Dido. It seems like Tucsonsailor's main question and complaint is around how to get a hold of the manufacturer, not who's at fault. He's actually been paying a rigger to fix the problem before any effort to contact the manufacturer had occurred. I think we can ALL understand his frustration, even if we have not experienced it from the same source.Pretty redundant thread. They keep telling the op to talk to Selden. The Op cannot talk the Selden Because Selden does not anwer phone for consumers. Not hard to understand. It's the Chinese model.
Is there a way to avoid the problem in the future? Yeah, sure. Depending on which problem you are talking about, the answers are: learn the rig and why it failed so you won't have the issue again, change the rig (get battenless main) so the problem is worked around (I HATE workarounds because that's compromise), learn your supplier's business practices and how to work with them (unavoidable even if unsatisfying).
I hope, Tucsonsailor, that you can find a solution to your problems. The consensus here seems to be that Selden is a good company with a solid product overall. So, if you are patient and persistent, you will probably find yourself with a good system that you will be happy with.
Without seeming too redundant, I suggest you find an actual Selden dealer to goto with your problem and try to work thru them. I'll bet it will be less frustrating in the end.
- Will (Dragonfly)