We have been anchored in the Bahamas for the last few weeks, enjoying the crystal clear water, and catching up on work that has been piling up.
Wait… that was a dream.
We are still at Lauderdale Marine Center, a boatyard in Fort Lauderdale.
Sure, we’d rather be cruising and recharging. But instead, we’re neck-deep in warranty boat work, related to the JetThruster system that MultiTech installed in April of this year. We’ve been hauled out a total of 5 times for the installation and fixing errors in the installation, for a total count of 9 leaks in the JetThruster system since installation in April.
It’s been hard on us.
We’ve incurred countless unplanned expenses as a result, with zero financial assistance from the company whose fault it is that we’re in this pickle.
Thankfully, we found Charles Hazouri, a surveyor who is helping us make sure that the current fix we’re undertaking is the last fix. Hopefully, having an experienced surveyor review the JetThruster installation, and provide feedback, will get us back on the open ocean in no-time.
And, the JetThruster team is on site to help MultiTech install the system once our Naval Architect has outlined how the boat needs to be properly prepped for the job.
So many parties needed, so much money spent.
All the work we’ve done since the initial installation of the JetThruster system has taken place at Lauderdale Marine Center. We’ve learned to love this place, having been ‘stuck’ here for 7 months. We’ve made some great connections, many of the workers and office staff are pleasant, helpful, and professional. The only thing we don’t love is the black yard dust that tirelessly makes our boat dirty!
We’re hopeful that with the change in installation plans and the involvement of many teams and professionals, this last instal will actually be our last and we can activate our Bahamas departure plan and get out on the water again!
View Comments (16)
Multi-Tech is a joke. Brought my brand new FP power cat there for warranty. Paid a fortune in dockage and service was crap. LMC was ok, but terrible location. Sorry you guys got screwed by MT. You're not the first and won't be last. We heard about an australian couple that had a really bad experience with Thierry and Alex too. Good luck to y'all.
Sorry that you had a bad experience. I hope you got everything figured out and are enjoying your cat.
What da actual f**k? Those install pics are appalling. There's masking take they painted over. And why did they cover that fitting in sealant? Guessing 5200. Love you two on IG. Guess now I know why my wife and I haven't seen you guys post much. I've been on boats since I was a kid. They must be a new shop or something -- just terrible.
Thanks for making time to comment, and thank you for following us on IG. Keep an eye out for us out there!
Ridiculous. Go to Thunderbolt in Savana Georgia. We been there a few times and work was superb. Friendly too. Glad you got a surveyor!!! Sounds like these clowns are just guessing.
Everyone we run into is recommending Thunderbolt Marina, this must be a sign. We do love the LMC staff, and the facility is nice too, but clearly we need to check out Thunderbolt... in 2-3 years :)
So amazing. Can't wait till you two are back out on the ocean. Sending love, hugs, and luck.
Yay!!! We're counting down the days (not really, because we can't, but we are excited). Thank you!!!!!!!
Have friends who got service done by those folks a while back, they were happy. Get a trawler and trawler around with us.
Oh good. We love hearing from people who have good service experiences -- it gives us hope. And trawlers are cool! We will probably end up in a trawler one day.
Wifey told me about your issues. I'm a naval architect but mostly work on commercial vessels. Looking at that one picture, the hull of your boat has core material. Any holes that go through core material, above or below the waterline, need to be treated differently than holes through solid fiberglass. That core material needs to be removed and usually, epoxy is used to fill the area around the hole. I've also seen G10 or glass layup used as a filler (Google it). Don't skimp out. You would regret it in a year or sooner. Remember, nobody cares about your boat as much as you do.
Look at this link: https://www.boatus.com/magazine/2013/April/rebed-deck-fittings-correctly.asp but hire a colleague naval architect -- they will give you specifics for your vessel. Love your boat. When we retire, we want to do what you two do.
Amazing, thank you for the link. We ended up hiring Fleming Marine Composites and they just finished the fiberglass work. They really know what they are doing and, yes, they removed the core and backfilled it correctly. We also had a naval architect come by and check things out throughout their work... good stuff. Happy we found them. Thanks again!
Bud, I think you made a mistake by going to LMC. I made the same mistake. Now I only go to yards that allows outsides companies to do work. LMC has wonky insurance reqs. I only had 1 good exp at LMC. LMC is ok, but their tenants are not. I apologize on behalf of the SF marine industry. This is sad. See it all the time. People have a dream of a sailboat. Need some work done and get screwed by an unethical company. Stick through it buddy. Boating is amazing. Oh and steer clear of rob the rich ... Rybovich. Thanks for sharing ur stuff. Most bloggers only show the sand beaches and bikini girls.
Doubtful that LMC cares much about the quality of the companies on-site that work on the small boats. Wouldn't be surprised if LMC is happy about this kind of stuff, hoping to get the small boats out of there, make room for the big boats. Check out https://nordhavnfacts.com/videos/. Good example of how those guys really think about owners.
Thanks so much for making time to leave a comment. We love connecting with people!
We still have so much to learn about owning a boat... which will probably never change. Now we are just counting the days until we can head out again and leave some of this behind us.
Thanks for the link, it's quite sad to see this kind of stuff. It does feel like, this type of attitude is quite prevalent in the industry. I guess, if the demand is there... then these companies don't need care that much from a business perspective. Just sad.
This kind of poor workmanship and inability to rectify issues reflects poorly on LMC and the boating industry in Florida. Without the tenants at LMC, there would be no LMC -- so they should care more than they apparently do. There are many other options than LMC and Florida, and we need to make sure we stay #1 for refit projects. Sorry, this happened to you two. Please know that there are good service companies here in Florida who do great work for an honest price.