Leopard 50 fails, Atlantic crossing part 1

While crossing the Atlantic ocean we had many followers asking us to share our behind the scenes issues, rather than just the fun stuff .. So here we go part one of a three part series sharing the issues that impacted our passage from Cape Town South Africa to the Caribbean.

[@spaRTan3246]

We bought a pre-Irma (AKA not "rushed") Leopard 48 second hand and did a huge refit to make her our liveaboard dream. In hindsight I'm so happy not to have bought new because now we have a rock solid boat with all the new and great stuff (48V, induction cooking, tons of solar, provisions for a year) and in the last two years we didn't have a single failure. Hope I haven't jinxed it... 😬

[@mikeferguson2828]

I owned my Leopard 40 cat for 7 years and we did over 27000nm with her including Atlantic crossing in 2021 from Cape Town. She was a great boat for sure. Not sure of the latest models. The wakespeed regulators you have fitted to your boat to control the alternators are the best available but need to be well programmed. Do you have LiFePo4 batteries ? . As far as your solar goes do you have 9 Victron Mppt controllers ? The cerbo takes only 3 Victron VE direct cables from controllers and the Victron shunt but you get Victron ve to usb cables and as you only have 2 usb ports on the cerbo you need a usb hub to connect more cables from. This does not affect your solar panels working just information on how much you are getting in total a day. We sold our Leopard cat in the Caribbean in 2022 and bought a Catana 47 in Thailand and moved across her to upgrade her as I want and sail in between. Believe me the French boat wiring is far from the standard of the leopards and multi marine electrical do a much better job. Not sure who slipped up on the wiring going under your steering connecting bar as that’s substandard for sure but this should have been sorted in Cape Town. Personally speaking I think that with a new boat you would have done better spending time doing some passages between Cape Town and Saldana for example and lived on the boat full time for at least 2 months to get things sorted in CT before starting your passage across the Atlantic where repairs and warranty issues become a far bigger issue causing you loads of headache. New boats have loads of teething issues sadly that’s a fact and the more that get pushed out per week increases these problems… hope you get sorted soon

[@sailing_utopia]

Hi Mike, Thanks for your input. You're absolutely right; Multimarine/Powersol, the incumbent electrical contractor for Leopards in Cape Town, is still in the process of sorting out the second Wakespeed+Balmar installation on a Leopard 50 named Sashalon. They began attempting our installation in May last year, shifted to Sashalon a month or two later, and are still in progress. To address the issue, they've instructed us to involve a local specialist here in Martinique, and we're maintaining open communication channels between the specialists here and the one in Cape Town to resolve it. We've gathered extensive footage on this matter and plan to create a dedicated video in a few months. Yes, we do have a 48V LiFePo4 battery bank. The cabling under the steering bar is indeed problematic. I share your sentiment about spending more time on passages; unfortunately, Leopard kept the boat docked for 13 months with the aim of completing warranty and other work, preventing us from doing so. On top of that, in order to finally get out of there because it was driving us crazy including that Kevin actually had to stage a protest for a few months, we left with numerous warranty issues that we are still trying to resolve and by the looks of it are concerned that we may need to take off our proverbial gloves to ensure they honour them. Thanks for the well wishes. Stay tuned for the upcoming episodes; they promise to be more engaging, with issues and drama involving Leopard/Factory, albeit not as severe as Trent's experiences from Travel Sketch... yet

[@clivestainlesssteelwomble7665]

Re the cabin roof block causing fraying,.you can put a riser block under the feed in side but the other way is to just remove it from the cabin roof , and smooth file a radius or champher on the lower block frame edge. Really the cabin top moulding is a bit high and the wrong angle for a flat fixed block. A radiused bushing might actually do better. You are not the only ones having trouble with a Leopards build quality and snagging. But new boats and new models are notorious for throwing up issues. They are complicated .. what really needs doing is build prototypes then beta test ..debug ..go back change things ..test again ..repeat till it's right but that is neither quick or cheap ..but is what is needed. Even then different folks will want different things.

[@marketindan.ytvideos]

Personally I think it's better to buy a used catamaran that is in great condition instead of buying a new one.

[@bill2292]

A one year old boat that has been well upfit is the unicorn of sailboats!

[@sstevenson638]

It's not just Leopard. Nautitech and Bali have the same level of initial quality and workmanship. I'm not sure about Lagoon but my impression is they are not as bad, aside from the bulkhead issues I keep hearing about. We bought a new Nautitech 40 in 2021. I will never buy a new boat again. New boat quality and warranties are shit.

[@normanboyes4983]

I subscribed earlier because it looked like an interesting channel - little did I know it would be about yet another problem production catamaran and yet another about Duf Leopard and the Capetown yard (see what I did there)? Yes there are lots of systems in a catamaran, many more these days than say 20 years ago and people like your friendly yacht broker who commented to this video will and have said you should expect things to go wrong. Well as a Marine Engineer - I can tell you that while it would be reasonable to expect general snagging and shakedown faults - what you have shown (I have watched all three videos) is basically just shoddy and thoroughly poor quality workmanship likely done by workers who have neither the skills or knowledge to be allowed to work on a seagoing vessel. Leopard at Capetown comes across as a failed organisation - no quality overseeing and absolutely no care or regard for the customer. I wish you well in getting this sorted .

[@myleswenban8858]

My thought exactly. I was stunned by lack of proper engineering in the plumbing of things especially the flimsy connections to things with skin fittings. Leopard are earning a reputation for shoddy workmanship. It's just a sign of the times worldwide that companies cannot get workers let alone skilled workers. It's a great shame as Leopards are basically a beautiful design but I could not trust their workmanship on a seagoing vessel where your life may depend on it. I think the management need to get their heads out of their computers and get down to the factory floor to take control and implement some basic training for the obvious clueless workers on the factory floor that are putting these things together and obviously being left to their own devices to innovate where there is no clear instruction and direction from management. Workers that have never been out on a boat let alone out on the open ocean clearly have no idea of the forces involved.

[@neilhouzet3875]

Leopard sound like a disaster to me. Treating customers like dirt is not effective marketing. I am glad to learn from your nightmare and look elsewhere for a new boat. Jope you get sorted out.

[@walkerimagery]

same

[@jlayton86]

Some things don’t add up. Yes, lots of failures and lots of weird things with Leopard. It also has aftermarket parts that are being lumped under Leopard. But what makes no sense is the preparedness of this crew. Critical spares? Shakedown cruise(s) before a crossing?

[@Ole_Lige]

So many horrendous Leopard horror stories

[@deestiff2332]

What a crazy story!! Leopard needs to up their game and honor their warranty for this top market catamaran!!! What an embarrassing situation for them!! Totally unacceptable!! Buyers be aware ! 😡😡😡😡

[@HannahS-zj3yv]

Very true and especially since this is not the first! My husband and I have been following another channel called Travel Sketch for a while now - great group of kids who got totally screwed. Paints a poor picture for one of the biggest brands which is such a pity because we had loved the design :/

[@en8581]

Sorry to hear about your issues. Have you found out if the problem was with the Balmar alternators (seems weird for two to be defective)? Or the way the WS500 regulators were installed/programmed? Or something else? Hopefully others can learn from your experience if you let us know what went wrong. Thanks!

[@jcoghill2]

This what you would expect from a company that has a problem with cash flow. Those hubs for battery management are notorious for blowing out. You are about to become a boat mechanic because you bought one and you wont be able to pay for a haul out for repairs every time something breaks.

[@William-kl8dp]

Cerbo kinda sucks. Get the app, set up a network of victron charge controllers on blue tooth, and look at it on your phone. You can see all of your devices individually.

[@tombone5297]

This is it. I wonder if they still have charged. All displays color gx or cerbo suck at some point. On the victron app you will see what they are doing

[@travelsketch]

Watching with interest. Way too soon to tell who is at fault for what.

[@HannahS-zj3yv]

Glad to see you guys are aware of this but so sad to see another owner... do better Leopard!!!!

[@alsmith4631]

I feel that if someone pays an extreme amount of money, you should get quality! Not a run-a-round when it comes to making things right!. The boat building industry is paid up front for a product that is suppose to work. No excuses!

[@keimo2007]

Could you do a video where you summarize how much this warranty circus has cost you so far (in USD)? It is also strange that almost new Yanmar alternators would fail like that, are you sure they were genuine parts (like one would assume), not some cheap Chinese copies? Cheers!

[@tombone5297]

Did you connect and check the MPPTS on the Victron App?

[@br5927]

shocking behaviour from Leopard, shitty after sale service, we spend so much money on a boat and to be treated like that

[@larryboles629]

Leopard doing a craw-dad on their warranty? Pray tell it isn't so.

[@sailing_utopia]

Hi Larry, we are not sure at this stage but we are hoping not. Time will tell. Thanks for your comment

[@bill2292]

Why did both your alternators blow? Every other Leopard on the water has 2 that have never blown. I believe the installing technicians must have done something incorrectly.

[@jackwickman2403]

Regarding steering vs wiring; can you disconnect the steering "tie rod" beam from the 'tiller arms" on the rudder posts and put several flat washers in between them and then connect them back together? This would raise the tie rod higher. It would rub on the bulkhead edge above the wires, but this might mean less pressure on the wires. It looks like the bolt has enough extra length to allow this. Also cut the zip ties holding the wire bundle in a circular shape and spread out the wires in a flatter, wider shape. Then a sheet of plastic or even metal could cover the wires and take the chafing. The plastic bottle is good but may not last. It's plastic is very thin. Some holes drilled in the sheet and some zip ties or rope could stop the sheet from moving out of position. Rubbing on the bulkhead edge won't do any serious damage to the tie rod. It might make noise when the steering moves but it would keep working and save the wires until you get a better fix. If the wires are damaged replacing them will be a major pain. $15,000 for 2 alternators is terrifying. How much power are they?

[@sailing_utopia]

Hi Jack, thanks for your input. It is seriously appreciated. Your method was one of two considerations. Your description of how to do it is spot-on. Ultimately, the correct way is to redo that wiring but it would be a massive job. Leopard have actually elected to do the right thing and do the job properly by redoing that wiring. Regarding the alternators, they are each 5kw. So in theory, when they are working properly, we should be able to get a total of 10kw. In retrospect, I should have cone for the Integral. More expensive but they seem to work

[@barrybarnes96]

Were those alternators built in China?

[@moonhand8311]

All very unfortunate. My advice, when setting off across an ocean, is that you must, must, carry spares of critical system components...eg alternator, water-pump, freshwater pump, auto helm motor, seals, solar fuses etc....new boat or old, it doesn't matter

[@myleswenban8858]

Good boat .. very very bad engineering and sales people not knowing what they are talking about. So many bad stories now about Leopard they cannot be ignored.

[@faircompetition1203]

The complexity of these new boats is part of the problem . It is nice to have all these systems but conversely it is much much more to go wrong . Two engines seems good , you think you always have one for backup , but what you also get is twice as many breakdowns on a boat that needs two engines to maneuver properly in the first place . Then you get all the fancy toys ,and up goes your power consumption needing way more generation meaning way more to break down . Then you put it all in a damp saltwater environment and shake it constantly . You think you are getting resort like luxury and instead spend time fixing another one of the five or so toilets that just had to be electric . It is a cascading failure too as it all ages and I hope you have deep pockets for repairs because clearly you are not able to do it .

[@rwhunt99]

Just stumbled onto this video after watching another Leopard catamaran debacle. I am wondering why you were so determined to move on ( I know you were stuck there for over a year) with an untested vessel showing some alarm bell warnings. You had a crew who was obviously concerned enough to determine to bail out. Perhaps they could distance themselves and see troublesome things. I know I'm sitting here after all the facts played out so I have 20/20 vision, but even I would be suspect; as, should we cross an ocean on an untested boat? Was it not sea trial tested? (apparently, yes but not sure how well it was tested.) You discovered the leaks as you are suffering many other issues. Hmmm . . . I do believe you should never pay 100% for something you haven't gotten/built/installed yet. You have no leverage if that happens. Trust is a very fragile ting.

[@sailinghopes3943]

It’s unfortunate your crew left but I can’t blame them. You yourself just said the “boat is sinking”

[@sailing_utopia]

Hey, thanks for your input. I agree, it felt like we were facing multiple challenges, not just the power issue. Leaving Cape Town, we encountered a barrage of issues, with more to come in the upcoming videos. Even before our departure, we were plagued by a host of problems, which we'll delve into over the next year or so through our videos (and trust me, there's plenty). As we mentioned in the video, we don't fault the crew for feeling anxious - we were right there with them. Thankfully, after allowing our heart rates to return to normal, Kevin sought advice from professionals who provided us with objective, factual assessments regarding our security for the remainder of the journey. Once the crew heard from these experts, it became evident that our instruments, fridges, and watermaker could operate optimally with solar power alone. Again, thank you for your comment. We're committed to responding to all comments and would genuinely appreciate it if you could support us by liking, subscribing, and sharing our channel with others who might find it interesting. Once more, thank you for reaching out. Melinda 😊

[@jackwickman2403]

@@sailing_utopia Refrigeration failure is something that could really happen. I don't know how many separate redundant fridges you have, but a plastic bin full of freeze dried survivalist food would be reassuring just in case. That stuff lasts for years. A small hand pumped water desalinator is good too. Makes plenty for drinking. No showers though.

[@tanenolan]

man they're starting to sound like that french catamaran company that rhymes with pagoon... so hope it all comes through ok ooh.. and go the AllBlacks :D

[@sailing_utopia]

Thanks for your support. We are starting to learn that it is not necessarily unique to our brand and manufacturer but that a lot of the yacht manufacturers have business practices that are less than desirable. I can assure you that they also have some great staff who genuinely care for customers. I think that an issue is that when these companies decide to offer you the finger, they might instruct those staff to behave like the rest of them. We are at the point now where I will find out soon. Thanks again 🙂

[@user-df5zq9up3t]

If you ever need crew i will make myself availible.

[@glenn2745]

As a former yacht broker, let me explain why this is not an uncommon experience when buying a new boat. Think of building a finished boat that is fit to cross an ocean as a systems integration project. It involves products and systems from hundreds of suppliers. With the smaller manufacturers there are also many changes from say hull 5 to hull 20, so each boat may have unique combinations of optional equipment installed and/or other aspects of build/design changed as well. Owners also have many options when fitting out their boat so this adds to the uniqueness of each boat. Over time manufacturers make changes to systems, building techniques and suppliers so the idea of a standard boat is hard to come by anyway. And these days there are so many accessories and systems, the problems and risks are so much larger as the complexity is much greater. Look at the wiring diagram of a boat today vs. one from 30 years ago and you'll see what I mean. My advice? If you are building a truly custom boat, you need to shake it down for TWO SEASONS before taking a major journey on. I know that sounds crazy but trust me, custom boats literally have endless problems. You can expect major problems with sails, rigging and and all systems. Cuz it's a one off. For any new production boat? Shake it down for an entire season. The delays are a different issue. The boat business is not easily scalable and is subject to wild ups and downs. Many builders have over built capacity only to face an economic downturn and be wiped out. This effects the labor pool as well. When demand is steep for yachts, good people are in demand and can pick and choose their work. But when it's bad, there are layoffs. So it's hard to keep a stable, talented crew. Also, when you build outside of the West, time generally has a different priority. They expect it to be late from the start, and so it is. Then there are the delays in supply chains these days which I've recently seen delay boats by a year or more. Please note that I'm not commenting on this situation directly at all as I know none of the details. Leopard may have indeed done all described here and worse. I do note that the act of publishing this video is a very aggressive way of dealing with a builder. It may be warranted but video can be used to tell any story one wants. Without giving Leopard a chance to respond, it's hard to really know what's what. And of course, they cannot respond cuz no matter how they try to defend themselves they will look bad so they will shut up publicly. Again, perhaps it's deserved but this is the nuclear strategy for sure. These new electrical systems take a lot of attention and care to configure and use properly. It's not surprising to me that this is where the issues were, fwiw.

[@glenn2745]

@@internetposta7389 Ya, I actually think they don't cuz they don't even seem to have a concept of a 'shake down' cruise. I also found the problems to be minor, which were apparently solvable almost entirely by configuration with only one bit of equipment failure. Fwiw from someone in the biz. Question for you: Why are you such an asshole?

[@travelsketch]

Yacht brokers are the absolute last people in the world that anyone should listen to regarding what is normal when purchasing a million dollar item. "they cannot respond cuz no matter how they try to defend themselves they will look bad" rubbish, Leopard/Travelopia can and have responded to public cases. Most production boat brokers/builders we have met sell people a dream and then implement a contrived system after handover to make buyers feel unreasonable for demanding a functional and seaworthy vessel for the often astronomical purchase price.

[@sailing_utopia]

Dear Glenn, I want to express my gratitude for your thorough comment. To provide some context, we have been involved with boats in Sydney since around 2002, including ownership of a monohull 34ft yacht. Prior to acquiring Utopia, Kevin conducted extensive research. So we were prepared for potential issues and anticipated delays in Cape Town, where it's common for owners to be docked for about 3 to 5 months, with extreme cases lasting up to 7 months, as in the case of Trent from the KZbin channel Travel Sketch. The acceptability of these delays, to a point, can be subjective and depends on various factors, such as aftermarket work, the extent of issues with the boat itself, and the professionalism (or lack thereof) of the service provider. Despite our agreement with many of your points, we haven't yet shared the full story. It took the factory 13 months to address warranty issues with Utopia, which will become evident as our video series progresses. The challenges we've encountered are significant, possibly falling somewhere between the minor inconveniences you mentioned and the extreme difficulties faced by Travel Sketch. After seeing Travel Sketch's videos, we now plan to haul Utopia in the hurricane season for a comprehensive survey, although we're apprehensive about what we might uncover. There's a possibility that our issues could mirror those experienced by Travel Sketch. Regarding the fairness of our narrative, as with news media these days, we acknowledge your point and assure you that viewers have the opportunity to form their own opinions. Additionally, the supplier is welcome to provide feedback or take legal action if any information is inaccurate. In the spirit of friendliness , in this specific video we made a conscious effort to refrain from naming that specific individual who treated us so badly. Glenn, we are committed to addressing your concerns and would greatly appreciate your support through likes, subscriptions, and sharing our channel with others who may find it interesting. Thank you once again for reaching out. Many thanks. Melinda

[@alltheworld2820]

Sorry to hear from your problems. But in the past many skippers have crossed the atlantic without fridge and without internet happily. Keep your boat simple: for example the standard alternator (60A or similar) is usually more reliable than all these high output aftermarket solutions. At best learn how to fix issues on your boat. As all your video is about complaining and not resolving things I suggest you to sell the Leopard and buy some other make (allthough aftersale support might not be better).

[@jlb473]

it s a shame from Leopard it is scary to have business with them

[@ignitemusic3430]

😫

[@geofferyrobertson6608]

what a shit show , companies should be more accountable example is that they all should have to put 5 million US put aside in a trust account for situations like this

[@peetky8645]

sextant and compass?

[@jackwickman2403]

If you fear total electrical failure get what is called a "taffrail log" for backup. It's a mechanical clockwork mileage counter. A small propeller type spinner is towed behind the boat on a rope and the spilling drives the mileage counter. No electricity. I have an old one made by Walker. With this and a compass you can achieve surprising accuracy. Writing down compass headings and mileages every time a wind shift forces you to change course and plotting them on a paper chart, what back in the day we called "dead reckoning" , works better than you may expect. Sailing from San Francisco to Hawaii, 2000 miles, I was off track by 10 miles and thought I was 30 miles ahead of where I really was. We did wonder where that island we should be seeing was for a few hours. Of course 2 or 3 small GPS units and a box of fresh batteries would also help.

[@jean-pierredeclemy7032]

Too much dependence on modern technology.

[@markbailey6051]

Rich mans problems, we should all be so lucky.

[@internetposta7389]

All new boats always have issues. You're spending that much on a boat. Why cheap out on a generator? You don't save money in the long run? There are two of you. Why do you need a crew? Your'e doing an Atlantic Crossing without the requisite experience? Why couldn't you text via a sat phone? Why didn't you know already from Lagoon how warranty issues would work when you're traveling. You should have done local test sails on your new boat to figure out all of these issues before going long distance. Nobody told you any of this at any time in the past or did you choose to not listen?

[@sailing_utopia]

Hi there, thank you for your comment. We did not cheap out on an electrical generator. Instead we bought two electrical generators. As you know, a generator is an alternator with a motor. What blew is our two high output alternators. Total cost nearly $15,000. The reason we need crew is for watches. Night and day watches. Kevin and the two young crew did continuous 3 hour shifts for 42 days and nights. I cooked and cleaned and made sure that the three of them were looked after and could focus on the crossing. In this video, the main subject matter was that we had these bad experiences and that they presented themselves in a frightening way. A separate and valid issue is how Leopard honour their part. Kevin is dealing with that now and we will keep you updated. We did have a sat phone for absolute SOS-type emergencies only. For the rest, we had to try make Starlink work for us. We did do small local test sails but this is not the same as a major crossing. We're committed to trying our very best to respond your comments and would genuinely appreciate it if you could support us by liking, subscribing, and sharing our channel with others who might find also it interesting. Once more, thank you for reaching out. Melinda 😊

[@jackwickman2403]

Is this "tough love" or just really harsh?

[@internetposta7389]

@@jackwickman2403 It's the same as the other comments here if you read them. Crossing an ocean unprepared is not so bueno.

[@jackwickman2403]

@@internetposta7389 So "tough love" it is.

[@momosworld7312]

Leopard and NOBODY can make a FOOL proof boat.

[@sailing_utopia]

Hey there, thanks for your comment. Anybody that expects a FOOL proof boat, is a fool. Stick around to see the extent of the issues on this boat. Also, search Travel Sketch to see the extent of issues on their boat. It is like a horror movie