After everything you guys have gone through I can't imagine the instant panick that would have set in when you heard that bang! Glad it worked out okay, now to get you back in the water 😎
There definitely was the moment of OMG what was that, I don't think Trent's ever flown out of the computer chair that fast 😅 Luckily it seems to have had a good outcome and we'll see about fixing the shelter during the week - personally I'd really like to see it done before the next storm has a chance to blow through!
After seeing what you all have gone through and watching Parlay (yes, different manufacturer) I wouldn't touch a production cat from Europe with a ten foot pole
Thank you for the video. Happy nobody was hurt during that heavy rain. Hope they pay up soon for all your expenses. On another issue I follow several RV ( recreational vehicle) ubube channels in the US. There are so many problems in that industry and buyers suffer with very badly assembled RV's and get little to no help from the sales company or the company that made the RV's. Your stories and their stories are similar in many ways. The people spend thousands of US dollars and end up with a disaster. Cheers from Durban, South Africa 🏄♂️👍🏄♀️
Thank you for the support, it's appreciated🙂 It's sad to hear that the RV industry has similar issues, especially because people pursuing that kind of lifestyle are often doing it for the same reasons live aboard cruisers do and like a boat, it can be a once in a lifetime purchase.
The saga continues but you all retain your sense of humour - let’s hope the final chapter is about to be written and everyone lives happily ever after.😉😀👍
We hope so, it would be nice to conclude the story on a positive note with Leopard taking steps to resolve the overall situation. Thanks for the words of support 😊
It seems to me that a good lawyer could make the argument to the USCG that Leopard catamarans produced in the last two years are not seaworthy to operate in US waters based on the very specific structural and design issues that are readily apparent.
Yep, that rainstorm was just a taste of what"s to come so hopefully we can have the shelter reinforced before the next lot arrives! We don't mind the rainy season in Trinidad, (tropical rain is so much better than cold European rain!!) but don't want a repeat of this 😬
Question for @travel-Sketch team......If you had to start the buying process again, would you still go with Leopard or would you go with another brand?
I'd just say, if Travelopia sold a hull made by a different shipbuilder we would consider them. No way we would buy a Robertson and Caine hull new or old. Old has balsa core which we are not a fan of.
Considering chartering as bulk of leopard production sales, scares the 💩 out of me. Seawind or Otremer or HH among top of my list for construction quality, safety, sea worthy, and customer service. No boat perfect; but, failure in structural integrity too high a risk.... Basically, Leopard is the space shuttle Challenger of catamarans... Think on it
Is it possible, that rising demand for boats has led some manufacturers to focus on increasing and accelerating production, in order to meet demand? Post Covid, lots of people have looked to change lifestyle and live their dreams. In that headlong rush to meet demand (and cash in) quality has suffered, quality control has suffered and customer service has suffered. The latter two having seen no increase in investment to increase their capacity to match the increase in production. Several brands are possibly guilty of this. Especially where they have a new and very popular model. They take orders for 50 or more boats and then rush to get them out of the factory. Interestingly, I saw a rep from one brand saying that they capped their production and close their order book as soon as they reach a certain (quite low) number for each year. This is to maintain the quality of the finished product. They could sell twice as many order book slots but prefered to limit production to what they know they can build whilst maintaining the highest standards. But their boats are described as semi-custom. This is what scares me most, about most production boats. The design/architecture/enineering/equipment might all be excellent, but boats are made to a volume schedule rather than a quality standard. Errors are bound to be made. The better companies will bend over backwards to get them resolved ASAP. A few, don't really appear to give a damn. The documented experiences of several new Leopard owners, is giving strong hints into which category the Leopard brand and builder, falls under. I'm enjoying your videos but desparing of your experiences. Hopefully, you get your boat back in the water before the next hurricane season hits.
It is impossible at this stage to have the boat finished by hurricane season. I also know certain manufacturers limit production to maintain safety and quality as it should be. South Africa's labor laws compounded or cause issues for the most part IMO. Due to quantity of hulls produced it is harder to get around these absurd laws for larger businesses. I ordered the boat before prices and volume went up so output isn't an excuse. Many of these issues go back hundreds of hulls so it is hard to excuse this as sudden increased demand pressure. Does your logic apply to some extent? Yes I think it does, but that in itself wouldn't lead to such a train wreck.
I’m not religious by any stretch of the imagination after being raised in an Evangelical cult. That being said y’all are in our positive thoughts and intentions that you finally put this nightmare behind you.
We don't know - once we recieve confirmation of when trades are arriving, how many people are coming and when supplies are arriving we might have a better idea. I suspect work will finish sometime in the middle of the hurricane season, but who knows 🤷🏼♀️
I thought I was funny 😂 It's a throwback to when the saloon windows would leak and the water would pour in and fall down into the hull like a waterfall - I'm very much looking forward to not having to get out the towels every time it rains!
We'll hit 3 years of ownership next month and so far have missed a Med season, two Caribbean Seasons and are nowhere near South East Asia which is where we were well and truely meant to be by now 😔 Boat has spent around 75% of the time stuck in marinas or hardstands for warranty, and the rest was mostly sailing it between haul out locations.
As an Aussie myself I'm starting to understand what foreigners say about certain Aussie accents. I'd like to let them know that not all Aussies have the same accents, for example Queenslanders and others along the east coast have an appalling accent, they have this weird intonation at the end of certain words, especially the word here, they tend to put a little extra flourish on the end which sounds like "hereya" there's many other examples as well. We South Australians pronounce English words correctly, experts say it's because South Australia was the one state that wasn't settled by convicts, hence our education and the pronunciation of the English language is correct and nothing like these east coaster types. Fun fact, during the "pandemic" we South Aussies saw 4 days of lock down total and only because a foreigner lied to get out of working. The reason being we were settled by free men, we have different laws and emergency matters are not left to the state government, but the Police Commissioner. Luckily our head cop is a decent moral man, he did his research and came to the conclusion that we didn't need to stay inside and as such refused to sign off on the lock downs, despite state government pressure. Big rant I know but I want to address what many foreigners say to me
Fun fact, Adelaide is also the meth capital of Australia 😉 Perth thanks you for taking the title back! It seems to be part of a point you're trying to make so I'll just let you know, none of us are from the east coast of Australia... Yes my accent comes out strongly on certain words, no idea why "here" is one of them - the guys joke that you can tell how pi$$'d off I am by how strong the "heeya" is 😅😂
@@travelsketch Even though I have no idea what meth has to do with anything, your comment that my state is the 'meth capital of Australia" I highly doubt that. As I'm not up on these stats I'd love for you to back it up with evidence, where you got this data from, that would be very interesting. Although the woman also does the hereya, my comment was directed more towards the passive aggressive dude, who it really sticks out with.
Shame on Leopard for putting you through this. So grateful you are exposing all of this.
So true ☝️🙏
After everything you guys have gone through I can't imagine the instant panick that would have set in when you heard that bang! Glad it worked out okay, now to get you back in the water 😎
There definitely was the moment of OMG what was that, I don't think Trent's ever flown out of the computer chair that fast 😅 Luckily it seems to have had a good outcome and we'll see about fixing the shelter during the week - personally I'd really like to see it done before the next storm has a chance to blow through!
After seeing what you all have gone through and watching Parlay (yes, different manufacturer) I wouldn't touch a production cat from Europe with a ten foot pole
This one is South African? Not that I disagree, Colin's Lagoon was just terrible 😔
❤ *SILENT YACHT* (From Australia) ALL The Way For Me ! See You Soon ! Take Care & Be Safe..!😊
The Leopard Cape rescue. 😂
If the need is there, Leopard Catamaran Man may appear again 🦸💪
That bit made me giggle 🤗
Thank you for the video. Happy nobody was hurt during that heavy rain. Hope they pay up soon for all your expenses. On another issue I follow several RV ( recreational vehicle) ubube channels in the US. There are so many problems in that industry and buyers suffer with very badly assembled RV's and get little to no help from the sales company or the company that made the RV's. Your stories and their stories are similar in many ways. The people spend thousands of US dollars and end up with a disaster.
Cheers from Durban, South Africa 🏄♂️👍🏄♀️
Thank you for the support, it's appreciated🙂 It's sad to hear that the RV industry has similar issues, especially because people pursuing that kind of lifestyle are often doing it for the same reasons live aboard cruisers do and like a boat, it can be a once in a lifetime purchase.
The saga continues but you all retain your sense of humour - let’s hope the final chapter is about to be written and everyone lives happily ever after.😉😀👍
We hope so, it would be nice to conclude the story on a positive note with Leopard taking steps to resolve the overall situation. Thanks for the words of support 😊
❤❤
Great update! All the best that the latest contractor shows up soon!
Thank you - we'll take all the luck and good wishes we can get 😊
How you always smile I don't know... ur clearly a strong team ❤🤗
Yes we are - honestly if our friendship wasn't so strong we probably wouldn't have made it this far 😊
"What percentage of the warranty, possibly all of it."
🤣
It seems to me that a good lawyer could make the argument to the USCG that Leopard catamarans produced in the last two years are not seaworthy to operate in US waters based on the very specific structural and design issues that are readily apparent.
Hopefully they fix the boat and come to a fair arrangement with us before I feel the need to publish everything that went on.
Looking for a new cat in this sice and price. Leopard will NOT be on my list. 😮 . Sorry for all your mishaps😢
Please let them know to do better by us.
the rains have not really begun yet.... this is the first of many,..... more to come in about 2 weeks
Yep, that rainstorm was just a taste of what"s to come so hopefully we can have the shelter reinforced before the next lot arrives! We don't mind the rainy season in Trinidad, (tropical rain is so much better than cold European rain!!) but don't want a repeat of this 😬
@@travelsketch lol you got some time, i hope the yard gets it together, and fixes you up well.
@ricardolewis6342 Cheers 😁
Basically, Leopard is the space shuttle Challenger of catamarans.
Don't say that, it's nearly fixed 😅
Question for @travel-Sketch team......If you had to start the buying process again, would you still go with Leopard or would you go with another brand?
I'd just say, if Travelopia sold a hull made by a different shipbuilder we would consider them. No way we would buy a Robertson and Caine hull new or old. Old has balsa core which we are not a fan of.
Considering chartering as bulk of leopard production sales, scares the 💩 out of me. Seawind or Otremer or HH among top of my list for construction quality, safety, sea worthy, and customer service. No boat perfect; but, failure in structural integrity too high a risk.... Basically, Leopard is the space shuttle Challenger of catamarans... Think on it
Is it possible, that rising demand for boats has led some manufacturers to focus on increasing and accelerating production, in order to meet demand?
Post Covid, lots of people have looked to change lifestyle and live their dreams. In that headlong rush to meet demand (and cash in) quality has suffered, quality control has suffered and customer service has suffered. The latter two having seen no increase in investment to increase their capacity to match the increase in production.
Several brands are possibly guilty of this. Especially where they have a new and very popular model. They take orders for 50 or more boats and then rush to get them out of the factory.
Interestingly, I saw a rep from one brand saying that they capped their production and close their order book as soon as they reach a certain (quite low) number for each year. This is to maintain the quality of the finished product. They could sell twice as many order book slots but prefered to limit production to what they know they can build whilst maintaining the highest standards. But their boats are described as semi-custom.
This is what scares me most, about most production boats. The design/architecture/enineering/equipment might all be excellent, but boats are made to a volume schedule rather than a quality standard. Errors are bound to be made. The better companies will bend over backwards to get them resolved ASAP. A few, don't really appear to give a damn. The documented experiences of several new Leopard owners, is giving strong hints into which category the Leopard brand and builder, falls under.
I'm enjoying your videos but desparing of your experiences. Hopefully, you get your boat back in the water before the next hurricane season hits.
It is impossible at this stage to have the boat finished by hurricane season. I also know certain manufacturers limit production to maintain safety and quality as it should be. South Africa's labor laws compounded or cause issues for the most part IMO. Due to quantity of hulls produced it is harder to get around these absurd laws for larger businesses. I ordered the boat before prices and volume went up so output isn't an excuse. Many of these issues go back hundreds of hulls so it is hard to excuse this as sudden increased demand pressure. Does your logic apply to some extent? Yes I think it does, but that in itself wouldn't lead to such a train wreck.
I’m not religious by any stretch of the imagination after being raised in an Evangelical cult. That being said y’all are in our positive thoughts and intentions that you finally put this nightmare behind you.
Thank you :)
So, how much more time are you there for?
We don't know - once we recieve confirmation of when trades are arriving, how many people are coming and when supplies are arriving we might have a better idea. I suspect work will finish sometime in the middle of the hurricane season, but who knows 🤷🏼♀️
lol don’t you know leopard comes with a water feature?😂😂😂
I thought I was funny 😂 It's a throwback to when the saloon windows would leak and the water would pour in and fall down into the hull like a waterfall - I'm very much looking forward to not having to get out the towels every time it rains!
This is the 3 rd or 4th year that you can’t sail? It’s criminal from Leopard that they endanger people with this boats.
We'll hit 3 years of ownership next month and so far have missed a Med season, two Caribbean Seasons and are nowhere near South East Asia which is where we were well and truely meant to be by now 😔 Boat has spent around 75% of the time stuck in marinas or hardstands for warranty, and the rest was mostly sailing it between haul out locations.
As an Aussie myself I'm starting to understand what foreigners say about certain Aussie accents. I'd like to let them know that not all Aussies have the same accents, for example Queenslanders and others along the east coast have an appalling accent, they have this weird intonation at the end of certain words, especially the word here, they tend to put a little extra flourish on the end which sounds like "hereya" there's many other examples as well. We South Australians pronounce English words correctly, experts say it's because South Australia was the one state that wasn't settled by convicts, hence our education and the pronunciation of the English language is correct and nothing like these east coaster types. Fun fact, during the "pandemic" we South Aussies saw 4 days of lock down total and only because a foreigner lied to get out of working. The reason being we were settled by free men, we have different laws and emergency matters are not left to the state government, but the Police Commissioner. Luckily our head cop is a decent moral man, he did his research and came to the conclusion that we didn't need to stay inside and as such refused to sign off on the lock downs, despite state government pressure. Big rant I know but I want to address what many foreigners say to me
Fun fact, Adelaide is also the meth capital of Australia 😉 Perth thanks you for taking the title back!
It seems to be part of a point you're trying to make so I'll just let you know, none of us are from the east coast of Australia... Yes my accent comes out strongly on certain words, no idea why "here" is one of them - the guys joke that you can tell how pi$$'d off I am by how strong the "heeya" is 😅😂
@@travelsketch Even though I have no idea what meth has to do with anything, your comment that my state is the 'meth capital of Australia" I highly doubt that. As I'm not up on these stats I'd love for you to back it up with evidence, where you got this data from, that would be very interesting. Although the woman also does the hereya, my comment was directed more towards the passive aggressive dude, who it really sticks out with.
Not good plenty problem my my
Thanks for watching and for the comment
Sounds like leopard is just stalling for some reason they don’t want to shell out the money to make it right just piss poor management of leopard
Hard to explain why we are still waiting and they won't pay Nino if they are interested in seeing us resolved here as quickly as possible....