Fw: Tiare Taporo III in Bundaberg

This is a forwarded copy of my email to the supplier of our refrigeration system (Partridge Yachts, Kerikeri, NZ) and also our watermaker (Open Ocean, Opua, Bay of Islands, NZ). It is no surprise that we have not received a reply; one can only suppose that they're scared witless of further incriminating themselves. Mind you they've done a fairly good job of that already and everyone here who works on the problems we have inherited simply shakes their head in disbelief. Not that that is much comfort to us with all the frustration and considerable extra cost. However, we are close to solving the problem with the watermaker  by supplying a replacement high pressure water pump which is at the heart of the system but in the case of the freezer  our fix will only be partially successful because of the fundamental substandard work in constructing the fridge and freezer boxes in the first place. The only solution there is to scrap them entirely and start from scratch but unfortunately we are not made of money and the partial fix will have to do for now.

We are posting these on our blogsite in order that as many people as possible are aware of these cowboys and hopefully will avoid being snared by them in the future.

We have also made contact with a yacht broker who has offices all over Australia and have given them chapter and verse so they will be telling anyone who asks not to touch these two characters with a bargepole.

Apart from that we are still in Bundaberg but getting the decks re-caulked slowly but surely and anticipating leaving here for points north in a month's time. There will be another blog dealing with these far more interesting details in a couple of days - or sooner!!

Cheers for now.........................................

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Jim Donald <tiare_taporo@yahoo.co.nz>
To: "info@partridgeyachts.com" <info@partridgeyachts.com>; "openocean@xtra.co.nz" <openocean@xtra.co.nz>
Sent: Tuesday, 28 February 2012 2:29 PM
Subject: Tiare Taporo III in Bundaberg

I thought you'd both like to know that we are still fixing problems as a direct result of your incompetent work during the Tiare's ill-fated so-called refit at Waipapa in 2007.

A gas leak in the feezer has been getting worse and we are now having to bite the bullet and replace the U shaped cold plate plus the associated piping at a cost which will finish up around AUD800. The installation has been condemned by not only refrigeration experts in NZ, but also here in Australia. The piping seems to have been damaged during the removal and subsequent refitting of the fridge and freezer in an only partially successful attempt to rebuild the cabinets to proper standards. The damage is not repairable. Never mind the fact that the freezer cabinet still does not freeze properly but we also have the gas leakage problem. The two problems are not linked.

And, last but not least, Terry and your shoddiness and dishonesty concerning our watermaker. We now have a replacement STAINLESS STEEL HP pump and needle valve. We are in the process of installing these and have found one more example of your unbelievable shoddy work. In trying to remove the clutch assembly from the old pump we find that you have installed a spacer plate and 4-6 washers as additional spacers, presumably so that the drive puuley would line up with the engine.  But why didn't you just move the pump? The result of this is that 2 grub screws which are necessary to access to remove the clutch are inaccessible so we now have to disassemble the clutch with corresponding difficulty in re-assembly. Just another example of a long list of serious penny pinching problems directly caused by you. I estimate that the cost of the new pump and re-installation will be at least AUD1,500 - not that I have any expectation of you ever behaving honourably and refunding any of our extra costs to say nothing of the very considerable inconvenience and effect on our cruising plans to date.

You can both be sure that I will lose no opportunity to dissuade anyone I come across of ever utilising your very dubious services and I am sure neither will any of the tradesmen we have dealt with since who all without exception condemn these and many other issues arising from the Bay of Islands refit.

Jim Donald