Waterlog Watermaker

[medicrene]

I ordered the Waterlog Watermaker and it was a disaster. First, it took three months to arrive. Then they lied about when it was sent out (the shipping order stated it was sent three days after the man said he shipped it). Then they sent it to the wrong postal address. What a mess. It finally arrived one day before I left for a transpacific cruise. But it gets even worse.

The waterlog never produced a single drop of water! Not one drop! When I asked for a refund, the company never replied to my request. During my dealing with them, I have caught them in obvious lies and intentional deceit. The watermaker was poorly built and will not handle rough conditions. If the waterlog is towed in anything but calm seas, it pops out of the waves and sucks air. That then keeps it from making water. Even a boat with modest freeboard will not be able to tow the watermaker without it coming out of the water in even calm conditions. Of course, even when I did a sea trial, towing behind the boat, in calm seas (under motor) and kept the waterlog under water the entire time, after three hours of towing, it never produced a single drop of water.

This is not a product you want to trust at sea. It was a huge let down. The company will not provide service and they will not even respond to a request to refund the money.

Consider a few red flags in the industry. 1). They only have a website and do not post their postal address or phone number (that is a huge red flag and should have been the first reason not to send them money). 2). The company has a history of not meeting its commitments and makes up excuses “ill workers, ect. 4). No reputation other than what has been created on the Internet.

I made a mistake with this company and I lost almost two thousand dollars. The transpacific cruise was cancelled due to the watermaker issue. I have seen nothing from this company to make me believe it is anything other than a bogus company intent upon defrauding as many customers as they can before they run away into the night. If you buy from Waterlog, do so at your own risk.

Rene Steinhauer
medicrene@yahoo.com

 

[pvb]

5 minutes...

This post has lasted 5 minutes - is this a record?

 

[bedouin]

Oh dear - I'm sorry to hear that.

The subject of the Waterlog has been discussed on a number of occasions on this forum and each time the concensus is that it is too good to be true. I'm sorry you have be unlucky enough to prove us right.

Always worth paying for things like this by credit card - that way if things go wrong you can always get your money back

 

[Otter]

Really really sorry about your experiences, but here we go again....................................

 

[Guest]

Post deleted by danfoley

 

[webcraft]

[ QUOTE ]
what about the equipment test review we were promised Kim?


[/ QUOTE ] Hear hear . . . about time this was put to bed once and for all with a definitive review by a leading UK sailing magazine.

What about a poll on how long this thread lasts? My bet is midday tomorrow . . .

- Nick

 

[Otter]

[No message]

 

[landaftaf]

whether you bought it by credit card or not you are still entitled to a refund if the object didnt live up to its advertised standards/requirements.
if you live in the uk why not take them to court (small claims court) and get your money back plus other supported expenses. if not pop over and add your visit as legitimate costs ........... write to them with this in mind and see if they will come to an arrangement with you (i.e. out of court)

good luck and dont let the bastar*s grind you down

 

[Major Catastrophe]

Don't know if it helps, but alleged contact details for Waterlog are posted here: http://www.ssca.org/sscabb/index.php?action=vthread&forum=10&topic=92

 

[woody001]

why would kim pull this thread?

 

[Otter]

I'd point you to the evidence but it was pulled. Legal stuff apparently.

 

[webcraft]

Re: Your pulling my thread . . .

Waterlog may not have much of a product, but they make loud litigious noises when criticised . . . all previous threads of this nature have swiftly disappeared.

- Nick

 

[Das_Boot]

If you tow it arround in any conditions and it does not make water it is crap. To question the mans veracity makes no sense why would he make it up.
My brother on hearing I was sailing through the red sea implored me to buy a water maker my reply is [no thanks] that I will carry 5 tons of water before I buy one.

 

[zefender]

Yes, you're quite right, I am planning to test it. Unfortunately, the boat's been out of the water for a couple of months but will be back at the end of June and I hope to have 'the trial' then. I'm sorry about the delay but I will see if (at least my one) works. The comment about jumping out of the water is not unusual though, from what I've read. One owner tried to overcome this by not trailing the log at all but fixing it to the side of his hull - with not-very-successful results.

I'm surprised thouogh that neither PBO nor YM have taken up the challenge and done a proper test.

 

[steve_l]

Re: Your pulling my thread . . .

Typical American commercial response to criticism of their product - threaten legal action. If the action goes ahead (and it doesn't take much to start it) then it can be very expensive for the defendant (the person accused) from day one getting tied up in legal toing and froing and can last years with no clear outcome. And the defendant doesn't even need to be an American company, a subsidiary or other related company is enough. Then you get into discovery actions and everything gets tied up and examined...
Easier and cheaper to just comply and pull the criticism, even though it hurts...

Funilly enough, I've never seen any positive feedback of this product. Strange that /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif)

-steve-

 

[pvb]

But he\'s not American... . . .

But he's not American - as far as I'm aware, Waterlog is an "enterprise" run by an Irishman called Ted Boyle, from 1 Hartham Road, London N7 9JQ.

The Hartham Road address on the Waterlog website is also home to another of Ted Boyle's enterprises - Arkstore Ltd. This intriguing company sells back care products.

 

[Talbot]

I tried to persuade both PBO and YM to do a proper test, and I was informed that YM were interested and that a unit had been delivered to a Gentleman going down to Portugal - this was over a year ago and I have not heard anything since. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[landaftaf]

why not try the 'which' organisation, they chase legal wrangles on behalf of members.

 

[cwellins]

Waterlog should be put out of business, they sent us the log for our cruise, it never worked, we were in Costa Rica, got a hold of someone there who told us if we sent back the unit they would replace it. It cost us around 200 dollars to send it back, we kept emailing them for receipt confirmation and to arrange where to send it as we were on the move. We sent them a appx 30lb unit. After all those communications they send a 5 lb package to our old address in San Jose. Waterlog are frauds and I sincelely hope one day they depend on such a piece of crap for their survival as the Waterlog. A very kind Brittish Sailor tried to get it sorted for us but he got no where with them. They would not let hom come to the alleged Waterlog address that is listed on the website.
There is no way I can express my disgust at people who endanger peoples lives with this abomination. i wish them all the health and happiness they deserve.

 

[ShipsWoofy]

I find all these complaints rather confusing. I have been running a waterlog for nearly 5 years now without problems. It is such a simple concept that I struggle to understand how anyone but a fool could have problems getting it to work.

I think the most important part of the operation is to get the angle of attack correct, this is stipulated in the instructions and takes a few minutes of gentle fiddling to get right.