacht or conduct any sea trials after the replacement of the rigging. Mr. [redacted] has now sailed his boat for over a year and half way around the globe. On his travels he has done other work on the rigging without consultation of SD Boatworks. We are not aware of the full extent of what work he has had done, but it includes at least re-tuning all the rigging which he reported to us on 12/28/2014 via e-mail. This included tightening shrouds and tightening the babystay.On 8/3/2015 Mr. [redacted] was in Hawaii and he contacted us to report that he had broken his babystay. The photo of the fitting which failed is attached. Of importance is the very clear bend in the fitting, which should not be there. This fitting is loaded in-line and would not bend in its normal load path which is straight. The only way for it to become bent is if another force acted upon it (very likely a halyard that got wrapped under it and loaded while hoisting a sail). This type of break is caused by operator error and was not a manufacturer defect in the fitting. While we did not send Mr. [redacted] a free replacement, we did send one to him at our cost to help him out.On 11/15/15 Mr [redacted] contacted us to report that his headstay had fallen down. His e-mail to us was as follows:"Hey guys, I wish I didn't have to contact you like this but we have a major problem. While sailing from Tonga to New Zealand the forestay came down. There was no visible damage it just unthreaded itself at the mast head while we were rolling it up. The furler top is gone and the foil bent and twisted, the drum is the only usable part. The rod of course is badly bent and the genoa needs a couple spots fixed. I'm sure that this must fall into the warranty category. Will your insurance cover these repairs? I'll take pictures today and send them."While Mr. [redacted]'s report makes it sound like the headstay just came down unexpectedly, the report that one of his crew, [redacted], posted on [redacted] paints a very different story:"A quick brief on our 7.5 day passage to NZ. We made a quick stop in Minerva Reef where we feasted on fish and lobster. After three lovely days there we weighed anchor and headed to NZ. We Encountered a front with winds 20-25, gusts of 30. Auto pilot having a hard time keeping up with weather helm. Checked in with morning net on SSB, wiki stepped in water, found both bilge pumps not working. Took two hours to fix, and find the leak through a ventilation port from the engine room. We went to listen to the SSB at 0830, and found out that the SSB was stuck in display mode, so we weren't able to check the weather. We went to reef the main, and the reef point on boom broke, when our crew member was holding onto the mast, and his hands slipped while a huge swell swept underneath us, and he fell onto his lower back on the life lines, it was a close call! Rolled up the headsail, and the reef line block broke. Then we dropped the main, and put out the headsail, attempting to only half unfurl the Genoa, it broke the head stay at the top of the mast. Then that st fell in the water where it does not belong, we all three lashed it down along our port side. And jury rigged the two halyards to the bow to act as a head stay. All of it on [redacted]. We had fish everyday...." The post continues about fishing after this. Please see attached image of this post on [redacted].After Mr. [redacted] reported the headstay falling down we asked him to send us some photos of the part that broke. I have attached a couple photos that he sent, which show that the part did not actually break, but rather the threads just came loose. Additionally, one of the photos at the top of the mast shows that the halyard restrainer is broken and missing its sheave. This is a stainless fitting in photo 5 at the bottom of the screen. The fitting should have a black roller which keeps the halyard from wrapping around the headstay. The photo clearly shows this part to be missing, which would mean that the jib halyard would be able to wrap around the headstay while furling and unfurling the sail, which is a common cause of damage to the top of a forestay. This would make sense given that the headstay came down while the sail was unfurling.To summarize,SD Boatworks performed work on Mr. [redacted]'s boat in 2014. Mr. [redacted] successfully sailed half was across the globe over a period of more than a year. He has conducted his own maintenance and adjustments to the rigging. The fittings that he reported to have failed were an issue of improper use, and improper maintenance. While sailing offshore, seasoned sailors will check their rigging every few days, specifically looking for fittings to wear or for threads to loosen. By having the forestay fitting unthread itself, in combination with the halyard restrainer being broken, and the description of the incident from Mr. [redacted]'s crew, [redacted], it is very clear that this is not an issue of bad worksmanship by SD Boatworks, nor would it be covered by any warranty, either SD Boatworks or the manufacturer of the fitting, BSI.We are available for further comment and we are happy to provide all e-mail correspondence between SD Boatworks and Mr. [redacted] upon request.Kind Regards,[redacted]Owner, SD Boatworks.