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Old 05-08-2017, 12:16   #16
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Re: Top 10 points of failure?

As a practical matter few things will cost $5,000 to replace short of an engine, a mast, gen set or sails.

Personally I think sails should be considered a consumable, so even if they cost a lot to replace when you do, you should have been setting money aside knowing that day was coming anyway.

The rest would take a pretty catastrophic failure to hit the $5k limit or a very big boat. A new engine will be over 5k, but most repairs won't be. A new rig probably totals the boat, but its hard to visualize a repair over $5k. The same for a generator....

Basically if you hit that limit you are replacing the item in almost all cases. Or haver a very big boat.
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Old 05-08-2017, 14:01   #17
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Re: Top 10 points of failure?

During over 50 years of sailing I can only say what has failed with me:
1. Broken tiller on old Lightning
2. Outboard motors on dinghy
3. Fitting broke holding whisker pole on new Beneteau
4. Head failure
5. Autopilot failure
6. Bent rudder post from running aground (my fault, only time)
7. Spinnaker blew out due to flying in too much wind.
8. Occasional small electrical failures due to lack of maintenance.
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Old 05-08-2017, 14:56   #18
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Re: Top 10 points of failure?

My new to me yacht, had it a year, is now 11 years old. Last six months has seen many component parts reach the end of their design life and when they fail, the system they serve is disabled.
Relays, switches, pumps, solenoids, some wiring, hoses, clamps, elbows, heat exchangers, sensors, an alternator, the list is extensive.
Have just spent 10k, but should be go to go for a decade or so.
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Old 05-08-2017, 15:42   #19
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Re: Top 10 points of failure?

1.Lightning strike, knocks out all electronics easy >$5000 lightning protection failure
2. Pitch pole - Crew failure
3 Grounding- Crew Failure
4. Ripping out sail drive when running over a mooring line - crew failure
5 Fire on board - electrical fault, galley fire etc
6 Seized engine from lack of oil, water etc - maintenance failure
7 T-boning a Super Yacht - crew failure
8. Being T boned by a super yacht, or most any other ship/ferry etc - crew failure
9. Halyard fail on your $8000 paraglider - line, chafe, cleat, snapshackle failure
10. Anchor drag on to a reef - chain, anchor, swivel, or crew failure.
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Old 05-08-2017, 15:47   #20
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Re: Top 10 points of failure?

Oh and probably a >$5000 item, failure to padlock your dinghy to the dinghy dock
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Old 05-08-2017, 22:01   #21
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Re: Top 10 points of failure?

Eliminate failures: go small, go simple. I have not been able to do that myself, I'm just sayin'.

Over $5K and you are mostly talking about rig, major engine or refrigeration failure. Structural failures are very rare - but watch out for the keel bolts if you have them. Rudders are also probably right up there in the high bucks category (happened to us- the SS shaft had pit and crevice corrosion).

Most failures that are urgent, are also cheap ones if you have experience with them. For example,

Our #1 serious failure is the shaft seal on the external Sherwood water pump">raw water pump on Perkins engine. Got spares and it's happened so many times I can now rebuild it myself onboard, under way, in about 2 hours.

#2 is the battery isolator - its an older model with relays that just burn out the contacts after a few years. I got some much larger capacity relays and hope that will fix the issue.
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Old 06-08-2017, 03:43   #22
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Re: Top 10 points of failure?

Quote:
Originally Posted by estarzinger View Post
The SSCA used to run an annual equipment survey ...
Still do ➥ https://ssca.org/survey/SevenSeasEqu...htm#Categories
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Old 19-08-2017, 11:15   #23
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Re: Top 10 points of failure?

$5000 ??!!! Not sure us poor cruisers should even dignify that with an answer....sounds like somebody's got too much money and about to buy a floating McMansion !

But, back down at common-folk level, and deleting the $5k requirement...

1. Water pump impeller.....this goes, commonly, carry spares, if not, then engine overheats and seizes up, ....NOW you're at the $5k threshold

2. Stainless split rings
WTF? ...you say ? Yeah, crazy. Somehow, the ring holding the pin holding boom to mast failed in about 25mph constant blow....almost lost main sail as the whole boom/sail assembly thrashed around underway !

Moral of the story of attempt to figure out ahead of time how much failures will cost: better be able to think fast and be spontaneous....could be anything, and usually something you hadn't thought of, or didn't think possible !
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Old 19-08-2017, 11:42   #24
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Re: Top 10 points of failure?

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Originally Posted by Stenn View Post
$5000 ??!!! Not sure us poor cruisers should even dignify that with an answer....sounds like somebody's got too much money and about to buy a floating McMansion !

But, back down at common-folk level, and deleting the $5k requirement...

1. Water pump impeller.....this goes, commonly, carry spares, if not, then engine overheats and seizes up, ....NOW you're at the $5k threshold

2. Stainless split rings
WTF? ...you say ? Yeah, crazy. Somehow, the ring holding the pin holding boom to mast failed in about 25mph constant blow....almost lost main sail as the whole boom/sail assembly thrashed around underway !

Moral of the story of attempt to figure out ahead of time how much failures will cost: better be able to think fast and be spontaneous....could be anything, and usually something you hadn't thought of, or didn't think possible !


Hey Stenn - thanks for your feedback. Those examples of an impeller or a pin failing -- leading to more damage -- are definitely in the spirit of the question.
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Old 19-08-2017, 12:14   #25
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Re: Top 10 points of failure?

SecondBase, the crazy thing was, it wasn't the actual Stainless Steel pin holding/joining boom to mast, it was the simple stainless steel split ring you loop into the pin to keep it from coming out ! That was one for the record books, especially single-handing it, very touch-n-go there for a while !
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Old 19-08-2017, 14:16   #26
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Re: Top 10 points of failure?

1. relationship/-s,
2. personality change,
3. standing rigging,
4. rudder,
5. dirty fuel,
6. pumps (e.g. toilet),
7. UV damage (skin, sails, etc.),
8. electric/electronic (e.g. AP, plotter, fridge, AC),
9. corrosion/osmosis/rot,
10. operator error (e.g. nav error).

I can't remember any other sins. Amen.

b.
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Old 19-08-2017, 14:36   #27
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Re: Top 10 points of failure?

engine
mast
rig
engine
engine
cutlass bearing, as well as any and everything below waterline
engine
transmission
rig again
engine yet again
electrical system
pumps
refrigerator
aircond if you have built in.hahahahahahahahahahahahahaa(or--why i use window units)
fresh water system
tanks, water
tank fuel
fuel delivery system
hydraulic auto pilot and steering system
electronix
nav system
anchoring system-windlass in particular

pretty much the whole boat.
how to prevent~~~~
engine--pay attention to what it tells you--too much oil on dipstick, color of fuel, etc. if you have limited engine room area, avoid turbocharged engines unless your ventilation is superbly awesomely perfect and large quantity in mobilization. fiberglass is an accelerant and when not if when your fg gets overheated by a turbo, as some surprised sailors have learned, you WILL flame out. not cool. pun intended.
enjoy boating.

rig-- monitor and replace cables as needed, tangs every 20 yrs and as needed, as well as chainplates. if you replace chainplates do replace your tangs as they are prolly original and you are gonna die.

routine maintenance should work to prevent most of the damage except traumatic injury. for that--donot hit anything

electronix...they age they die.. they get sunburned
electrical system ... aint ever perfect and usually there is some kind of electrical system interruption. make sure it aint flaming.

i know i missed something, and i didnot give all the ways to prevent.
usually it is the smallest and least obvious thing that starts the whole thing...... and never only one thing at a time.
my boat loves the number 3. always 3 things simultaneously.
and i didnot even mention toilet system h ah ah ah ah a
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Old 19-08-2017, 20:53   #28
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Re: Top 10 points of failure?

We once lost the rig, due to the failure of a cotter pin (split pin to the Aussies). Also lost were a headsail and furler, all the antennas, 5 winches (4 on mast, plus reefing winch on boom) and all the running rigging, 2 spinny halyards, 2 genoa halyards, pole topping lift, 2 main halyards, main sheet and staysail sheet. Of course, the radar was toast, too. This was in 1996, and cost about AUD 25,000 by the time everything was replaced and repaired. The bow pulpit had been squashed, too. After the wreckage was cut away,
we sat in the cockpit, holding each other for a while. Then did another circuit of the boat, to make sure (again) there were no lines in the water, and started the 65 mi. trip into Brisbane from where we were.

We also had a headstay fail on that boat, but quickly turned down, got the furler under control, and picked up a local mooring. We used Sta-lok mechanical swages on that boat, and so, all we needed to replace was the wire, which was shipped to us in Vanuatu by friends in Sydney, the cone in the swage, and put it back together. We were very careful when lowering the foil onto some plastic water toys and our dinghy to not kink it. We were allowed to do the repair on the resort's lawn, to the entertainment of the guests. That one didn't cost much at all.

One of our larger expenses has always been new sails.

Ann
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Old 19-08-2017, 20:57   #29
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Re: Top 10 points of failure?

Quote:
Originally Posted by JPA Cate View Post
We once lost the rig, due to the failure of a cotter pin (split pin to the Aussies). ........

Ann
Where was the cotter pin that failed situated?

Interesting story to follow regarding a time where I almost lost my rig..........

Cheers,
Ping
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Old 19-08-2017, 23:56   #30
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Re: Top 10 points of failure?

Quote:
Originally Posted by El Pinguino View Post
Where was the cotter pin that failed situated?

Interesting story to follow regarding a time where I almost lost my rig..........

Cheers,
Ping
Ping, it was in the clevis pin at the bottom of the rigging screw on the starboard lower shroud. We'd been sailing close hauled on port for some 36 hours, running from a decaying East coast low that had caught us around 50 miles N of Lord Howe. Had a knockdown and a near knockdown, the latter sheared off our windvane rudder. At that point we aborted the voyage from Sydney to New Cal and headed for Moreton Bay where we intended to build a new rudder. We were knackered from around 5 days of severe wx, so when we heard the evening f/c saying that by midnight the winds (still around 30-35 and noserly) would abate we hove to on starboard, 2 reefs and the staysail. All was well for a couple of hours, then the mast fell down. Came on deck, found no broken bits (other than the mast), but that pesky clevis rolling about the deck. Dunno how it happened, but happen it did! Bloody expensive split pin, it was!


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