Our goal is to inform other unsuspecting sailors, or wanna be sailors, so they can avoid the mistakes we made in having an Admiral 40 built with Tim Duncan, owner of Celtic Yachts. In our opinion, Celtic Yachts should never build another vessel and hopefully we can help someone avoid the problems we have had. This is our story.
Our contact with Tim Duncan and Celtic Yachts began when we found an Admiral 40 for sale in Cape Town, South Africa in 2021. We fell in love with the boat, built by the previous owner of the molds for the Admiral 40. We had NO idea that the new builder was so devious. We have contemplated numerous times whether he is a liar or incompetent - we are convinced he is both.
To give you a glimpse to the end, we have received our vessel, we had to finish ourselves and NO WARRANTY work has been provided for the work the builder did. We have leaks - almost every opening leaks! The gelcoat has cracked, pealed off, and was just plain not finished. Here is a sample of some of the handy work.
Keep in mind the boat was launched March 30th, 2023. We have sailed it from Cape Town to Brunswick, GA (approximately 7,000 miles) and attempted to work extensively with the builder; however, he ignores, refuses to pay vendors, delays works saying he has another vendor that never shows, fails to follow up with vendors that SHOULD be covering the work - Whale.
Tim Duncan does not even oversee the build. He is frequently in the UK, where he spends 6 months of each year while he is transfering his citizenship. I hope the UK knows what sort of citizen they are getting.
BUYER BEWARE!
See more details of our build here:
