Guys If you have ever had anything to do with Leisure cat please feel free to send Kev at leisurecat your experiences good or bad.

Dear LeisureCat owners, operators and Drivers.

Last week we were the subject of some ill-informed and badly worded press by way of an errant reporter in an edition of the West Australian.

The ramifications of which may be large or nothing. Those who know the boats certainly know better. Those who do not and those who may be our competitors will have different opinions.

Certainly the particular ex-ship’s Captain of questionable academic background who now holds a cushy job with AMSA knows nothing and knows even less about Cats.

The AFP are under fire for the way they are handling their part in the Boat people crisis. They want to deflect as much heat as they can, even I would have thought twice about tackling those seas that close to shore in an 8m to save those people that drowned, but instead of simply saying they wouldn’t risk more lives using their crew who are not trained for such work in such conditions, someone simply chose to deflect and say our boat had been deemed unfit due to buoyancy concerns to waterline.

I received a defects notice from AMSA via the AFP to do with the boat, but all of the items on the list were petty items like Battery storage vents, scupper sizes and separation of 12 volt cabling from fuel line areas and questions to do with tanks structure. All items witnessed by the WA Dept. of Transport and OK under USL and local Marine regulations. There was no mention by AMSA over concerns of weight or waterline in that defect list, none.

They have three of our boats up in Christmas and Cocos Islands, one was given to FESA as a Sea Rescue boat. They have had since middle 2008. These boat have been operating without incident and in all manner of seas as Rescue and Apprehension boats for that time. In December 2009 the AFP decided to take out of WA Survey and put all of their boats into Survey with AMSA (Australian Maritime Safety Authority). Just ask the WA department of Surveyors here what they think of AMSA and the credentials of same.

The boats had been passed by our Department and given the relevant Survey certificates for use as specified for 6 passengers and 2 crew.

During the change of Survey, the clown that was in charge took one look at the waterline to deck height at rear of boat and deemed the boat unsafe unless used in restricted waters of only 1.5m or less. This is despite the same craft being given an open water 2C Survey certificate here in Fremantle by the Department of Transport. Believe me, they too are not happy. Look out for their response to the article in the West also.

So it begins.

To simply state our 8m boat is unsafe is a big call in any stretch and one we intend to fight vehemently. Our boats are not unsafe, indeed I would much rather be in a similar situation in an 8m LeisureCat than any other boat pound for pound. It is simply the twisting of the story spun by a reporter quoting a nameless AMSA inspector passed on by a AFP officer who wanted no part of it.

To make a stand I intend to take a full page out in the West of customer testimonials from any of you willing to write a short testimonial that may be simply how much you like the boat and why to a small recounting of an experience you had in seas you’d rather not be in and how you felt.

We have always been here to receive any of your stories good or bad on our product and always striving to improve service and product.

I hope we can set not only the public straight about the safety of our boats but that this is also read by those who hide in the shadows hoping to bring us down and they can see the support we have from those who know the boats. There is an element at large in FESA that only want alloy RIB hulls that hope to exclude us from the market in Sea Rescue. Whatever it is, we intend to answer the challenge.

Any return email testimonials will only be used with your permission. Feel free to pass onto other owners and operators of our boats I may have missed.

Thanks in advance.

Kind Regards,

Kevin Horsley

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