The ship yard has finally finished most of their commissioning work and has officially delivered our new yacht to our dealer to start the ex-factory works. We are 3-4 weeks away from finally getting our boat.
If you follow us on Facebook you would have seen a photo about 2 weeks ago of the boat with red dots all over her. These were markers put there by the yacht dealer to indicate a defect that the factory staff needed to fix. Most were cosmetic, some indicated required adjustments and in a few cases they marked where fittings were missing. All of that has now been rectified and our boat has officially been handed over by Fountaine Pajot (the boat builder) to Multihull Solutions (the yacht dealer) who are now responsible for organising the dealer works we’ve requested.
In addition to fixing defects the factory has also installed the solar panels and they did a nice job of the frame and its fixture to the cockpit canopy. We have 1.2 kW, somewhat less than the minimum of 2.0 kW we wanted. Apparently, there is a technical reason for this, related to the electric motors, which I don’t understand. So this is it for now.
The other main job that the factory had to do was install the box that the BBQ sits on, where the yellow tape is in the picture below. The actual factory option is for this box (made from fibreglass) to be installed including the BBQ and a copper pipe connection to the boat’s gas supply. We didn’t want their BBQ; we wanted a Weber. Under french law a gas pipe can’t be installed without an appliance connected to it, and this meant that the boat builder couldn’t install the gas pipe. Apparently, installing the BBQ box without a BBQ and without the gas pipe is just too confusing for the factory’s production line. So, the boat was sent from the factory without the BBQ box, and with the seat extending all the way across the stern. Now that the boat is off the production line, the factory has dispatched a worker who is in the process of shortening the seat rail, as you can see in the photo, repairing the holes where the removed section of seat railing was mounted (the yellow stickers mark the holes), removing the fastenings that hold the seat cushions in place, and will then attach the BBQ box. Mmmm…
Now there are a number of jobs that the dealer has to organise, including installing a hard top over the helm station (steering wheel) and making a canvas enclosure around the cockpit and helm. We are also having a water maker (desalinator) installed and a passerelle (small gangway) to allow us easy access when tied stern-to against a dock.
They’ll also be organising some extra electronics and electrical equipment we requested; additional power outlets around the inside of the boat; installing the life raft; and some other minor works. This work which is performed by subcontractors will take 3-4 weeks. While this is happening the yacht dealer will check that everything on the boat is working correctly and will start our technical brief so that we know how to use everything on board.
At this stage we expect to moving on board sometime around 8 May.
Sailing Songa 
Brilliant!! Even with measles she looked gorgeous, now she is a real beauty. We hope it goes to plan (and timeline 😀) and you’ll be learning and loving your new home soon.
Bon chance, mes amis!! 😜
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