Recent Grounding of Cheoy Lee 41 off Vieques

[bobola]

A friend recently lost his 41' Cheoy Lee Offshore sailboat on a reef there.

Anyone posting from there..??

[Joli]

In the Spanish Virgins? The area is very well charted, how did he do that? I would be curious to hear the story.

[bobola]

Long story, but the short version is that he left St. Croix heading for PR, single handing, and apparently made a navigation error at night.

[Joli]

There are a couple spots between Culebra and Vieques that jump up from nowhere. That's ashame, maybe he made it into Fajardo?

[holmek]

Hi Joli, Do you have a C&C 40? I am thinking of buying one but am nervous about the cored hull and rod rigging for ocean sailing. Any comments welcome. Thanks, holmek

[KestrelBuck]

Hi Holmek,
We are taking the thread off track, but ...
A short time ago I made a similar inquiry about cored hulls. To summarize: Coring makes the hull light and strong if done correclty. A good surveyor will be able to detect delamination and/or rotting of the core below the water line. A thru-hull on a cored hull is a potential point of water ingress on a cored hull if not done right. When the hull was laid it up there should have been solid glass at the points where a thru-hull was to be installed. If thru-hulls were installed after the hull was built then at the point of the hole the core should have been taken back far enough to put in epoxy and seal the core material away from any possible moisture. My own sense of things is that the older the boat, the more likely it is that there has been moisture ingress unless you know explicitly the history of the boat and its owners.

As for rod riggning, there are pros and cons which I will let others address. But, once again, be aware that everything wears out over time. That is why a good surveyor is invaluable.

[Blue Stocking]

bobola,

Do you think the owner would allow you to post the name of the boat? We have a pretty strong community up on the Offshore 40/ Rhodes Reliant site. Give him/her our regrets please.

[bobola]

Blue,

I am going to respect the owner's privacy and give no more detail. I hope you understand.

Am curious to know if the boat can be salvaged.