Urgent help needed to recover abandoned yacht NW Barbados

[bob-lauriem]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Bob, if there a Facebook page for cruisers in Antigua and Barbuda?

It is:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/346557565391802/

There was a link to this forum on the page as well.

Bob

[Kemp]

Originally Posted by ErikFinn

And now to the point: if the potential rudder failure was a known issue to the manufacturer and there never was any recall and they did nothing to sort it out that's gross negligence right there which could have ended up in loss if life, and still may do so with other Hanse owners.

It seems rudder failures on Hanse boats are not something new... WARNING! Rudder manufacturing fault? - myHanse - Hanse Yachts Owners Forum - Page 1

[boatman61]

Spade rudders are historically and by their design the weak point on any boat.. reasons vary from Marque to Marque but.. its one of the reasons I prefer skeg mounted rudders.
Just the way they are constructed is flawed.. the cheapo crash helmet method of two halves glued together.. a good bash and next thing you know its split in half and ones brains are seeping all over the road..
Why do you think all road safety experts say.. if you bash your helmet in any way buy a new one.. less mess to mop up..
Now think of all the time your rudder bashes things and your not even aware of it.. no impact alarm on the AP..

[Scout 30]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Spade rudders are historically and by their design the weak point on any boat.. reasons vary from Marque to Marque but.. its one of the reasons I prefer skeg mounted rudders.
Just the way they are constructed is flawed.. the cheapo crash helmet method of two halves glued together.. a good bash and next thing you know its split in half and ones brains are seeping all over the road..
Why do you think all road safety experts say.. if you bash your helmet in any way buy a new one.. less mess to mop up..
Now think of all the time your rudder bashes things and your not even aware of it.. no impact alarm on the AP..

I completely agree but using aluminum sounds like a bad idea. I can't think of a weaker metal for this application. However, after reading the thread about this known problem it's not the aluminum that's failing, it's the glass applied to the aluminum. Once this became a known problem there should have been an effort by Hanse to contact all owner & at least have the rudders checked out. This story could have been so much worse.

[Sandero]

This is a very troubling story. After reading this massive thread... my advice to the fellow would be to count his lucky stars that he and his family are OK... get on a plane and go back home, wherever that is and start allover again. Sh*t happens... and it could have been much much worse. It's only a boat and some xmas presents and a dream. Take the dream and learn and start again.

If the boat is recovered... it will be a wreck of little value.

Move on... Lot of lessons here for everyone... with the main one being...

The sea is unforgiving.... and she always wins.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Scout 30

I completely agree but using aluminum should be criminal. I can't think of a weaker metal for this application.

Especially when one considers its fallibility with the slightest electrolysis..
On my Bene331 I had a boat drag its anchor and.. though I fended it off my bow with no damage it did bend my bow nav lights mounting back.. easily returned to position but what I did not notice was the live wire had been pinched..
A couple of weeks later I headed from Faro to Madeira.. had some bumpy sea's one night and next morning there was a yellow stain all across the foredeck and down the port side..
got to Funchal where a surveyor found it was not because I'd sailed through some pollution.. but the fact that when waves were breaking over the bow it was stimulating electrical contact with the pulpit.. 12v's was not good for my toe rails either.. bad pitting in just three days of seepage.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Sandero

If the boat is recovered... it will be a wreck of little value.

I'd give it 2 weeks of the word us out there and repeated.

20% if the value of this boat is a pocket full of tin. Especially for a young family.

[Exile]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

I'd give it 2 weeks of the word us out there and repeated.

20% if the value of this boat is a pocket full of tin. Especially for a young family.

No doubt. Did I read somewhere in this thread that the boat may have been worth $300,000? If so, then $60K could be a healthy down payment on another boat. Also consider that, if eventually found and a defective rudder can be confirmed as the underlying cause for all that followed, then there may be recourse. Not sure if OP did not have insurance or if insurance was denied, but if it's the latter then it may be worth revisiting. Most marine insurance contracts I've seen include coverage for damages resulting from design and/or latent defects.

[Sandero]

The OP was kinda dodgy and not forthcoming with ALL the facts. It appears that he was paranoid that someone would take his boat... perhaps not unreasonable considering the laws related to marine salvage.

Did they have a life raft? I may have missed that? what sort of experience did this fella have before he set out to cross the ocean? Why didn't he give more info about the boat? Going online to a sailing forum the way he did seems a bid odd to me.

This story doesn't add up to me.

[SV DestinyAscen]

Originally Posted by Sandero

The OP was kinda dodgy and not forthcoming with ALL the facts. It appears that he was paranoid that someone would take his boat... perhaps not unreasonable considering the laws related to marine salvage.

Did they have a life raft? I may have missed that? what sort of experience did this fella have before he set out to cross the ocean? Why didn't he give more info about the boat? Going online to a sailing forum the way he did seems a bid odd to me.

This story doesn't add up to me.

Why are you doing this ?

[Sandero]

Originally Posted by SV DestinyAscen

Why are you doing this ?

because I don't understand this story.... do you?

[SV DestinyAscen]

Originally Posted by Sandero

because I don't understand this story.... do you?

This is the Martinique coast guard number at fort de prince.

0596-709292

You can give them a ring if you doubt the story. They may think you're wasting their time however.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Sandero

This story doesn't add up to me.

The story is fine.

I met with James a few days ago in St Martin and he is fine.

Yes, I had questions about why he was not forthcoming with details.

But he had posted them here but a moderator deleted them without his knowledge.

I also think his advice had not been with the understanding of reality, but I think he is now on the right track.

He probably has been very upset, separated from his family, in a strange country, Chrismas/New Year doesn't help. Etc etc etc.

Even now the admin of living and family is still on his mind... but I think he is getting it organised.

And... he is not used to this, or other forums, so posting and keeping up with threads when his computer is still on the boat is difficult.

*I hope I haven't given too much personal information, but his problem is legit.

He needs more help, but at this stage its only him that can really do it.

[Exile]

Originally Posted by Sandero

because I don't understand this story.... do you?

Yes. At face value as he has described it and Mark has filled in a bit. If the OP feels that more details are needed for us to help then I'm sure he will provide. Further speculation or judgment would be intrusive at this point, imho.

[ErikFinn]

I understand the story. OP had bad luck and **** happened. Yes he made some mistakes but so do we all. And hindsight is always 20/20. I'm not going to list any mistakes, it's pointless and useless beating a beaten guy and serves no use on this thread. We should just try help him now if we can.
Thanks.