Posted by Frank Minelli (myslo@…>)
Alan, thanks for your response. I am aware of the group forming, and yes, that will be good .
I am thinking , however, of sailors, and indeed boat owners in general. We all buy stuff, and we all get taken awsomely at times -and, vice versa, have very good experiences. If there isnt an organization that keeps a data base on such information, by golly, there ought to be one.!
As to specific experiences: If you ever decide its time to replace steering pedestal, or parts thereof, the riser (the very base of the steering pedestal) beware, they (they, being Edson)will sell you a new one, much ¨watered down¨ (1/4¨ casting instead of the old half inch) and what is much worse, they will assure you that it will fit the old holes, alas, it does not, and there is no practical way to make it fit.¨(being down in Venezuela, its kind of hard to return the stuff for credit, and they have yet to offer to take it back)
They will also sell you a ¨corrosion resistant¨ idler plate (the plate to which the sheaves inside the bottom are attached) Turns out, that ¨corrosion restiant plate is mild steel, with no more than one mil of paint on it, no zinc, or any other inhibitive primer, just a thin coat of badly adhering (you can scratch it off with your fingernail) black paint.! The kicker here is, that they do have a plate that is all bronze, but the salesman there had not found it necessary to tell me this, although I had informed him that the old idler plate had corroded to the point where a distaster would surely have occurred had I left it in there unchecked.
On top of it all, after installing the new wheel shaft, with all new bearings, etc, there was considerable play in it (being able to move the shaft up and down, to the point where you could hear the movement and even see it when using a maginifying glass)
Asking them for help and support? Forget it. You get answers that must have been formulated by their legal department.
Even ordering the stuff was a hassle. E mailing them does not much good, since they will respond days later. You have to e mail and follow it up with faxes and or phone calls.
You would think these people are incompetent, the way they act, but I dont think so. I think itis monumental indifference, stemming from the fact that they are so pre eminent in their field. Where else do we go to buy replacement steering gear?
Yahoo! Mail Mobile Take Yahoo! Mail with you! Check email on your mobile phone.