Giles and Paula's Great Retirement Adventure
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Yes, there is, and all the work we are doing is under warranty, and I don't mind getting involved because it increases my sum of knowledge. But we have to work out what the problem is before we can fix it. Fuck all use replacing the engine and it turns out to be a tank issue or vice versa.....
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I thought about this a bit longer last night. Yes, I could be a complete prick about what has happened and where we are and how long it is taking to resolve. But, we can manage the situation. Our range currently is about 800 miles and not 1,100, so it's not a massive issue. Do we need to get it fixed? 100%, and I am sure we will.
But being reasonably reasonable is not an awful place to be. We've got 2 free lift-outs and another years free berthing (probably £15k altogether) and I am sure if I was being a complete pain in the arse about stuff, we would not be getting favours like that.
I liken it a little to our relationship with our retailers. If they are complete arseholes and make our life difficult when stuff does not go 100% to plan, or we make a mistake (yes, we are human), then when we release something special or super limited, guess who gets offered it last.....
"OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011
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@Giles It is interesting that you brought up that thought - I am following the thread for some time now, and it didn't even cross my mind that you could have been a total dick about it. Sure, you paid shitloads of money on that boat and can expect them to do better. But do you really want to be THAT guy?
That is probably because I'd look into the situation myself as someone who likes to tinker with stuff, and really understand everything involved in it.
It probably also has to do something with the fact that it's a boat. If it were a brand new luxury car, you would have brought it back to the dealer immediately. But in my eyes, buying a boat is not the final goal, it's the start of a journey... -
@tody said in Giles and Paula's Great Retirement Adventure:
and it didn't even cross my mind that you could have been a total dick
That'd be a first then
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SAKURA was built in The Mediterranean, where obviously they do not suffer from steamed-up windows (or at least it is obvious now I realise we do not have a window demister system installed
)...So today's job was to start the installation of the window demister system. I have bought a 24volt truck cab heater with 4 vents....
which I need to get installed by someone who knows what they are doing with relays and the like....
Vents and Heater ducting have been done....
There are 2 other vents that are sort of hidden, so useless to photograph....
"OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011
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@Giles said in Giles and Paula's Great Retirement Adventure:
I thought about this a bit longer last night. Yes, I could be a complete prick about what has happened and where we are and how long it is taking to resolve. But, we can manage the situation.
You’d never make it in America.
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The heater bit is not installed yet, all that is done so far is the ducting and vents. I need to wait for the electrician to install the difficult bit. That said, it has been so mild in the UK so far this Autumn, plus I have a dehumidifier and background heating anyway, so the windows have not really misted up yet. I sort of have a horrible feeling that our preventative measures may actually negate the need for the demisting system....
On PILGRIM, the windows constantly misted up, but she was an older boat, so better safe than sorry I guess.
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An update on the fuel issue.
We had Volvo Penta come to SAKURA on Tuesday. The aim was to take fuel out of the port tank so that we could recreate the port engine failure.
We transferred fuel from the tank outlet on the port tank to the starboard tank filler. My expectation was that when we got to about 30%, we would stop pumping diesel and start pumping air. Of course, that did not happen
, but we did start pumping some air. So we bled the engine and cranked her up, she failed once the fuel in the pipes and filters was used up. So the engine management system seems to recognise that there is less fuel than it is expecting, so shuts the engine down. I reasoned that if we had an unknown build issue with the port tank, we may have a similar issue with the starboard tank (but we had never seen it because when the port engine failed we topped up both tanks). So we did the same thing in reverse, and hey presto, the same thing happened with the starboard engine at about 27%.Well, holy fuck that could have given us a whole world of pain if we had lost both engines at any time coming back from Menorca or crossing the channel which we have done a few times.
None of us know what the issue is, loads of theories, but no definitive.
So @Matt , you will be pleased to know I have written to the MD of Sasga outlining my displeasure. We love the boat and have no regrets, and would buy the same again tomorrow, but the after-sales service has been shite, and I'm not sure he knows it - well he does now.....
On a positive note, the delays coming home due to this issue probably cost us between 4 and 5K Euros, as the evidence stacks up that it is a Sasga build issue, I think I am getting much closer to getting this repaid by Sasga
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Sails?
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would this be an engine design issue or just a one off engine issue you reckon?
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So both fuel tanks get to about 1/4 tank (27%) and they’re causing issues with the engines which believe they’re not getting the fuel they need and shut off?
I’m still sticking with the fuel pickups are incorrectly positioned in the tank and causing the issue…
Edit: so you wrote a letter to Sasga, but are you going to have a barrister write a letter?
"I don't give a shit what anyone else is doing, we will do what is best for us and our customers" - Giles P. :)
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It's not an engine issue, it is a tank issue. I suspect it is like this on all the 54's they have sold. It seems that we have pushed the boundaries from day one. Not that taking the fuel level below 30% is pushing a boundary, but I think that most/all the 54s are sold to people who use them as day boats, fill up with Diesel regularly and never take the fuel below 30%.
When the engineers bled the fuel filters, they were appalled at how dirty the filter was and said that I had got severely dirty fuel. I said that that was highly unlikely as the boat is only 5 months old and I am managing the fuel very well. I then told them that we had done 180 hours since the last service, so the filters could just be 180 hours dirty? They were flabbergasted, they have never done a service on a D60-480 with more than 50 hours on it
Anyway, I have decided to do the 400-hour service next week (we have about 370 hours on her), that'll give me amongst other things new filters and a filter turbine service, I can then keep an eye on the new filters.
Once I get some sense out of Sasga, I will install an independent fuel management system that cleans the fuel and removes any water (one of the biggest causes of problems with diesel engines) from the diesel before it even gets to the primary filters.
"OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011
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@goosehd said in Giles and Paula's Great Retirement Adventure:
but are you going to have a barrister write a letter?
No. Not yet. I'll give them a chance to read between the lines of my letter first. I like them I like the boat, I want to stay friends, I just want some fucking focus (and a few grand repaid)
So both fuel tanks get to about 1/4 tank (27%) and they’re causing issues with the engines which believe they’re not getting the fuel they need and shut off?
Correct
I’m still sticking with the fuel pickups are incorrectly positioned in the tank and causing the issue…
I am with you. But we dont even know the configuration of the fucking tanks (I asked for engineering drawings 5 months ag)....
