Dear Chili,
I am the owner of C&C 121 # 28 Prelude.
You made some factually incorrect statements in your post below.
Hopefully this will help you.
My boat was manufactured (the hull and deck were joined and it left the factory as new) in January 2002. She is a 2002 model so she is not 7 years old as you state. As she is hull# 28 of a run reported to be 45 boats all told, she is not an "early" model as you state.
She also has many more serious issues than "gelcoat cracks" as you stated. You seem to have done some reading before you posted and perhaps you missed all the problems we have had and continue to have with the boat. Those have been clearly documented.
Our boat has had "more issues" than any other the company has produced, according to the current warranty manager there.
There are more than two owners in litigation with the company at this time. A search of the public records will let anyone know how many and what each lawsuit concerns.
Others have posted additional lawsuit information concerning the company and it's employees, suppliers, dealers and other related parties.
Yes, we are one of the owners who have had to sue the company. This was done only after the company refused warranty repairs, reneged on their written agreement to replace our boat using a trade in of the current one, refused to deal with Boat US Consumer Protection Group ( a third party mediation service available to it's 650,000 members) and finally, refused to answer our final demand letter. We did everything possible to avoid the lawsuit.
We wish the company, it's owners, employees, and other related parties all the best and hope for their continued success and prosperity.
What would you, or anyone else, have done differently?
John M. Vito
Robert,
how do you know it was an
epoxy laminate issue? Apart from Luckyjim trying to save us from buying tartan/C&C and claiming he has all the answers but refusing to tell us until his alleged saildrive suit against yanmar and novis is over or he is broke, everything on the internet about this one boat is nothing but hearsay. So one
epoxy hull (not the 7 year old early model c&c121 with the known gelcoat problem) in say 500-600 hulls develops a structural crack, the company fixes it to the owners satisfaction, and the only banter out there is about overtight
rigs, a lifting strap too far forward, layup issue, deck tie down strap too loose, amine blush, supervisor at lunch with new employee, no resin infused in that area (which is impossible because only the deck is resin infused), company going bankrupt, liners and bulkheads not fitting tight to new thinner laminant in old mold (you don't want them to fit tight because they develop hard spots) , it was Mr. Jacketts lack of experience and credibility, and my favorite they are covering up a major design defect to keep the company solvent. How ridiculous. Does anybody really think any employee or executive at the company would cover up an issue that could cause loss of life and result in said executive or employee on trial for the death. Looks like the 59 year old disgruntled employee who worked for novis for less than one year, was fired, and then filed a discrimination lawsuit started after the one tartan problem so we know it wasn't him. Good information there.
Has anyone thought that despite the defect or abuse the hull took, amazingly the
epoxy hull was so strong that it kept the hull intact to get it towed to shore. Had it not been
epoxy would it be at the bottom right now?
Epoxy and carbon are the future. It's not without it it's problems. Boeing just had another setback on the dreamliner. Boeing will get over it. Kind of amazing that Novis and Boeing are both working the same technology.
There are hundreds of satisfied novis customers and there is good value for the money. Being in a growth state is not without it's problems and it will all work out - they have acknowledged issues and started improving customer service. It isn't perfect and the dealers need to step up and support the customers.
There are two disgruntled people who purchased novis products. Both have foolishly continued to post negatively about Novis under different names and different sites during their alleged suits. They were banned from their own owners group because nobody cares or is concerned what they have to say and are quite tired of the nonsense and repetitive posts. Go do your lawsuit, learn your lesson.
If you are interested in a used product or even a new one, why come to a site where you really don't know who is posting what and why? Take the information with a grain of salt. Most people don't even use their real names. Why not call brokers, dealers, talk to owners, call Tartan and ask them. Ask Tim Jackett - he'll tell you straight up. That's right, the ceo and master designer, 35 or so years at the company, is available should you need him. Try that at Ford.
Go sailing, have fun. Buy
epoxy - it's better. stop the slander and hearsay - it's not good for anyone.
Chilli.[/quote]