[PCW] Fountaine Pajot Cumberland 44 & Cat A rating

[tomortho at aol.com]

As a novice at this, I too was impressed with the PDQ 34.? Actually 114 made it out of the factory and is on its way to San Diego I believe.? I was committed to #115 which was only partially completed before things shut down.? I was happy to purchase #99 from a broker here in Seattle and am sure that I will be quite pleased with it for the spectrum of boating activities here in the northwest.? I am not too concerned that the company is no longer operating as I have confidence in their workmanship from having visited their place, looking at their boats and ?and talking with many?happy owners.? I think there is a good probability that in time the company will resume operation.? I hope it does.? It is likely to be quite a time I would think given what has happened.

Obviously, I feel the PDQ 34 if a great boat in spite of the failure of their buiness for a variety of reasons.? The quality of their product certainly was not one of them.

Tom Green


-----Original Message-----
From: gram rupert <gramario at tin.it>
To: Candy Chapman and Gary Bell <tulgey at earthlink.net>
Cc: Power Catamaran List <power-catamaran at lists.samurai.com>
Sent: Mon, 7 Jan 2008 5:58 am
Subject: Re: [PCW] Fountaine Pajot Cumberland 44 & Cat A rating



I toodle around in a Carrera 4 myself, but I take your point. You can  
feel the quality and appreciate its behaviour compared to other  
vehicles. I''' take a look at the PD!34.
gram.

On 7 Jan 2008, at 13:02, Candy Chapman and Gary Bell wrote:.

>
>
>
>  Gram commented and asked:
>
> Michael,
> You have my sympathy, and I hope it all works out for you. I also
> hope that I (and others) will manage to steer clear of your cowboy
> broker, whoever he/she may be.
> After all thi disappointment and cricitism of F-P, then, would anyone
> care to comment other makers. I have heard of Geminie's capsizing
> fairly, and I read that one of James Wharrams's lost a mast or
> similar. The sea is obviously a harsh place, but is there not be
> someone who takes pride in top-class quality; the Rolls Royce, or
> Porsche, of the sector? Or is there?
> gram.
>
> REPLY:
> As a Rolls and Bentley owner I can testify that the difference  
> between those and so many other marques of cars is chiefly the  
> attitude and effort of the builder.  It is not the price, nor the  
> exotic fittings, but rather what shows up in the sound of the door  
> closing, the lack of fuss when motoring down the highway, and of  
> course the affection of the owners.  I also own and love a PDQ 34,  
> and I greatly mourn the recent loss of this builder to issues  
> surrounding building in Canadian dollars while selling chiefly into  
> a US dollar market, plus the overall rise in matierial costs and  
> the economic based slump in sales industry wide.  You may struggle  
> to imagine how sincerely I hope for a resurrection of this line --  
> I really miss their emphasis on sound, light weight and high tech.  
> construction; to slender hull/low power economy (perhaps the  
> salvation of boating for regular folks in times of increasing fuel  
> costs); combined with a uniquely clever and practical layout.  They  
> were about the earliest big success in this power catamaran  
> enterprise (113 hulls completed for the 34 foot line), and held  
> strongly to virtues that promise to see the rest of us through  
> tough times ahead, like escalating fuel costs, remote and difficult  
> to control third world construction practices, and the great  
> inertia in the general boating world to recognizing the power (and  
> motorsailer) catamaran's unique promise instead of cleaving to  
> antique traditional notions of what comprises a 'proper' and  
> therefore desireable boat.
>
> Gary Bell
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