We wanted to begin this section by briefly revisiting how we arrived at this point. Our journey began in early 2017. Peter was very keen to get back into sailing in an big way and options to do so in the Sunshine Coast, Queensland were extremely limited, in fact almost non existent. So he started to look for his own boat by researching used and new boats for sale online. He also enticed Sandra along, with promises of icecream and chocolate, to the first of several boat expos at Coomera Queensland that year. This was followed by Sanctuary Cove, Sydney and a trip to Perth. As our research progressed so did our knowledge of the market, boat designs, price points and so on. We honed our purchase criteria, continuing to refine this as we chatted to yachties, manufacturers and dealers. In August 2018, almost 18 months on from Peter’s initial ‘idea’ we found what we had been searching for, a boat that almost met all of our purchase criteria. A Lagoon 42′ catamaran available for European pick up in August 2019. With Sandra planning to retire and Peter due for long service leave we decided to take a huge leap of faith by placing an order for the catamaran, to travel to France and sail our boat from Les Sables-d’Olonne back to Brisbane, Australia.
While we anticipated there would be challenges, in hindsight we both underestimated the enormity of the physical, emotional and financial investment this purchase and the ensuing sailing adventure would require. For us the financial investment alone was massive, we literally sold everything including our home, cashed in investments and utilised whatever savings we had to purchase the boat along with selected optional extras. These extras included a watermaker, generator, air conditioning, freezers and Code 0 sail, equipment that would assist our passage, and sustain us and our crew during the long ocean crossings. Then there was the cost of safety equipment and kitting the boat out with a range of day to day gear for the galley, cabins and heads.
There was and continues to be a substantial emotional investment, and it became quite a roller coaster ride, from initial joy and excitement to frustration and despair as equipment failures began to occur, and the impact of these failures began to bite. It would be fair to say that for us buying this boat at this stage of our life, was and continues to be a big deal. There was an expectation, not unrealistic in our view, that the boat and the equipment we purchased would be as ordered, installed correctly and fit for purpose. What our experience has shown thus far is several incidences where there has been an obvious lapse in quality control in a number of areas, instances of poor installation, use of equipment that has a high probability of failure, and a lack of responsiveness on the part of Lagoon, the dealer The Multihull Group (TMG), and Windcraft (TMG’s warranty arm) in regard to addressing these failures in a fair and timely manner.
In this section, titled Warranty Woes, we document the major equipment failures we have encountered and the impact these issues have had on us, our crew and our journey. In doing so we hope that future and/or current boat owners, irrespective of boat manufacturer, boat size or type will be better informed.