Warranty claims

Every winch and compass we manufacture carries the Seven Seas Guarantee. The terms are on the Shipping FAQ. This page is how you actually make a claim.

What is covered

Tidebreaker winches and Gullwing compasses, because we build them. Barnacle-B-Gone is not covered — we do not manufacture it, and its maker warrants it for 24 months against blistering only. Nothing else in the catalogue carries our guarantee; those items carry whatever their manufacturer offers, and we will tell you what that is before you buy.

Where is the serial plate?

On a Tidebreaker it is on the underside of the motor housing, stamped into the casting — not the sticker, which fades. On a Gullwing it is etched on the rim of the bowl, under the bezel, readable once you lift the gimbal. The number begins with the two-digit year of manufacture. If the plate is unreadable we can usually still identify the unit from the gearbox casting mark, so bring it in rather than assuming it is beyond help.

How to claim

Take the item and its serial number to any chandlery in our partner network, or to the counter at 14 Pelican Quay. There is no form and no receipt required. The chandlery photographs the plate and the fault and sends both to us; we decide within three working days and tell you and them at the same time. If it is a warranty repair we pay the return freight both ways.

How long does a repair take?

Ten working days from the day the unit reaches Pelican Quay, and we hold enough stock to send a replacement instead if the repair would run past that. Compass repairs wait for the swing table, which runs Wednesdays only, so a compass arriving on a Thursday will be a week older before anyone touches it. We say so when you claim rather than letting you wonder.

What voids the guarantee

Three things, and only these: opening the sealed gearbox, running a Tidebreaker on a supply outside 22 to 30 volts, and any repair carried out by someone outside the partner network. Ordinary corrosion does not void it. Neither does age within the seven years, and neither does having bought the unit second-hand — the guarantee follows the serial plate, not the owner.

If we are wrong

Ask for Maren. Claims that get refused and should not have been are nearly always a fault we have not seen before, and those are worth a conversation rather than a letter. The VHF and counter details are on Contact.