In May of 2014, I took my 42' classic schooner to Berkeley Marine Center for major surgery, following a hapless example of rudimentary navigation. The rudder had been torn from the rudder-post, which in turn had been split in half vertically. Roughly the lower third of the "deadwood" had been torn away, a number of bilge planks had to be replaced, and there was a good deal of cosmetic damage to the planking that could be saved.
As I'd spent 20 years restoring the schooner, I'd be told of every step beforehand, as I knew what was behind everything. Steve Hutchinson, the yard's boatwrite, said he'd only do a level of work that didn't compromise their reputation---so I'd been promised no compromises.
Cree Partridge, the yard's owner, came up with a figure of $45,000 for for the repairs, and an estimate of three months to do the job. My insurance coverage was well below the estimate; and as my insurance company's surveyor was there at the presentation, he asked Cree what he'd do when the insurance money ran out. The answer was, "it might even go $20,000 over the estimate, but when the money begins to run out, we'll take it one day at a time." Should the money run out, I planned to stop the "yard" work and finish the job myself.
By the end of July the entire keel and deadwood had been replaced, including the rudder post with the rudder angle yet to be scribed on it. Steve had done a fine job, and I remember the last step, because it was at that point that Steve asked me if the rudder tube was good enough to determine the rudder-shaft angle. I was surprised at the question because he had seen my restoration photos, and one of them was a close-up of the new rudder tube. Unknown to me, however, was that Cree and Steve were aware of the rudder tube's being dislodged before Cree even wrote the estimate---but both Steve and Cree kept it a secret. I figured out the puzzle for myself---but when correcting it was nearly impossible.
The first sign of trouble was during the rudder installation, when the bottom of the rudder shaft was not parallel to the machined surface of the rudder shoe. The shoe bore the full weight of the rudder, and unless the shoe and rudder shaft had full contact, the friction at the point of contact would cause excessive wear on the rudder shoe. I brought the problem to Steve's attention, but he discounted the importance of a perfect fit, saying that, "It was good enough to last 20 years." At that very point in time, the rudder tube could still have been returned to its proper angle, and therefore allow the rudder post to match the rudder shoe.
Though Steve ended up relocating the rudder shoe to match the angle of the rudder shaft, the additional (overlapping) bolt holes required to relocate the shoe, only weakened the rudder post at its most important spot, and served to compromise the project.
It was in August that I finally figured out the reason for the rudder shoe having to be relocated. When I stumbled across the dislodged rudder tube, a light went off; and when Steve asked me the question about the rudder tube angle, it was only to hold me responsible for any problems with the rudder angle down the line.
Cree admitted to Steve telling him about the dislodged rudder tube before the estimate was begun---but he did so to impress me with the money he'd saved me by not allowing Steve to replace the horn timber---which was estimated to cost me an additional $20,000. Though Steve could have at least filled the rudder tube gap with tar while he was doing such jobs, I think he was too upset about not building a new horn timber to do me any favors.
The schooner was launched on 10/15/14, and getting it sailing again was my official project. The steering had faired well in the grounding; but Steve took it upon himself to correct a trivial misalignment of its parts under a hydraulic press, and the rebuild cost me 3,800.
Putting the engine back in and getting all systems working usually takes a few days---but damage done to the electrical, fuel, and shifting units during its removal, kept the boat at Berkeley Marine for the next 7 months!
Instead of taking responsibility for his employees' mistakes, the only breaks Cree gave me during those months were access to the wood and metal shops, replacing broken or missing parts by his machinist, 1/2 day of his time in forcing tar into the rudder tube gap, and not charging me for the lay days.
Though the final cost of repairs nearly doubled Cree's estimate, Cree neither apologized for it nor offered me a discount. I've never understood what happened to their insisting on the highest standards of construction, or concern for their reputation. Lastly, Cree's invoices are never itemized except for the smaller items. In a $5,000 charge for lumber, neither the quantity of lumber bought and used were listed, much less the price per board foot that I was charged.
I've used boatyards since 1973. read more
