Buy a new yacht turned into a nightmare
SV Liger is a 2021 Leopard 45 catamaran. She was purchased new from Leopard Catamarans and collected in Cape Town, South Africa, where she was manufactured by boat builder Robertson & Caine.
Our dream of full-time liveaboard cruising became a nightmare when, over the course of years, severe manufacturing defects in our Leopard Catamaran were discovered. Voids, cracks, dry fiberglass, a ruined engine, windows falling out, leaking hatches, a replaced mast… the list is hundreds of items long. We spent years in marina’s and on hardstands, trying to make the best decisions we could with the information available at the time.
Our buying experience was nothing like what we expected, and after a year of trying to resolve these issues privately, we chose to share our reality publicly to promote honesty and accountability in the industry.
This page compiles review videos, surveyor reports, and testing data documenting our journey, reflecting how, after years on hardstands across multiple continents, SV Liger has almost been fully rebuilt so we can finally pursue the world exploration we set out to achieve.
Leopard 45 Catamaran Review Videos
These videos explain some of the new boat warranty issues we faced which impact almost all areas of the yacht. Click on a thumbnail to watch or you can see the complete playlist of 50+ videos on our YouTube channel.
Over the course of the channel, Robertson & Caine staff managed to have two videos taken down. Both have been re-uploaded to YouTube with edits, and are marked with CENSORED. The Is Warranty Worth It? video only needed an image censored, and you can watch the original Flying Motor video here.
Are we the ONLY Leopard Catamaran with serious defects? Absolutely NOT!
Many owners choose to stay private, however we have featured some other hulls on our channel, including in a video about tap testing for dry fiberglass, and in our original video about the widespread window issue on Leopard Catamarans.
Our Leopard Catamaran’s surveyor reports
Our Leopard Catamaran has been hauled out in South Africa, Italy and Trinidad, undergoing warranty repairs in each location. During our time in Italy, Robertson & Caine requested a marine survey be done one our Leopard 45 as part of the warranty process.
SV Liger surveyors report
This survey was done by Rebulla Surveyors in Italy within 6 months of the yacht leaving Cape Town where it was handed over. It was prepared by after Robertson & Caine requested we submit a surveyors report as part of our warranty claim documents. We’ve redacted the personal information of the surveyor and detailed the R&C response in the video below.
SV Liger fiberglass hull scans
These are the fiberglass hull scans and report for our Leopard 45 catamaran after one ocean crossing. It only covered a limited area around the bridge deck and crossbeam mounts. The report was written by SGP Testing, an Italian company, within 6 months of the yacht leaving V&A Marina in Cape Town where the yacht was handed over.
Offer to Leopard Catamarans
Earlier this year we made an offer to Leopard Catamarans. It was a peace offering made in recognition of all of the good and decent people that work in the industry, including at Travelopia, Leopard Catamarans and Robertson & Caine, who shouldn’t get dragged down due to the poor workmanship, disgraceful behaviour and inaction of others.
It is not something that would make us feel like it was okay, acceptable or worth it to have gone through what we have.
At the time of publishing, 2 July 2024, no further response has been received.
