Article on new Waypoint 36

[JustBob]

SlowBoat has an article on the new Waypoint 36 from Tomco:

Birth of a New Boat | Waypoint 36 from Tomco Marine – Slowboat

Includes comparisons to several other boats in this class.

I have no interest in this boat/etc, just passing along, no rocks please, yada yada.

JustBob
M/V Mahalo - Blog

[Nightsky]

Looks like that boat could be a "home run" for Tomco. Great value.

[dhays]

I hope they are successful with it. Looks like a nice option for a cruising couple. The only downside I see is the lack of generator. Having said that, if there is sufficient solar capability and the buyers are folks who conserve energy like sailors instead of power-boaters, it should do well.

[Benthic2]

Its a shame they didn't put the American Tug 365 in the table.

I like the boat, and if its cheaper than the AT365 with the same hull, I wonder if it will cannabalize the AT sales.

[dhays]

Originally Posted by Benthic2

Its a shame they didn't put the American Tug 365 in the table.

I like the boat, and if its cheaper than the AT365 with the same hull, I wonder if it will cannabalize the AT sales.

They didn't include the AT365 in the table because the AT365 is a LOT more expensive as typically fit out and delivered.

My guess is that those that would buy a new AT365 will continue to do so. Buyers who are spending that kind of money will still want to get the boat that will best meet their needs. I think the Wayfarer will appeal more to either the boater that new to the market, or possibly someone who would normally buy a used boat but don't want the initial maintenance worries.

[tfmkevin]

We're adding the AT365 to the table in the article now. Thanks for the suggestion!

We originally didn't include it in the table because despite sharing the same hull, the two boats are very different, and I expect the buyers would be different as well.

The AT365 is a single cabin boat (versus double cabin for the Waypoint), and most of the space for the extra cabin comes out of the port side of the engine room. If you want things like a large generator (a small generator could probably still be fit into the Waypoint), larger house batteries, more engine access, larger engine, larger tankage, etc. - and if you want the room to add additional components like water maker, etc, you'd need the 365. As mentioned the AT365 is a lot more custom (and customizable) and is more robust for long-range cruising for 2, and the much higher price reflects that.

The Waypoint has made a smart (in my opinion) set of compromises and optimizations to keep the price much lower, but I don't think it will pull away potential AT365 buyers.

[Benthic2]

I know the AT365 isn't a direct, apples to apples comparison to the Waypoint, but neither are the other boats that are in the table.

Its a great looking boat. I hope it does well!

[JLD]

Personally, I don't like the saloon.

While I find a dinette an okay use of space in smaller boats, in a boat this size I would much rather see a settee than a dinette, as a settee to me is more comfortable than a dinette.

Jim

[LDomela]

We agree that a settee is more comfortable. It appears that the compromise in the Waypoint was related to (1) the large Isotherm fridge/freezer (which would be awesome with more people on board to feed), and (2) that a settee in that amount of space wouldn't be able to comfortably seat the 4 people that you can sleep in the two cabins. The large dinette easily seats 4 for meals.

[Airstream345]

Looks like a great option for couples and cruising families with young kids. Does anyone know if Tomco gives tours? As a self-confessed "how it's made junkie" I'm always up for a good tour (GM, LL Bean and Boeing are just a few so far). Might be a fun PNW TF meetup idea.

[BandB]

Wifey B:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krD4hdGvGHM

[JustBob]

They definitely give tours and it is fascinating. It is great to see the boats in various stages of completion.

[Salish Nomad]

This could very well be our next boat.

[Moonfish]

From Tomco Marine in La Conner, WA, the folks who build American Tugs:

Birth of a New Boat | Waypoint 36 from Tomco Marine – Slowboat

Actually a very well written review. One of the best I've read in awhile.

[RT Firefly]

Volvo power? Wouldn't touch it even if free.

[Benthic2]

The writer of the article seems to expect that reaction and gets fairly defensive about the Volvo.

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. B. I sort of got that sense as well. Fine and dandy to say "We've changed" But fool me once...
I'm actually surprised at the number of new boats with Volvos at the local boat shows. Could be that Volvo sells to builders dirt cheap and recoups any losses several years down the road when the vessel is off warranty. No skin off the builder's nose and Volvo can charge anything they want for replacement parts. NOT saying this IS the case but the historical price of Volvo parts and factory support is known. A bad reputation is hard to live down.

[Lou_tribal]

To be clear, as an introduction, I am not a fond of volvo in any way so bare with me for the following question...
Looks like a lot people here are against volvo engines, may I ask for more info as of why is that?
Being from european origins, volvo has quite a good reputation for cars and trucks there so my question, just to educate myself.

L

[Fletcher500]

Volvo was not good to me. Wouldn’t use them again. With that said, there are a lot of people out there who like them.

[ghost]

It’s about support. They build good products, generally, but everybody eventually has issues. It’s about what and how they handle those issues. However in the US they don’t support their products per se, they farm that out to their dealers. The dealer is not just there to be the go between, and act as a conduit. They are supposed to be the mechanism to support the customer end to end, even when the dealership is in a losing position. You can never remove all conflicts of interest as the dealer is never a disinterested party from their own point of view. The bottom line, is that Volvo is that the customer can lose in ways that just don’t happen with Cat, Cummins, Detroit and pretty much everyone else. Personally, I lost support on three engine rebuilds that started while the he engines were within warranty, but because the dealer had not understood an intentionally misleading service bulletin by Volvo they did not feel they should take the hit. True enough, but contractually they were/are supposed to be the fallback support mechanism. There is no escalation to Volvo. They simply ask if you would like to contact a different dealer. Why would another dealer ever feel that they should pay for something a different dealer was involved in. The fault is with Volvo, and only Volvo. So as a customer, I bore the brunt of two and a half rebuilds for a latent defect that Volvo had known about since manufacture and had issued in their eyes a bulletin for. In monetary terms, that was roughly $20k.

THAT is why I will never own another Volvo in my lifetime. Oh, and i did eventually talk with someone at Volvo, not just the dealer. No help. They could care less. I have a metallurgist report, paid for by me. I have found actual defective parts out of the engines, tangibly demonstrating they were in fact present, not just possible. I have an actual copy of the elusive service bulletin with matching serial numbers and I have a documented history of both failure within the warranty period as well as documentation of the dealer not following the prescribed repair during the period they were not aware of the bulletin, leading to more failures outside of the warranty period because the cause known by Volvo was not addressed. Open and shut? Not according to Volvo. Don’t know what more could be provided, but they were ambivalent. Talk to the dealer is all they ever wanted to say and these were the senior guys, not just the gatekeepers.

Bottom line, Volvo just won’t support you when you need it most, even when it’s as cut and dry as it gets. You won’t be able to control when you find yourself caught between Volvo and their weird farmed out support framework.