Neel trimaran failure

[Yngmar]

I have always assumed that ALL fibreglass boats had laminated ‘joins’ and/or fasteners wherever a join was required. Is it now common for just an adhesive to be used?

Definitely not uncommon. A friends Beneteau, 2007 model or thereabouts already had those same glued bulkheads, except the glue was properly cured, not soft. I was replacing the seacocks on his boat and pointed out that most of his bulkhead glue had cracked and both on the sides of the companionway were not longer attached to the hull anywhere and just held in place by the furniture mounted on them. He said the boat creaks a lot but no problems

Another friends much older Beneteau (1997 or somewhere around there) was of a wholly different level of build quality, bulkheads glassed to the hull, everything much more solid and only the floorboards creaked.

We also met quite a few unhappy owners of brand new catamarans. Lagoon, FP, Nautitech, all arguing with or sueing the manufacturers, having constant discussions over warranty repairs and their cruising seasons interrupted by having to head to this or that approved boatyard to repair another issue, some quite serious (wobbly keel without ever grounding or dismasting due to a wrongly specced rig). Not to mention the brand new Bali cat that was visibly flexing (door gaps opening/closing against the setting sun) in the marina berth!

A friend who bought a brand new Jeanneau DS had some funny stories about a lost screwdriver in the fuel tank and forgotten parts rattling around in inaccessible compartments, but I was too busy drinking his booze to look at his bulkheads! He since traded the flashy Jen for an old custom built steel ketch.

My conclusion is that enshittification has definitely been wholly embraced, certainly by most of the mainstream builders. Of course the niche builders also know this and bet on selling "properly" built boats for 4x the price to people who can afford such quality. You won't find any glued bulkheads on a Sirius and on a Garcia they're welded aluminium anyways.

For those of us on a budget, fixing up an older boat seems to be a much better bet, even though it may not be as flashy and shiny. The cost may be the same, but you'll spend the time fixing it while it's in the yard instead of fixing it in various warranty haul-outs after you've set off to cruise and end up with a better, more trustworthy boat.

 

[Snowgoose-1]

Definitely not uncommon. A friends Beneteau, 2007 model or thereabouts already had those same glued bulkheads, except the glue was properly cured, not soft. I was replacing the seacocks on his boat and pointed out that most of his bulkhead glue had cracked and both on the sides of the companionway were not longer attached to the hull anywhere and just held in place by the furniture mounted on them. He said the boat creaks a lot but no problems

Another friends much older Beneteau (1997 or somewhere around there) was of a wholly different level of build quality, bulkheads glassed to the hull, everything much more solid and only the floorboards creaked.

We also met quite a few unhappy owners of brand new catamarans. Lagoon, FP, Nautitech, all arguing with or sueing the manufacturers, having constant discussions over warranty repairs and their cruising seasons interrupted by having to head to this or that approved boatyard to repair another issue, some quite serious (wobbly keel without ever grounding or dismasting due to a wrongly specced rig). Not to mention the brand new Bali cat that was visibly flexing (door gaps opening/closing against the setting sun) in the marina berth!

A friend who bought a brand new Jeanneau DS had some funny stories about a lost screwdriver in the fuel tank and forgotten parts rattling around in inaccessible compartments, but I was too busy drinking his booze to look at his bulkheads! He since traded the flashy Jen for an old custom built steel ketch.

My conclusion is that enshittification has definitely been wholly embraced, certainly by most of the mainstream builders. Of course the niche builders also know this and bet on selling "properly" built boats for 4x the price to people who can afford such quality. You won't find any glued bulkheads on a Sirius and on a Garcia they're welded aluminium anyways.

For those of us on a budget, fixing up an older boat seems to be a much better bet, even though it may not be as flashy and shiny. The cost may be the same, but you'll spend the time fixing it while it's in the yard instead of fixing it in various warranty haul-outs after you've set off to cruise and end up with a better, more trustworthy boat.

Sailing and boats have certainly changed.

People often used to buy new boats so that they would have no future anxieties
and could concentrate on sailing and cruising.

Now, It might well be worth buying an older established boat and use the money to upgrade where required.

 

[geem]

Definitely not uncommon. A friends Beneteau, 2007 model or thereabouts already had those same glued bulkheads, except the glue was properly cured, not soft. I was replacing the seacocks on his boat and pointed out that most of his bulkhead glue had cracked and both on the sides of the companionway were not longer attached to the hull anywhere and just held in place by the furniture mounted on them. He said the boat creaks a lot but no problems

Another friends much older Beneteau (1997 or somewhere around there) was of a wholly different level of build quality, bulkheads glassed to the hull, everything much more solid and only the floorboards creaked.

We also met quite a few unhappy owners of brand new catamarans. Lagoon, FP, Nautitech, all arguing with or sueing the manufacturers, having constant discussions over warranty repairs and their cruising seasons interrupted by having to head to this or that approved boatyard to repair another issue, some quite serious (wobbly keel without ever grounding or dismasting due to a wrongly specced rig). Not to mention the brand new Bali cat that was visibly flexing (door gaps opening/closing against the setting sun) in the marina berth!

A friend who bought a brand new Jeanneau DS had some funny stories about a lost screwdriver in the fuel tank and forgotten parts rattling around in inaccessible compartments, but I was too busy drinking his booze to look at his bulkheads! He since traded the flashy Jen for an old custom built steel ketch.

My conclusion is that enshittification has definitely been wholly embraced, certainly by most of the mainstream builders. Of course the niche builders also know this and bet on selling "properly" built boats for 4x the price to people who can afford such quality. You won't find any glued bulkheads on a Sirius and on a Garcia they're welded aluminium anyways.

For those of us on a budget, fixing up an older boat seems to be a much better bet, even though it may not be as flashy and shiny. The cost may be the same, but you'll spend the time fixing it while it's in the yard instead of fixing it in various warranty haul-outs after you've set off to cruise and end up with a better, more trustworthy boat.

I have been saying this for years on this forum. It's only a matter of time before somebody comes on and tells me that new boats are way better than old boats. The reality is that age doesn't not define quality. Some old boats were complete dogs but on the flip side there are a lot of horrendous stories of very poor quality in new boats now surfacing with plenty of good evidence rather than hearsay