I hate to do this...but

Delfin said:
Heck, I live in red neck country so they better bring reinforcements. A few Christmases ago, my two oldest sons bought each other SKS Chinese assault rifles with the optional banana clips. Now that really caught the spirit of the season! :eek:

And here's a pic of my granddaughter getting ready for the prom...
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Oh oh... now we are combining an anchor thread with a gun thread.

How will THIS end :D

BTW, those Chinese SKS's are not the most accurate, but sure are fun to shoot.
 
Below is my latest posting on CF :

Quotes from posting by impi #163 p11 ( in red) and my comments in black:

This includes Grant King, who is a disaffected former contractor of Rocna Anchors whose contract with us was terminated after an investigation into his conduct uncovered serious instances of fraud and theft.
We are not at liberty to provide further details given there is an ongoing Police investigation, but as a result of his termination Mr King has an adverse position toward Rocna Anchors,

The first news of this was in the posting by Bambury that resulted in the original YBW thread being closed down. Now, 12 months after removing me, there is still no detail from Rocna regarding any of these claims and no response to my demand sfor payment of outstanding monies due. Total lies.

he has been posting both under his own name and under the pseudonym Adam Andrews (username ‘whaleboy’, pretending to be a dissatisfied Rocna customer.

Untrue, and while I have met and corresponded with Adam, and he has visited me in Auckland, I am not him and always post replies clearly identifying who I am.

many of the forum discussions do not tell the full story and also do not necessarily reflect on the quality of Rocna anchors

Correct, and now that is about to change.

On further investigation, we discovered that for a short period of time (during the first quarter of 2010) Grant King, who was Production Manager at the time, approved material from a different steel supplier on the basis that it was equivalent spec to that previously used.
Correct, I signed off approval for new shank material, under instruction from Bambury's, on the basis that it WAS OF EQUIVALENT SPEC to previous.
The metal being used at the time was set by Steve Bambury prior to my starting with them ( started January 2009). He visited China and the factory and manufacturing plant in late 2008 and specified and approved everything at that time.
The shipment of anchors that went to Europe in February 2009 was manufactured in December 2008/Jan 2009 and it was this shipment that contained the "Venice" anchor along with 9 others of the same size. They were all revealed to be 400mpa or less and this had been approved by Bambury and those approvals passed on to Linox Australia who were dealing with China at the time for Bambury.
The bending was blamed on heating of the shanks to straighten them in the factory. This was pure fabrication and it was myself who sent that message to the Distributor in Italy to satisfy the customer. Replacement anchors were made and sent to Italy.

We have not seen any increase in warranty claims that would indicate cause for concern.

Untrue, I have evidence of much more.

our RINA status has unfortunately been (and to some extent, continues to be) misunderstood

True, it is misunderstood because the truth has been bent and massaged to read in a favourable light for them. I have no less than 32 emails from Bambury during my time with them attampting to find a way to put over the impression that they had FULL certification when in fact only partial certification had been satisfied.
Steve was notified in May 2010 by RINA when he attended the Sanctuary Cove boat show that full certification had not been issued. He then made further press releases stating that certification had been issued.
He continued to publish this on the Rocna website ( previous one) and the new website.


On the basis of the successful seabed tests and drawings approval a press release on Rocna SHHP was released in November 2009.

RINA were lied to by myself under instruction from Bambury when we were questioned as to the construction of the test anchors. They were NZ fabricated versions and not Chinese produced anchors. This meant that if the tested ones were different from the current and future models then seabed testing would have to be repeated, something they did definitely not want to repeat again with different anchors.
Drawing approval was only granted after s[ecifications of the metal to be used was changed on the approval drawings.

Meanwhile, individual anchor certification for registered vessels or those customers requiring individual certification for a Rocna anchor has been available from an alternative fully certified RINA factory since November 2009.

Rather a misleading statement when I only visited the alternative certified manufacturer in March 2010 and discussed with them an arrangement for them to work with the exsisting manufacturer to make any larger anchors that required certification using their inspectors to pass the anchors.

Several points to make:
I am biased, no secret about that, they owe my a very large amount and have alot to answer for in that regard and if revealing information makes this difficult to resolve then that is how it will be.
I only deliver fact that can be backed up with either written or recorded evidence.
Steve Bambury needs to learn more about what he is talking about when it comes to metals and specifications.
The change in metal occurred with the very first anchor made in China, and continued to this day.





__________________
Grant King
NO LONGER ASSOCIATED WITH ROCNA ANCHORS
 
I've got to hand it to you Grant. It can't be easy taking on an ex-employer, particularly when they will stoop to anything to try to discredit you. You have remained straighforward and calm throughout and, above all, I can't think of anything which you have said which has been shown to be wrong.

On the other side of the fence, whenever hard evidence has been presented, Rocna has been discredited.

Well done. I hope you achieve what you are looking for from all this.
 
GrantKing said:
The first news of this was in the posting by Bambury that resulted in the original YBW thread being closed down. Now, 12 months after removing me, there is still no detail from Rocna regarding any of these claims and no response to my demand sfor payment of outstanding monies due. Total lies.
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Might I gently enquire why you haven't sued them for defamation over this?
 
Ubergeekian said:
Might I gently enquire why you haven't sued them for defamation over this?
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Simple, with the cost of defamation litigation in NZ I cannot afford to.

Unfortunately character assassination is typical of what others have experienced in the past when parting company with them.

They can throw whatever they like at me in the public arena, it only shows that there is not a logical defence to actions of the past. I will still only present facts which you can believe or not, its up to you, but at least look at the obvious and ask yourself if there is any truth to what is said.

A prudent and honest Company would be looking for a solution, offering an explanation, correcting the problem and being very open about it.

But it is easier to attack the messengers.
 
Ubergeekian said:
Might I gently enquire why you haven't sued them for defamation over this?
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Grant Kings reply is much as expected.

I suppose the next question is why Rocna haven't sued him for defamation or for the return of the money which they claim he defrauded them of. (Not that I believe their claim for one moment)

They might also like to explain why the police investigation which they claim to have initiated has come up with nothing.

More importantly they might want to explain why they have defrauded boaters around the world by selling anchors which were, and continue to be, knowingly below the published specification.
 
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avb3 said:
Oh oh... now we are combining an anchor thread with a gun thread.

How will THIS end :D

BTW, those Chinese SKS's are not the most accurate, but sure are fun to shoot.
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I hope Delphin got the barrels tested seeing as they were made in China. Then again with the bend in the metal thy could shoot round corners.
 
Have Rocna responded to any of these allegations as yet?
I have heard rumours that only a small batch was affected yet every time someone does some sort of test on them they are found to be defective.
This is a safety item and I cannot understand how people are being allowed to risk their lives and that of their families on them.
I cannot understand how they are allowed to continue exporting and selling them.
 
I'm not in any way defending any manufacturers of sub-standard anchors, but that doesn't seem to me to be a very realistic or fair test. You are subjecting the smallest section of the shank to a bending load applied over a fulcrum, something that must surely be almost impossible in service. Unless you do the same test on another anchor, or one with a known strength shank, it doesn't mean a lot.

In view of the results of independently conducted tests carried out to known standards I'm afraid yours is tending back to the hysteria end of the spectrum.
 
Nostrodamus said:
Have Rocna responded to any of these allegations as yet?
I have heard rumours that only a small batch was affected yet every time someone does some sort of test on them they are found to be defective.
This is a safety item and I cannot understand how people are being allowed to risk their lives and that of their families on them.
I cannot understand how they are allowed to continue exporting and selling them.
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It doesn't look like a small batch. Here is a link to a posting on Cruisers Forum of a cat owner whose 33 kg he purchased last year (2010) bent like it was made of butter steel. http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f118/rocna-size-59327-23.html

I suppose the reason Rocna doesn't respond is that they hope this will all blow over. They would like to re-define 'fit for service' on their terms and still charge a premium for a substandard product, and they will find support for this tactic from some who already own a Rocna and would prefer not to admit they were punked.

It would not surprise me if Rocna is now making up some 'special' anchors that they can have tested to further muddy the waters. Unless the tested anchors are off the shelf from somewhere, I would be highly sceptical of anything they publish.

One can only hope that the retailers do the right thing and position the Rocna for what it is - an expensive alternative to less expensive but stronger competitive products.
 
Delfin said:
It would not surprise me if Rocna is now making up some 'special' anchors that they can have tested to further muddy the waters. Unless the tested anchors are off the shelf from somewhere, I would be highly sceptical of anything they publish..
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You're not suggesting that Rocna would get a special anchor made up, to the full specification, just to have it tested to prove that everything is OK?

You are cynical. :):):):):):):):):):):):)
 
Retooling?

I've heard of a number of instances where Rocna anchors were out of stock for about a month. Due to the number I am wondering if Rocna has shut down production and is working on a solution to the sub-standard steel.....

Any others hear of such a thing?
 
I'm not sure they can have another strategy since the facts seem pretty clear, although it is likely that additional test results will be released out of a lawsuit filed by their former manufacturer in NZ that may re-focus attention. That case is winding up, so perhaps those results will be released soon.

Bottom line, a very small number of boaters participate in these forums, so it has always been hoped that retailers would step up with integrity and correct the record with consumers who may still be laboring under the impression that the Rocna is something special. It is special, but not for the reasons advertised.
 
evm1024 said:
I've heard of a number of instances where Rocna anchors were out of stock for about a month. Due to the number I am wondering if Rocna has shut down production and is working on a solution to the sub-standard steel.....

Any others hear of such a thing?
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Working on a solution? You mean, like not telling the Chinese manufacturer to use mild steel to save a few bucks? Doesn't seem like a lot of work to make that happen. Just pick up the phone and call China.
 
If I were trying to save my companys reputation...

...(if that were possible) I would do more than just call. I would take a team over and go over every step. Initial testing and certification of the steel, every fabrication steps, welding, etc, and galvanization.

Should be "easy" but I would make sure. Now the question is - is this what is happening? And when will there be an announcement to reassure the "consumer".

Regards

PS Agreed - it should be a no-brainer
 
evm1024 said:
I've heard of a number of instances where Rocna anchors were out of stock for about a month. Due to the number I am wondering if Rocna has shut down production and is working on a solution to the sub-standard steel.....

Any others hear of such a thing?
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That is nothing unusual as the distributors in each country have to order their stock, and mostly pay for it, in advance. It can be a few months between ordering and receiving stock which then has to be sent out to the stores. It doesn't take much to deplete retail stores of some sizes.
Thats just the nature of the distribution model used by Bambury.

The only solution being worked on will be " how do I twist my way out of this one?"
 
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