New Alpha 42 to be Built in the US

[Factor]

Maybe should have bought local WindBludger?

[Training Wheels]

Nice....

[smj]

Originally Posted by Factor

Maybe should have bought local WindBludger?

Really? And this solves everything? Seems to me as if WindBludger got supposedly screwed (taken) by a corrupt multihull builder that you hold in high regard. I may be reading between the lines but I would like to hear WindBludgers story before dismissing him.


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[downunder]

Originally Posted by smj

Really? And this solves everything? Seems to me as if WindBludger got supposedly screwed (taken) by a corrupt multihull builder that you hold in high regard. I may be reading between the lines but I would like to hear WindBludgers story before dismissing him.


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Clearly WindBludger has an issue with Tarjay. Time for him to detail his issues of being ripped off.

From issues experienced with builders in Australia developing new vessels there are always delays and issues to sort out. Can't imagine USA being any different.

[cruisingkrol]

So, Wind Bludger has vented her ire. To what end? The builder, who we believe is an honorable man, is doing his best to complete the ordered Alphas. As no doubt with Gunboat, there were cash issues after Be Good Too was lost and there were no further orders for Alphas. Tooling up for production was VERY expensive. The concept designer/sales rep bowed to pressure from F-P. Dominoes.

Consequently life plans sadly are on hold for many Alpha buyers, but mostly we are patient folks. There is at least one happy Alpha owner in Canada. We'll be another when a few issues with our cat are addressed over the next few weeks. It is a very solid comfortable cat. Are we totally ecstatically happy with the build process? Obviously, no. It's been a long time since I asked on this Forum if we were stupid to order an Alpha from concept designer Gregor Tarjan. How could anybody know what a cruel blow the fates would deliver?

Still, if you want a solid cat, order an American Alpha. Armchair designers get a grip: the builder will customize on his existing molds to pretty much whatever a buyer wants. Or, go along with our Big Corporations and send your money overseas. Cheap shot but I'm not known for my diplomacy skills.

[chemist]

Windbludger´s posts appear to have miraculously disappeared.

Cruisingkrol you have so much butter on your head.
You say that you were to get hull nr. 2/3. You received your boat in Jul. 2015, and are still waiting for repairs? In Mar. 2015 you stated in this forum that you stepped back from hull 2 to 3.

According to the Alpha 42 website hull nr. 4 was however already finished in Aug. 2014 "Alpha 42 – Hull 4. Masting 21 Aug 2014".

Why is that the world is not allow to know that boat builders go bankrupt.
Why is it that there are always two types of clients, those that have sometihing unfinished in their hands and those that have paid a downpayment but lost everything. Why is that the first group does not warn the rest for the financial trouble of the builder. Is it because they hope that if they stay silent that there boat will be finished with the money of the others?

[chemist]

Paxfish stated on 16.10.2015 in the "alpha 42" forum post 6 "I was curious, and stepped aboard. I steadied myself by grabbing the obvious handhold - the overhead top on the port side. It shook around like a 10 year old Gemini hardtop. I took a close look at the support in that area, reversed course and continued to other parts of the show." LeeV in the same forum post 8 "There is still one sitting in our marina, and its issues have not been addressed - from the stern I can still see the port side sitting much lower than the stbd - and it's not from batteries or gear being stowed improperly." Cruisingkrol is that yours? Cruisingkrol don´t get me wrong I am sorry for your loss. I just don´t get it that you are still defending him.

[cruisingkrol]

"Butter on your head," Chemist? If you're Dutch you know that I should be very insulted by that. Why would my conscience not be clear?

WindBludger requested the deletion of her posts.

The builder is not bankrupt. He's working on boats including ours. We regard our Hull #3 to be a Beta version. The design has flaws. Ours and higher hull numbers are being modified.

Nine cat lovers found the design concept to be attractive enough to buy an Alpha without seeing one - none had been built. It was a bet. The Be Good Too incident was a disaster for the company. The build schedule fell apart. I repeat, we further delayed our delivery so the cats for charter could meet obligations and so we didn't have to launch into winter storms.

Pax, the fiberglas bimini wings flex; they won't break.

DownUnder, you're absolutely correct. Why should this new design have a different narrative from any other? We usually don't get to read them.

[paxfish]

Cruisingkrol - I wish you the best of luck with your boat, and look forward to hearing about your travels.

[cruisingkrol]

Thanks, paxfish. Come to Galesville for another look at Platypuss once we have her back home mid-June. Skipper and crew are taking her to Patchogue next week. There is a warranty so we're giving the builder a last opportunity to correct her defects. There will be posts on the Forum about her condition and performance once she's home. Again. Stay tuned...

[LeeV]

Since I've seen Platypus and spoken to the owners AND posted a caution about buying an Alpha (or any other boat with similar circumstances) until things are sorted out, I'd like to make one more comment that has some bearing on these posts.

Any new boatbuilding effort (or company) struggles with a variety of issues, from financing and design to construction and followup. Not everything works out immediately. Our own boat is a perfect example: Corsair had made tons of trailerable folding trimarans, with Ian Farrier, and then later without. When they came up with the 36' model the first couple of hulls had some issues, one was with bulkheads and the other (unproven) may have been with rigging. An early boat was dismasted offshore.

Corsair fixed the issues for all the hulls after #3 or 4 (15 total), but between the bad publicity and the eternal arguing between Farrier fans and owners of non-Farrier Corsair owners, they decided to redesign it as a 37' and made some changes, to include carbon masts, etc... We bought hull 2004 #10, and after putting new shrouds on last month and adding running backstays, we love the boat and feel like we got a great deal. We'll take her offshore with no qualms at all.

Sometimes problems arise that need to be solved, and I'm hoping Platypus benefits from such a solution. She's a beauty and certainly deserves it. I'll look forward to seeing her then.

[ZipTie]

Gregor Tarjan's buys Nautitech Open 40 for his family instead of his own design Alpha 42

What I find so strange is that Gregor Tarjan's Alpha 42 that he designed and his wife did the interior design which they invested heavily into,

Then they go out and buy a Bavaria Nautitech Open 40 catamaran for themselves.

Not a very good vote of confidence in there own design work.

Bavaria Yachts & Aeroyacht Join Forces | Catamaran Dealer

[cruisingkrol]

First, thank you LeeV. Will we be seeing you at Sat morning coffee? I hope. Or, once Platypuss is home, come have a drink in the cockpit. We have the prettiest view in the marina at the end of the 825 dock.

ZipTie, Gregor's main contributions to the Alpha 42 were his concept design and his sales of nine Alphas. He parted company with Alpha quite a while ago. As you have noted from the Aeroyacht website, Gregor and F-P also have parted company; he's now a Bavaria Nautitech distributor. Do you suppose he might have been offered a Nautitech to demo at a "special price"? In any case, they are nice cats; we considered one. Sigh.

Speculating with no or very little data is less than productive.