My Yacht Lawsuit

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Update January 2012 - Voyage is not the only builder that does not back their product. I picked up a Fountaine Pajot Lipari 41 from the factory in La Rochelle, France for friends. I am delivering it to Honduras for them. There are a few good size problems like the furler for the geneker is undersized. Overall it is a good sailing vessel. FP has provided no assistance what so ever for the bigger problems which number about a dozen. In the most recent emails they stand by their problems as non issues. For ex: some of the wood trim panels are cut too big and rub on the hull making quite a bit of noise - so much that two of the bedrooms are useless to sleep in underway - too loud. The furler for the geneker is small enough that all the line to furl the sail will not fit in the drum unless you kneel by the drum and feed it by hand evenly across the drum (which can be quite dangerous in bigger seas). FP states that the drum is at the very end of the load range so it ok. They put an 18 kg anchor on a 39 foot catamaran as the main anchor - again the very end of the load range. I like the way the boat sails and they have many clever ways of simplifying systems. If FP spent a few more thousand dollars and appreciated their customers they would have a bigger hit. For me, buy used, get a good survey and you know what your buying.

Update October 2011 - Voyage knows the court system is in their favor and can get away with missing items (like the chart plotter and electric winch) which were paid for but never installed. Buyer beware. Accept your vessel in South Africa and make sure it is what you ordered before signing off on the final paperwork.

Update January 2010 - It appears the South African Court system rivals that in America. Still moving ahead very slowly but moving.

Update January 2009 - I offered to drop the lawsuit in exchange for bareboat charter use and Ian never responded after we discussed the use over the phone.

UPDATE NOVEMBER 1, 2007 - Voyage has offered less than $9000.00 USD for all the repairs and missing items. Our total expense to correct Voyage's inability to build the vessel properly has surpassed $50,000.00 USD (on this new boat). We have filed a lawsuit in the South African court against Voyage Yacht.

 

The platform between the trampolines snapped in half

 

My wife and I purchased a new Voyage Yacht Cabriolet 450 in 2004 from Voyage Yacht. This website's purpose is to give others insight to purchasing a boat from Voyage Yacht both good and bad - sadly mostly bad. It specifically details Hull #5 of Voyages 450 line. Three are daysailers (rag tops), two cabriolets (hard tops). Hull #5 was the second cabriolet. I have sailed most of my life, owned small (phantom type) boats, charted for twenty years but this was my first purchase of a large yacht.

Voyage was chosen over a Moorings 4700 based on design and, besides, I prefer small companies for the service. This was the first bad choice. I have listed more than $50,000 worth of repairs and deficiencies. As of Jan 1, 2007 Voyages only conrtibution is a $2000 chart plotter mailed to me, which I had to install. I have e-mails with many promises even documents with the owner's signature (Ian S)and a lawsuit in South Africa where Voyage builds the vessels. I have also included a copy of the purchase Contract.

We repaired the boat ourselves and have since sold it. I want to stress that I have met many Voyage owners who love their boats and know that the company can produce excellent boats that look great and sail very well. I have also met owners who purchased new yachts and experienced the lack of warranty service I have. You do not find complaints on the Voyage Owners Association web site for two reasons. It might hurt resale and Voyage will only pay for warranty repairs if you remove negative comments from the site.

I stay in touch with the current owner of hull #5. He is the fortunate one. He is sailing on a beautiful boat requiring only normal maintenance. If we were to purchase another Voyage Yacht, it would be used. Voyage and Ian S have made many promises regarding repairs but have not followed through.

FYI There is a new website designed as a forum for Multihulls. http://www.multihulls4us.com/forums/index.php