Oh good! I got a "Harrumph"
Dear Brion, and Christian
Please, please, please make sure you contact me re. your trip down here.
There is free accomodation and as much beer as you can get down your neck ready and waiting!
To the Harrumph, and in order.
1. I agree, the correct/genuine grade/alloy of bronze is far preferable to any stainless.
I just dont think that the majority of customers ( and stockists ) know enough about the material to ensure the correct supply of the correct material to avoid the sort of problems that Seacap is having.
In the same way that tyres can be described as "round and black' bronze can be described as " brown and shiney". Both those fallacious statements are dangerous.
2. Yes they should have known the risks and refused the work, OR made the owner very aware of the risks proir to accepting the work.
Sometimes the desire to help out a customer outweighs the shops better judgement.
3. I put this clumsily. No, you are quite right, I dont see this scenario ALL the time, just enough to make it seem so!
I sympathise with you on the stroppy customer, I well remember your disertation on "The customer from hell" a few years back on your webpage.
What I have started to do is provide a written quote and scope of works for EVERY job and insist on a 50% deposit up-front and payment in full prior to stepping or substantial completion.
If they cant raise 50% they are probably not serious about the job anyway and they go away!
4.
I actually did try it with a BMW dealer and got asked to leave. I think that there are very few trustworthy large car dealers. " I dont know who said it first, but " Behind every great fortune there is a great crime." True artisans are dying out.
5.
I refer to 1. above.
I agree with you, bronze - correct bronze - fabricated correctly is undoubtedly a better material for chain plates.
33% of dismastings due to chainplate failures - Bloody Hell! we have nowhere near that proportion down here.
I suppose that the old chainplate safety factor of 4 to 4.5 esposed by S&S has been ignored for a few years now in the U.S.
I also love it when a bolt head comes away in your hand. I also love it when you can turn the bolts by hand when the load is off the rig.
There arent that many "great quality when new" boats being built nowadays it seems.
We had a rash of production boats in Australia with U-bolt chainplates, after ten years with poor mastic they snap off at the deck when you give them a twist with a screwdriver!
6.
Sadly not adhered to by many production builders.
7.
The key word here is "Russian". Have you ever driven a Russian car? As poorly reliable as an Italian, but worse-looking.
And see 1. above.
I sailed on a German 30 rater at the America's Cup Jubilee in Cowes a few years back.
It still had the original wrought iron chainplates. Why the owner had left them in-situ during an extensive refit I do not know, he could not give me a good reason either, but there they were, still not breaking.
I kept well clear of them all week and pleaded with him to change them as soon as possible. Who knows, they may still be there.
Another key word here is "Good"
And, if you are not a military contractor buying a lot of titanium with all the checks and balances and quality control measures in place and the paper trail of where the material has come from and it's composition, you can not be sure that the titanium being offered is "good" and you are still in the dark as to the material's suitability for your chosen use.
I am not decrying the myriad benifits of titanium, I just think that most people will get a more reliable job using certified G316.
8.
Fair enough.
9.
More careless typing on my part.
I am talking about Titanium. My understanding is that titanium is more sensitive to being bodged.
The key phrase here is " The skill and resposibility of the artisan".
Sharp bends and poor tooling can result in cracked titanium lower shroud tangs/brackets for one and exploded tip cups during the Hobart for another.
Not for nothing were the tangs, sheave boxes and chainplates on the 12 meter Gretel 2 made from Chrome Moly plate.
And that was with DeHavillands doing the fabrication and construction of the mast and fittings, but they make the space frame of the DeHavilland Beaver, much beloved by bush pilots in British Columbia and elsewhere, out of Chrome Moly tube.
Tough, long lasting and easily repairable, the attributes of most apurtenances of sailing vessels.
I am going round in circles for christmas.
Email me your itinerary and I will collect you both from the airport.
Regards,
Joe.
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