I bought Severne Enigma 140-190 online in Dec 2015. I was under impression that I'm buying eternal boom (based on reviews from this forum too), but on my third session in rough conditions it snapped. First, I sent pictures to shop and they refused to change the boom. I was reassured by few friends to send it back for warranty claim, that Severne is very correct in solving them. I've even heard about one concrete case same as mine where shop changed it without problems. I decided to ship it to the shop and asked them to send it to Severne. Now, after two months and numerous mails they're telling me that Severne declined the claim and they're asking additional shipping money to ship back the broken boom.
Bad, bad, baaaad investment....

That is really discouraging to hear! I hope something can be done for you in order for Severne to make it right for you. I have not had good luck myself with Severne products. I had bought a Severne Convert 6.7 sail and had issues with the battons breaking through the sail and the stitching coming undone. The dealer fixed the sail where the battons broke through for me free of charge, but not the stitching. I ended up purchasing a heating tool and melting the loose stitching to the sail. Seemed to work. I would stay away from Sevene, don't think the quality is good.

****!! 800€ spent for that boom and it was broken so soon! Incredible! Hope Severne will consider to change it for a new one FOR FREE and consider better the value of the money of the customers!
Good luck!

Hi

You must e-mail directly severne.......there are a lot of shop who give a **** for the customers!!! Just want your money and then they let go and dont want to do after sales customer care.
I have had some issues with severne kit and all was solved directly with severne because the shops dont care and dont want to take time in solving warranty claims

I have a enigma boom and they are great....i think you got one with production defect so they must change for a new one.
Severne is a correct brand as far my experience goes.

http://www.severnesails.com/contact-us

Cheers!!

Select to expand quote

Magic Ride said..
That is really discouraging to hear! I hope something can be done for you in order for Severne to make it right for you. I have not had good luck myself with Severne products. I had bought a Severne Convert 6.7 sail and had issues with the battons breaking through the sail and the stitching coming undone. The dealer fixed the sail where the battons broke through for me free of charge, but not the stitching. I ended up purchasing a heating tool and melting the loose stitching to the sail. Seemed to work. I would stay away from Sevene, don't think the quality is good.

Sorry about the breakage. I agree all my Severne Reflex and Overdrives have very poor quality control on stitching but are very fast. There is fraying all over them, but I also have Naish and Mauisails which are finished really well and all stitching is great. I will follow this thread as I'm about to purchase an Enigma Slalom boom and will be interested if anyone else has had dramas. I also think that for what it's worth in the windsurfing community Severne should replace it to show their customers they care about reputation.

I am very surprised to hear that. I used to work for a Severne dealer a few years back when they were having problems with the Enigma masts. They were all replaced, even when faults were minor ie not broken yet. Sometimes it took a while for the replacements to arrive, but they did. I also know of one case where a mast base broke and Ben Severne (who was at the beach at the time) told the owner to take it back to the shop for exchange and tell them I will replace it.
I agree with mmilhazes that you should email Severne directly.
Good luck

out of interest - how heavy are you and how many booms have you broken in the past?

Normally companies will detail a reason for rejecting a warranty claim in writing via a warranty claim report or form.

Have you been sent any correspondence detailing the reason why the claim was rejected.

Everything is unbreakable and lives for eternity until you let humans near it.

As above get in contact with Severne directly.

Maybe it seen your Freestyle Wave board set up like a slalom board and committed suicide..

Maybe swift and shift the online couriers got hold of it. Paully probably tried to bash kev with it, or maybe bobo made a comeback and chain sawed it. Seriously though, there is a pretty good chance it was damaged in transport. People think swift and shift was a comedy but it was more like a documentary. Ive got two enigma booms, im 105kg, and i reckon they are good booms, no probs for me. Good luck with it, if no warranty probably a good candidate to sleeve on the inside, nice clean break.

Look into the Chinook Pro 1 alloy boom. Very popular, solid and affordable boom! I have catapulted many times with those booms in gusty conditions and have never broke one.

Can you elaborate on exactly how it snapped? You mentioned 'rough conditions'? I know heaps of people who have been using this boom for 5+ years without issue.

dont know how you did that ?
had the same severne enigma boom for about four years
100 kg plus speed sailor
had a catapult at over 35 knots
broke mast and destroyed sail only thing to break on the boom was the clamp rope.

Select to expand quote

mmilhazes said..
You must e-mail directly severne.......there are a lot of shop who give a **** for the customers!!! Just want your money and then they let go and dont want to do after sales customer care.
I have had some issues with severne kit and all was solved directly with severne because the shops dont care and dont want to take time in solving warranty claims

I have a enigma boom and they are great....i think you got one with production defect so they must change for a new one.
Severne is a correct brand as far my experience goes.

http://www.severnesails.com/contact-us

Cheers!!

Agreed. Definitely try to contact Severne directly.

I had similar unexpected equipment breakage, and left it to the local shop to deal with. The owner apparently thought it was my fault, and later said the warranty claim had been denied. It seems he never contacted the distributor or the company. When I got in contact with the distributor, the response was much more reasonable. They ended up paying for half of the repair, even though the repair guy did not find a manufacturing defect. If he had found one, the distributor would have paid for the entire repair.

Needless to say, this store is now on the bottom of the list when I look around to buy new equipment. I have heard quite a few stories from other windsurfers where the "advice" they received obviously had the main goal to move existing inventory, and not to get them the best gear for their needs.

Sooo much feedback and support! Thanks for all the tips and criticism (P.C_simpson ;-) I was experimenting with setup that day)
I contacted Severne directly as more than few of you said and I'm hoping for better answer than I got from the shop.
When I was about to buy it they sounded friendly, encouraged me to buy and responded very promptly to messages. When I asked about warranty, suddenly my mails were "going to junk" and took ages to get reply.
I'm around 80 kg, first year or two I used some old boom from around 2000 that I bought with my first learning kit. It survived everything in many session. Got few scratches and looked ugly, so as I advanced, I figured I should buy nicer boom. It was Pro Limit Teamwave 160-210 and lasted only for ten sessions or so. I read around the web (here too) and learned that carbon booms are the way to go if one wants to save money in long run. So I decided to go that way. From what I've read I was little afraid that I'll brake my ribs before the boom.

You still haven't explained the circumstances when it broke "in rough conditions".

Did you have a massive catapult into the boom at 30 knots?

The general theme here is that Severne product is first class, and so is their service when there is a problem. The standard Severne warranty does not cover damage or failure caused by normal wear and tear, abuse, impact, negligence, UV damage or damage caused through abrasion, improper dealer service, improper connection of components or incorrect storage. The warranty is only valid if the product is purchased through an authorised Severne dealer. Without knowing the cause of the boom breakage, or the reason(s) for Serverne denying your warranty claim, it is difficult to guide you.

Heck! Im doing it . I'm gonna buy a enigma . Today ! Tuesday very windy!! Yew!!!!!!

Gee Wiz! So what's left? What does the warranty cover? How are you supposed to prove to the manufacturer that there is a defect then? Sounds pretty rigid to me. Now I will for sure never do business with Severne. Thanks for the firm heads up!!

Select to expand quote

Magic Ride said...
Gee Wiz! So what's left? What does the warranty cover? How are you supposed to prove to the manufacturer that there is a defect then? Sounds pretty rigid to me. Now I will for sure never do business with Severne. Thanks for the firm heads up!!

Bet you cant find a warranty from any manufacturer of any product that covers abuse, impact, normal, wear and tear etc.etc..

We still havent heard the circumstances of the failure nor the reason for the rejected claim. Bit rough on the manufacturer in my opinion.

Select to expand quote

Mark (AUS-746) said..
The general theme here is that Severne product is first class, and so is their service when there is a problem. The standard Severne warranty does not cover damage or failure caused by normal wear and tear, abuse, impact, negligence, UV damage or damage caused through abrasion, improper dealer service, improper connection of components or incorrect storage. The warranty is only valid if the product is purchased through an authorised Severne dealer. Without knowing the cause of the boom breakage, or the reason(s) for Serverne denying your warranty claim, it is difficult to guide you.

Yeah but it was 3 sessions. My experience with Severne is they would definitely replace that, so sounds like a shop / distributor lack of will or interest to me.

It was catapult. And very first one I had with this boom. The wind was gusty, I was caught off guard and it pulled me. As wind was getting stronger, I decided to turn the board back to the beach, waterstarted, slowly surfed back (now I was using opposite side of the boom) and got out. Then, I noticed that other side of the boom bends, pulled it few times and it fell apart.

When I was buying it, I wanted to be sure that investment will cover all circumstances, so I asked specific question if I'll get replacement if it brakes in the catapult and the answer was: "I think we will change it for now we don't have broken enigma". Based on that, I figured that I'll be fine for one year, at least.

The answer I got from the shop was that Severne does not want to change it because it's not defect in boom, but that it comes from high pressure on the side that happens in situation when one falls and stays in ropes.

From what I've read around the web is that people heavier than me had carbon booms that survived many catapults for many years. I was also told that carbon booms either brake quickly or last forever. The theory behind that is that the ones that brake quickly have defect in carbon quality.

Three sessions, one catapult. Is that the norm for high end carbon boom?

It may be worth considering the warranty laws in your legal jurisdiction as you explore your rights via the dealer or local distributor. In QLD, a product has to be fit for all of its usual purposes and conditions. Given you have purchased a premium product (at least in terms of sailboard booms), and given that a salesperson represented that the boom would survive a catapult, and given that the break occurred on your third outing ... you have a strong case to have your warranty claim reviewed by the manufacturer and/ or by your local consumer affairs agency - I'd try Severne first. This all assumes that you purchased from an authorised Severne dealer and you have retained your purchase documentation.

These are your legal rights:

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Repair, replacement or refund You can ask a business for your preference of a free repair, replacement or refund, but you are not always entitled to one. For example, the consumer guarantees do not apply if you got what you asked for but simply changed your mind, found it cheaper somewhere else, decided you did not like the purchase or had no use for it. See: Exceptions to consumer guarantees If you have a minor problem with a product or service, the business can choose to give you a free repair instead of a replacement or refund. When you have a major problem with a product, you have the right to ask for your choice of a replacement or refund. For a major problem with a service, you can choose to receive compensation for the drop in value below the price paid, or a refund. Repairs If the problem with a product or service is minor, you must accept a free repair if the business offers you one. If the business fails to give you a free repair within a reasonable time or cannot fix your problem, you can: •get it done elsewhere and pass on the costs to the business •ask for a replacement •ask for a refund •recover compensation for the drop in value below the price paid. Repair notices Under the Australian Consumer Law, businesses accepting goods for repair must provide consumers with repair notices when: •the goods being repaired are capable of retaining user-generated data, for example, mobile phones, computers, portable music players and other similar electronic goods •it is the repairer’s practice to supply refurbished goods rather than repair defective goods, or to use refurbished parts in the repair of defective goods. The consumer must receive the repair notice in writing before the goods are accepted by the business for repair. Replacements and refunds You can ask for a replacement or refund if the problem with the product is major. Replaced products must be of an identical type to the product originally supplied. Refunds should be the same amount you have already paid, provided in the same form as your original payment. The business may take into account how much time has passed since you bought the product considering the following factors: •type of product •how a consumer is likely to use the product •the length of time for which it is reasonable for the product to be used •the amount of use it could reasonably be expected to tolerate before the failure becomes noticeable. For a major problem with services you can cancel the contract and obtain a refund or seek compensation for the drop in value of your services provided compared to the price paid. What is a major problem? A product or good has a major problem when: •it has a problem that would have stopped someone from buying it if they’d known about it •it is unsafe •it is significantly different from the sample or description •it doesn’t do what the business said it would, or what you asked for and can’t easily be fixed. A service has a major problem when: •it has a problem that would have stopped someone from buying it if they’d known about it •it is substantially unfit for its common purpose and can’t easily be fixed within a reasonable time •it does not meet the specific purpose you asked for and cannot easily be fixed within a reasonable time •it creates an unsafe situation. Returning the product You are entitled to return a product if you believe that there is a problem. You are generally responsible for returning the product if it can be posted or easily returned. You are entitled to recover reasonable postage or transportation costs from the business if the product is confirmed to have a problem, so keep your receipts. When a product is too large, too heavy or too difficult to remove, the business is responsible for paying the shipping costs or collecting the product within a reasonable time of being notified of the problem. Examples include: •a wide screen TV •a bed •an extension ladder stuck in the extended position •a product that has been subsequently installed, like a stove or a dishwasher. You do not have to return products in the original packaging in order to get a refund. If the product is found not to have a problem, you may be required to pay the transport or inspection costs. An estimate of these costs should be provided to you before the product is collected, and the costs must not be inflated in an attempt to deter you from pursuing your claims. Approaching the retailer or manufacturer The retailer who sold you the product or service cannot refuse to help you by sending you to the manufacturer or importer. You can approach the manufacturer or importer directly, however, you will only be entitled to recover costs from them, which include an amount for reduction in the product’s value and in some cases compensation for damages or loss. You cannot demand a repair, replacement or refund from the manufacturer. See also: Who to claim a remedy from 'No refund' signs and expired warranties It is against the law for businesses to tell you or show signs stating that they do not give refunds under any circumstances, including for gifts and during sales. Your rights under the consumer guarantees do not have a specific expiry date and can apply even after any warranties you’ve got from a business have expired.

From my experience a catapult is the only way to break a carbon boom

Select to expand quote

Foghorn said..
From my experience a catapult is the only way to break a carbon boom

I've catapulted against my X9 too many times to count.

What was the purpose of this thread?

You catapulted into a boom and it broke. End of story.

Do you feel better after posting photos and complaining publicly?

Select to expand quote

wind012 said..
What was the purpose of this thread?

You catapulted into a boom and it broke. End of story.

Do you feel better after posting photos and complaining publicly?

And your little quip is supposed to add what to the discussion?
Obviously your reading of the thread hasn't grasped the issue with lack product support not being to the standard customers expect, and suppliers claim.

If I was you i would call Severne directly. ( ph no on their website). I'm my experience if you can make contain with the manufaturer you're replacement Seems to come easier. Which is bullsh1t as you buy from a store not Severne.

I would say it's a Defect, as one of my favourite moves is the catapult And my boom is years old. And I even found one of the bottom of then ocean that is still goiNg strong. So I reckon the boom is a good product

The purpose of this thread is to inform all not to buy Wal-Mart quality booms anymore... Lol!! And of course to share windsurfing experiences with others, as this is what we do on this site. Some good, some bad, but at the end, all is good with these educational experiences. I enjoy reading the unique experiences we all share and bring to the table.

Expecting a boom to survive a catapult just seems unreasonable to me.

Obviously, rightly or wrongly, he'll get his wish and get a new boom after this thread when Severne 'come to the rescue' to make a happy ending.