Build Process Review
In a previous post I mentioned a build process that included delays and poor communication. Understandably, potential purchasers have requested details of this experience.
I have hesitated to detail our frustration. We love our boat and the more we have sailed her the more special we think she is. We don’t want negative memories to diminish our overall positive feelings towards Gerty, nor do we want to discourage others from purchasing what we think is a unique and special blue water boat. Additionally, I wanted to give time for my frustration to settle as I have learned to judge slowly.
Overall, I believe Allures is producing some of the best modern blue water sailboats. I believe they offer great value, often many $100,000 less than similar sized boats from premium manufacturers. I believe Allures invests where most appropriate; the design, the hull, and the major systems. Personally, I am more interested in the massive aluminum frame and intelligent elegant design than fancy wood interior details and finishes.
Although I have 30 years’ experience in the building construction industry, Gerty was the first boat we have had built. I have no perspective on if our experiences with Allures were worse or better than average in the industry. I believe Allures is motivated to provide a good customer experience. I believe they have implemented changes since our build and truly hope that subsequent buyers have a smother build experience than we did. I also want to stress that, although the experience was very frustrating at times, overall it was educational and often thrilling and fun.
Instead of writing a narrative describing all our experiences in detail, I am providing a table below listing our “punch list” of deficiencies post-delivery and how these were addressed. In addition to the table, there were two experiences, that must be described to be understood.
The first regarded our delivery date. Allures made the mistake in March 2017 of enthusiastically telling us construction was ahead of schedule and that we should plan on an end of June delivery. Of course, we were thrilled. We sold our old boat and started planning our summer around Gerty.
By the end of April, based on the progress photos, it was clear that things were not progressing quickly. On May 2, Allures told us the boat wouldn’t be ready until the contracted delivery date in July. Oh, well, but, at least they were 100% confident she would be ready by then.
Although the progress in the pictures still seemed slow, we continued to get assurances and on June 1st we were advised that we should plan our trip to pick up Gerty in July. We took several weeks off work and bought our airline tickets.
Then on July 5, two and half weeks before the scheduled delivery, we were told by our broker that the boat would be delayed at least four more weeks. No explanation and no call or email from Allures. The frustrations continued. We had lost all confidence in Allures assurances. In the end, after having to rearrange our summer plans, we picked up a mostly complete Gerty on August 20th.
The second most frustrating experience happened after delivery and before Gerty was to be shipped to the US. There was a substantial list of items that Allures needed to complete before Gerty left France. While we waited for missing status updates, Allures requested to take a potential buyer for a test sail on Gerty. Our response was unequivocal, “not until you finish the boat!” We did not get additional updates until immediately before Gerty was readied for shipment when we were told everything was done (well almost everything). A few days later we received a nice email from a new Allures customer telling us how much they enjoyed test sailing our boat the previous week. We were excited to have contact with another Allures owner but were appalled that Allures had used our boat for a test sail without our permission.
In conclusion, review the table below and decide for yourself if the deficiencies and remedies were reasonable. We had other frustrations during the build process as well, almost all centered on poor communication, but please know that we have no regrets. Except perhaps the few ideas that only could be known after spending weeks on the boat. Luckily, these tweaks are easy fixes and part of the fun of boat ownership. We think we got all the big decisions right, including deciding to buy a new Allures 45.9.
Post-delivery Deficiencies
| Description | Resolution |
|---|---|
| Wrong windlass was installed. We had ordered and paid for larger windlass with capstan. | Fixed by Allures in France without argument. However, they had to cut a hole in the chain locker cover and the gel-coat at this hole started to come off after about a month. The gel-coat still needs to be repaired. Additionally, when they first installed the larger windlass they did not included properly blocking below. Allures subsequently corrected this in France |
| The centerboard lift line was not properly run around the pulleys. There was a twist in the line. | Fixed by Allures in France without argument. |
| There were no drain holes in the stern gas lockers. | Fixed by Allures in France without argument. |
| The hatch gas strut above the technical room was broken and the fiberglass was damaged. | Fixed by Allures in France without argument. |
| The hatch above technical room was not sitting properly when closed. | Fixed by Allures in France without argument. |
| The companionway top slider was rubbing against wires near the instruments. | Fixed by Allures in France without argument. |
| The companionway top slider acrylic handle cracked within a few days of use because there were no bumpers to protect it. | We were told by Allures that this was not broken on delivery and therefore not their problem. Swiftsure agreed to fix it in the US and bought material to make the repair. However, when the boat arrived in the US it turned out that Allures fixed the problem in France without telling anyone. |
| The companionway drop board holes needed to be enlarged so they were flush with edge of track. | I ended up fixing this in US. It was an easy fix. |
| The mast hailer/horn speaker was broken on delivery. It had been mounted in a location where it got caught on the pole lift line. | Allures attempted repair in France. However, the horn fell off on Atlantic crossing. Swiftsure replaced the horn in US and did a much better installation. |
| The chafe guard by the vang control line was too short to protect fiberglass. | Fixed by Allures in France without argument. |
| The bimini support was missing a screw. | Fixed by Allures in France without argument. |
| The boom brake was not rigged per the provided schematics. | Allures claimed the provided configuration was standard although there was a pad-eye installed for the original configuration. Swiftsure adjusted the configuration in the US to minimize chafe at the deck which seems to be working acceptably. |
| The luff line for the third reef was not properly rigged | Fixed by Allures in France without argument. |
| We had asked for no stainless to be bolted to the aluminum and paid extra for the padeye on the bowsprit to be welded on. Allures subsequently bolted a second stainless steel padeye behind the welded one. | First Allures claimed that the second pad-eye was standard and had to be there. But that was a lie because it was drilled and installed one week before delivery. Then Allures apologized and removed the padeye, but they just added two aluminum bolts to cover the holes they drilled. In the US, Swiftsure removed the bolts and covered the bowsprit with Treadmaster to cover the mistake. The solution was not ideal but at least our bowsprit is now slip resistant and the mistake is hidden. |
| A clam cleat on the running backstay block arrived to the US broken. | Swiftsure replaced the broken block in the US. |
| A lifeline pelican hook release came bent. | Swiftsure replaced with new one in the US. |
| The wrong model hot water heater was installed. The installed model was for vertical mounting and did not operate correctly. | Swiftsure discovered this in France and Allures fixed the hot water heater without argument. |
| A few locations were missing chafe protection in the bilge. | Fixed by Allures in France without argument. |
| The steering cable sheaves were not perfectly aligned. | Fixed by Allures in France without argument. |
| The dual Racor filters were located such that it was impossible to service them. | Fixed by Allures in France without argument. |
| We asked for the water tank vent to discharge in the shower with a high loop instead of having an additional thru-hull above the waterline. The high loop was not installed. | Fixed by Allures in France without argument. (Now, since we have a fresh water foot pump at the kitchen sink, when filling the water tank the overflow discharges into the sink, which we find ideal.) |
| The labels on water tank were wrong or missing. | Allures forgot to fix in France. Swiftsure fixed some in the US but got one label wrong. I fixed again. |
| We had paid for all batteries to be Victron AGM. The supplied bow battery was a different type. | Fixed by Allures in France after a bit of argument. |
| We requested means of securing two 20lb propane tanks in the gas locker. None was provided. | Swiftsure offered a minor credit if I would make the adjustments myself. |
| The port compass light did not work. | Swiftsure ordered replacement but when i went to install it turns out Plastimo changed models and the replacement is not a direct fit. This is still an open issue. |
| The sterling alternator to battery charger was not working on delivery to US. | Swiftsure arranged for replacement. |
| The galley faucet had a minor cosmetic defect on delivery. | Fixed by Allures in France without argument. |
| The shower door hold opens would not close properly. | Fixed by Allures in France without argument. |
| A storage box was missing in technical room. | Fixed by Allures in France without argument. |
| The pipes securing the boxes in technical room had very sharp ends. | Fixed by Allures in France without argument. |
| The retaining pegs did not fit in one of the galley cabinets. The holes were drilled too small. | Fixed by Allures in France without argument. |
| One drawer in the galley was rubbing on the sole. | Fixed by Allures in France without argument. |
| The shower pump button was located in stupid location. | Fixed by Allures in France without argument. Button was replaced with a switch and put in a location that was easy to get to while showering. |
| Brown electrical outlets were installed in grey panels. | Allures said these needed to be ordered. Still not fixed. |
| The chart table hold open did not work well. | Fixed by Allures in France without argument. |
| Leather wrapping that was requested on several stainless poles was missing. | Fixed by Allures in France without argument. |
| The leather flat panel in the salon was not the requested color. | Fixed by Allures in France without argument. |
| The microwave cabinet was to include a recessed outlet for a future microwave. The outlet was not recessed. | Fixed by Allures in France without argument. |
| One of the cushions in the salon was missing on delivery due to a defect. | Allures provided cushion prior to shipping boat to US. |
| The engine documentation was missing. | Fixed by Allures in France without argument. |
| We had asked for a specific arrangement for our instruments, speakers, and stereo. We had provided diagram showing exactly where each item would be installed. The speakers, stereo, and VHF microphone were installed in the wrong locations. | In the end we accepted the locations they installed the items. |
| After about a month of use we noticed chipping in the deck gel-coat in several locations. | Swiftsure blames these on a few air bubbles in the deck. They have agreed to fix the locations, but we need to wait for warm weather in the spring. |
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Great post… thank you so much.
Sounds more like a “Quality Control” issue than communication.
There were some quality problems in some phases. Other phases were pretty flawless. For example, the welding up of the hull was perfect. From our point of view the majority of the problems were communication based. We expected a few mistakes in building a relatively new model with some customization. However, we also expected much better communication.
Thanks for enlightning post
Can see that Allures and Swiftsure have fixed most things without (major) arguments – cadeau for that
Can imaginge the frustration along the way (remembering my own experience with house-building)
All thing considered – did you have more or less problems compared to others? Both with Allure and other companies?
Good speed
I have no basis of comparison but would be interested to hear about others experience.
Great site with lots of really useful information for anyone considering an Allures! It looks like a fantastic boat and I hope it gives you many years of pleasure!
Reading through the above post I can see you’ve been really meticulous about documenting the entire process, and good on you for that. What’s encouraging is that most if not all the problems were resolved, and none of them strike me as deal breakers. It’s also great to see the boat has no fundamental issues that would compromise in any way the fundamental sea-worthiness of the vessel or its overall quality. But well done for keeping them on their toes, as it sets a standard that they will be better at meeting for future customers.
Having worked in France for many years and even speaking the language fluently, there is a clear sense of a cultural lack of customer service or the concept of “the customer is always right”. Sometimes in France I’ve walked away from purchases on principle just because the sales person does not seem overly concerned whether they get your business or not. I’ve also heard horror stories from people who have gone through French brokers for French yachts or catamarans who have had dreadful service and no support after signing off on their new vessel — even though basic things like wiring or rigging were clearly dangerous, or things like fridges not working and that took up to a year to get sorted out. This may sound like I’m stereotyping the French, but it’s important to understand that there is simply not the same depth of sales and service culture there as there is in the US, for example.
This is often interpreted as arrogance, but more often than not it’s more of a fierce pride in their products and a dislike of anyone who complains about their product. It’s kind of a “take it or leave it” mentality to sales — and in many cases this is part of the brand mentality for many products (try visiting a Louis Vuitton shop in Paris to buy a handbag… they make you feel like you should feel privileged to buy something from them, a relationship that many clients are happy with!).
This culture is changing, however, thanks to the fact that France (which was through most of the last century a very protected, isolated economy) now has to compete on a global scale. France is also learning from hard experiences where they have lost contracts to inferior competitors only because they are not as slick as the Americans at buttering up a client. Lost contracts in the defense industry are a good example.
It seems that a relatively small builder like Allures is taking this path, in that they seem to be making the effort (albeit after maybe moaning a bit). Times are still tough for small/medium businesses in France, and they feel a real sense of competition with their German neighbors who really go the extra mile on customer service.
It’s also all the more reason to use a foreign broker whose job it is to handle the customer service part of the transaction, particularly if you don’t speak the language. I personally would not go through a French broker — I’d rather deal direct or more likely go through a US or UK broker, whose fee really pays for itself in the event of post-delivery issues or warranty claims.
Anyway I’d take this experience as being positive, and you’ve got yourself an amazing and fairly unique boat that I’m sure will hold its value much better than the mass-produced Ikea-style offerings that come out of places like Beneteau, Lagoon, Jeanneau etc.
Thanks for posting just useful information, and if you get time would be great to see some pictures of the nuts & bolts (like battery bank, wiring, autopilot install etc)!
Thank you for the perspective. I suspected that some of our frustrations might be linked to different cultural expectations.
You are correct that the deficiencies at the end were not related to seaworthiness. We were particularly impressed with the quality of the aluminum hull. It is a work of art and seeing it before it was filled with systems and finished was really reassuring. It is so precise and solid.
I will take some photos of the systems and post them. If there are specific aspect of the boat you are curious about, let me know and I will post on them.
Any photos of the “guts” of the boat would be really interesting — engine access, battery access, spaces for washing machine and generator etc.
Also curious to know what the maximum load capacity is (stamped on the plaque at the helm).
I’m really looking seriously at the Allures 45.9, but also at the Ovni 445/new 450 — so curious to know if you looked at those too?
Thanks!
Thanks for the list Michael. You did a good job in the beginning to put you wishes on paper. In that way you have no discussions afterwards. You really have thought very well on the electrics and water and all the specials should have been given more attention by the yard.
Since our Allures is starting to be built in October your list is very useful to us. We are used to put decisions in writing and your story makes it even more important to enjoy nthe whole process.
If you have any advice on things that could be improved, now that you have sailed with her, you are welcome to share them.
Good sailing!
Congratulations on your Allures order! Gerty is out of the water for the winter, but in the spring when we continue to spend time on her I am sure other ideas for improvement will surface. A couple of things come to mind that you may want to ask the yard about:
1) Can the locker under the port aft bench be extended down to the aluminum below? The locker seems arbitrarily shallow and we are now thinking of making it deeper so it will fit a drogue.
2) Can the locker under the port aft bench and the starboard cockpit locker be separated from the aft technical area (where the steering systems are)? To me these lockers should be isolated from the rest of the boat. The factory left a sizable opening into the boat from both of these lockers that I am now considering sealing up.
3) I don’t like where some of the latches are to hold the doors open because you have to bend down to get to them. Particularly the one in the forward cabin is annoying and we are changing it.
4) It would be more convenient if the hole in the sole where the fuel filters are was larger. I don’t see any reason why it could not have been larger.
Pretty minor stuff – but you asked!