Leaks and mainsail sliders

[Sirocco]

Hi people - we have two major problems here, the first of which is that the starboard side fixed panoramic window leaks like a damn sieve - first off we tried tightening the screws above but to no avail - we have now a bucket underneath to catch the water, and cannot put the sofa cushions down as they would end up rotten - we removed the head lining and it has rotted through the wood rendering it unuseable and no matter how much silicon we put around the window, it still leaks! I would have thought that being a brand new boat the least we could have expected is that she would have been watertight (we took delivery in our Summer - no rain, it's now Southern Hemisphere winter with LOTS of rain)
Problem two is the sliders that go inside the mast for the mainsail - we have THREE broken and all of the others have hairline cracks (we don't race, don't go out in bad weather and have never put the mainsail under that much strain)
We suspect it's a bad batch from Selden. I think the whole lot should be replaced, but our broker is suggesting replacing just the broken ones.
To be honest, the after sales service here is absolutely non-exisitant and we are starting to wonder why we chose a Bavaria - much as we love Sirocco, we seem to have had so much more time where we cannot sail than otherwise. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that Volvo set the idle speed too high at commissioning and for a while we couldn't engage reverse gear As Sirocco is our first yacht,we didn't know any different! Has anyone else had any of these problems, or are we just unlucky? NOT A HAPPY SAILOR right now Would like some feedback from Bavaria owners with regard to these two issues, thanks for taking the time to read this.

 

[firehoser75]

Sorry to Hear about Your Problems

Mike,
I am so sorry to hear of your problems with Sirocco. Even though the engine issue and the mast slug issue is not a direct problem from Bavaria, they are the yacht builder and it is their reputation that is at stake. The leak is clearly Bavaria's to address. We have not experienced any problems like you describe with our 2005 Bavaria 36. We did have a problem with the engine "eating" glow plugs for the first 2.5 years, but that problem is now behind us (I hope). Volvo (North America) tried to tell me it must have been user error as they didn't have any problems with their glow plugs. No way, as I followed the book when starting the engine and even double checked with some mechanic friends to ensure that I was "doing it right".

I absolutely do not understand why a dealer would not want to deliver good customer service. Word of mouth is the most powerful advertiser, and most people talk even more when "unhappy". The internet shares stories such as yours with a huge audience, so I just don't understand their logic. I would also think Bavaria would want to ensure good customer relations and satisfaction. If you don't get any satisfaction from your dealer, maybe Bavaria would like to hear about the lack of follow up service.
I agree with you, all of the slugs should be replaced. They can't cost that much (just small pieces of plastic)!!! It sounds like your window needs to be removed and rebedded which is definitely a dealer repair issue.
As far as mechanics go, I have found there are some good ones and some really bad ones. I try to do as much engine maintenance as I can myself, in an effort to avoid the bad ones (dealt with some already).

Good luck and I hope your experience with your yacht improves. They really are pretty good boats, although I can understand why you may think otherwise right now.

Tom

 

[robgs]

water leaks

the true sources of water leaks are notoriously hard to find. the leak in this case may noty be the window installation but from somewhere else allowing water to flow to the point where you see it exiting.

i had a small leak that was at the mast base in the cabin top-through a poorly sealed bolt hole-that
ran across the head liner and exited near a cabin window.

rob

 

[Lori]

Mainsail sliders

Sirocco-
Mainsail slugs are cheap, maybe a buck or two each, I just get them from my sailmaker. Plastic is vulnerable to UV. I replace them every 3 years because the first week I had my (used) boat these failed on a breezy day: when one goes, there's a zipper effect -they all go. Very bad situation, and quite avoidable. I don't want to go through that again.

 

[Carsten Jensen]

Can it be the spacers?

When we got our brand new Bavaria 30C all the windows leaked in rainy weather. It turned out that it could be fixed by removing the spacers under the screw brackets.

We removed the brown plastic lining around the window, removed the screws, removed the tiny black fibre spacer (rectangularly shaped) under the aluminium bracket and retightened the screws. Of course we did this one screw at a time, so as to keep the window properly aligned. After that we refitted the liner and the windows leaked no more, due to the glass being pressed firmer against the rubber seal.

Maybe this will help?

Regards

Carsten

BTW: We had a similarly non-existant after sales experience. Two days after we got her, the engine refused to start due to a faulty MDI-unit. This was of course not an error on the seller, but when we tried to contact our seller, they couldn't care less. In more than two months they weren't able to get a technician to help us. Besides leaking windows, we had 20 more problems, that they also couldn't fix. But today we are quite happy with the boat - it's a blast to sail and easily handled by me and the wife.

 

[Brian Duff]

Selden Spar ?

I think the mainsail slider he is refering to are Seldens new internal batt car slider, and its probably the stainless that has failed ? Those might be a warranty item.

Is that so ?


Otherwise, replace them all if they are plastic...

 

[Sirocco]

MDI unit

Hi Carsden, taks for the reply...Our MDI was subject to a recall by Volvo and has been rplaced under warranty with only 28Hrs on the clock. Regards, Mike & Jan

 

[Sirocco]

Thanks

Thanks to all for your replies - don't get us wrong, we love Sirocco and Bavaria in general, I guess we never expected these problems with a brand new vessel (one of the reasons for going for new rather than used in the first place).
The analogy given by our broker with regard to only replacing the broken slugs is, and I quote, "if you bought a new car and one of the wheels cracked, you wouldn't expect to have all the wheels replaced under warranty" which I suppose is true unless that original wheel proved to have a manufacturing fault as, we suspect, our batch of slugs has. We know they are cheap to buy but this along with other problems has now become a matter of principle. The leak however is another more pressing matter, and there is no progress there to report despite frequent phone calls and badgering. Will keep you informed of our progress (or lack of it, which ever the case may be!)

 

[Carsten Jensen]

MDI unit and stuff

Hi Mike & Jan

our MDI-unit was also recalled by Volvo. They changed it cost free, and they actually were very service minded in the process.

The customer handling by the company, DYMC in Randers, from wich we bought the boat was a joke. When we called them about the problem of our motor not being able to start (two days into our ownership), they had no suggestions and they couldn't/wouldn't send a technician. We were left with a feeling of being a nuisance for having bought a boat that didn't work. Since then we have learned that this experience of really bad customer service is common for DYMC customers.

Anyway - I hope you get your problems fixed. Have you tried to contact Selden directly about the sliders? Maybe they will be more service minded, that your broker is?

And about your window - are you sure it is from the window? I ask because we also had a leak This leak made the cushions in the forward cabin soak. It turned out that this leak was due to a missing seal where the electrical wire from the forward lantern went through the deck. This was hidden inside the port leg of the front pulpit. We had been ivestigating the hatch

Regards

Carsten

 

[Ken Johnson]

Plastic parts disintegrate / chain-plates leak

I had similar problem with the sail slides on a boat from another manufacturer. Plastic does not stand up very well, and I second the recommendation to replace them ALL. My experiences with Selden Masts and Volvo-Penta have been very positive.

I also had leaks, which I thought ware at the port-lights, but were actually coming from leaky chain-plates (again - on a different boat). The water would flow to the port-light and then emerge & drip on my cushion. Re-bedding the chain-plates fixed the problem, but before that, I resealed the openings a few times to no avail.

Good luck - let us know how you ultimately fix these.

 

[Who'd]

Bavaria Dealership Problems

Hi

I'm not at all surprised to hear the problem you are having with your Bavaria dealership. It is disappointing that Bavaria don't keep a closer eye on their customer complaints about thier dealers outside Germany.

We bought a new bavaria 37 from Peters Opal in March 2006 for similar reasons we are new to boating and thought we wanted as littel to worry about as possible. We had various problems potentially quite dangerous: the fuel sender was wrong and we ran out of fuel in the Thames Estuary on our delivery trip, we later found that the battery charger was faulty and not working at all, then the autopilot decided every so often to take a 180 degree turn for no apparent reason at all.

The dealer wasn't interested and they took until July of last year to finally replace the fuel sender which we think is still unreliable. They did nothing about the autopilot and they asked us to get someone to replace the battery charger. The person we got would only do the work if we paid them and then we invoiced the dealer because the dealer had such a bad name for paying people.

Peters Opal, the original dealership has since gone into administration and Clipper Marine have taken over. The directors of Clipper Marine are Richard Hewitt, (ex general manager at Peters Opal), Matt Attree and Johnny Cochran also both ex Peters Opal. We've been trying to get a current problem resolved and it is clear that the poor customer service has transferred to the new company.

All the best.

 

[Sirocco]

wow

In a perverse way it's heartening to hear we're not the only ones to have dealership issues: however, here in West Australia, this particular broker is the only one in the whole state - he'd sell less than half a dozen Bavs a year (despite this, last time we met him, he had no idea who we were) and I would have thought, no, silly me, would have expected, better after sales service. Since others have actually named dealers, I will too: Martin Box Marine, Fremantle, WA. (Should you read this Martin, bite me) It's still raining here, we still have a leak and still no one has even been to look at it! Trust me, we've tried fixing it ourselves...to be honest, we are seriously considering writing to both the Australasian representative (Northsouth Yachting) and Bavaria in Germany to tell them of our grievances, but at the end of the day it's not going to resolve our problems any faster. So, I guess we'll just keep grumbling in this forum for a bit longer and think about taking up crochet. Would like to say that the slug issue is resolved however weather has prevented us from trying them out to date. Thanks for your patience everyone!

 

[Sirocco]

Update

Finally some news on the leaking window:
It has been 'looked at' and the decision made to wait until drier weather then remove said panoramic window to reseal with new sikaflex and seating gasket. The headlining has been remade with better quality marine ply, but obviously it cannot be reinstalled until the window is proven to be watertight. Perhaps someone from WA read my comments, because they are also re gel coating the swim platform, which was cracked! So, fingers crossed for finer weather so that we can actually test those slugs. A slightly happier sailor now *5

 

[Bing]

Leaks on our brand new Bavaria 31

Hi all, we need some help also. We bought our brand new Bav 31 and it was delivered in September 08. Before delivery, the dealer found salt water inside the stern. He said it had happened before on a new 34, so he had a shipwright reseal the stern. All was well until our first time out on the water. When we returned, we had salt water in the bilge. We thought it might have been residual water from previous leak, so dried it out and kept a watch. Now, when we sail in rough water, we get a lot water along the topsides of the boat that doesn't escape because there are no holes in the toe rail to let it out. Next time we went out, same thing - salt water in the bilge. We figure it must be coming in through the join in the hull under the toe rail. Has anyone else had this problem? We have yet to tell the dealer this latest problem (there have been a few), but he is about to get the bad news.

In a perverse way it's heartening to hear we're not the only ones to have dealership issues: however, here in West Australia, this particular broker is the only one in the whole state - he'd sell less than half a dozen Bavs a year (despite this, last time we met him, he had no idea who we were) and I would have thought, no, silly me, would have expected, better after sales service. Since others have actually named dealers, I will too: Martin Box Marine, Fremantle, WA. (Should you read this Martin, bite me) It's still raining here, we still have a leak and still no one has even been to look at it! Trust me, we've tried fixing it ourselves...to be honest, we are seriously considering writing to both the Australasian representative (Northsouth Yachting) and Bavaria in Germany to tell them of our grievances, but at the end of the day it's not going to resolve our problems any faster. So, I guess we'll just keep grumbling in this forum for a bit longer and think about taking up crochet. Would like to say that the slug issue is resolved however weather has prevented us from trying them out to date. Thanks for your patience everyone!