Build Update #3

Hull #2 & #3 have been completed. One has even been shipped to the US.

So where is our hull #1 at? Here's a summary since the last update:

• fairing and painting has been done
• windows and decking installed
• electrical and plumbing started
• installation of some of the mechanicals has begun

It is fair to say we are disappointed to still not have our boat after a whole year has past since the revised, revised completion date. We definitely don't feel confident with any dates they give us now, but at least we've started getting regular updates after a "stern discussion" back in August. We still have to chase them up every time for the update, but it's good that we are getting photos and have an idea of what is happening.

Some delays were unavoidable - e.g. the Chinese government shut the factory down due to the Pandemic in Nov - Dec 2021, and then there is the Chinese New Year period in Feb where nothing gets done for 3 weeks.

Another reason we are so far behind is because of the customizations we've asked for. For example, we lost a lot of time due to the monitoring system I specified. Short story was that the yard and the vendor did not communicate very well and it ended up costing us at least a 3 month delay. There are plenty of options out there when it comes to monitoring so in my mind this one should have been nipped in the bud when issues first started appearing. I'm also not sure why other parts of the build (e.g. plumbing/hydraulics) could not proceed while waiting on this. With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, I'd say it would have been a better decision to install the monitoring solution ourselves after taking delivery of the boat.

Another snafu was the sliding door on the flybridge. The step leading to the deck was directly adjacent to it so when you open the door you would trip on it. This has been rectified but has cost us another couple of months getting sign off on the engineering change and implementing the fix.

The good news with the other boats now being finished is that we were able to note a few things that we wanted changed in ours. We were also very happy to see the quality of the finished product.

Next steps: install the ceiling tiling, install stainless appliances in the bathrooms, finish fitting the interior cabinetry, finish soft goods and leather wrapping and complete the electrical and plumbing. Unfortunately the work force is down to 20% capacity now due to Covid. Hopefully once they are back and Chinese New Years is done we will see the pace pick up.