53 foot Cat breaks in half

[barnakiel]

What a shame! Such a pretty thing. Sure a fine everglades liveaboard boat. Glad to know the sailors got rescued!!!

b.

[downunder]

Originally Posted by Sand crab

It just gets curioser and curioser.

There's this from yachtingworld.
Rescue after catamaran 'broke in half'

The yacht, Nootka Dancer, is a bluewater cruiser designed by British catamaran pioneer James Wharram, built 23 years ago and modified by Canadian sailor John Eisen for heavier displacement to accommodate the extra gear and systems he wished to incorporate, and the boat sported an Aerorig freestanding rig.

However the ad listing the boat for sale states that this is a 2002 model. If this did start out as a Pahi then it was modified to the extreme.

The bury of the aerorig was brought up and I think it is to shallow. John Shuttleworth designed a 52' aerorig cat and he states:
Design of a 52ft. Aerorig catamaran.

After deciding on the position of the cabin top and the position of the rig, I found that it was necessary to make a small pod beneath the bridgedeck sole to take the lower bearing and keep the 1.9 meter bury required by the mast maker.

It looks like this same size cat has the aerorig sitting on a cross beam with a bury of about half of that. Is it the same size rig? I can't tell but one would think so or close to it.

Very much the crux of the issue. The aerorig being freestanding would need a much bigger /stronger structure bridgedeck to support it and shuttleworth did the numbers.

Perhaps thats why Kelsall has done several freestanding twins using the hulls obviously strengthened but simpler than reinforcing the bridgedeck. Ballotta in Peru is in the process of building two kelsall's with this type of rig now.

http://www.kelsall.com/TechnicalArticles/TheCatRig.pdf

http://www.kelsall.com/TechnicalArti...sallCatRig.pdf

Whilst the genesis of the hulls may have been Wharram the resultant vessel is so far from a Wharram the resultant vessel is doing Wharram a diservice to suggest it is one of his.

[Sand crab]

I now realize my earlier post didn't state this which I intended and was on the Shuttleworth page.

I found that it was necessary to make a small pod beneath the bridgedeck sole to take the lower bearing and keep the 1.9 meter bury required by the mast maker.

It's hard being me.

[Jim Cate]

Similarly, I remember reading Art Piver's books long ago. He was constantly complaining that folks stole plans (actually, got them from people who bought them and were through building their own boat. The license to build is for ONE boat only... any others are simple theft.) and then modified them. The resultant boats were often not so good, and he felt that it not only cost him income but downgraded the image of his designs... and I agree with that thought!

Seems like this case might be similar, and it is a pity.

Jim

[clockwork orange]

The distance between the top and bottom bearings of an Aero (Balestron) rig needs to be at least 8% of the mast height, my guess is the rig on that thing was probably not as tall as a Shuttleworth of the same length as his boats have a lot of beam. If it was an actual Aero rig brand of Balestron rig they went out of belly up due to a very much overweight rig they put on a large monohull that the owners ended up very publically cutting up with a chainsaw.
Has anyone been able to find out if it was the original "creator" or some other sucker who had bought it who was sailing it when it foundered?

Steve.

[nimblemotors]

Umm, do we actually know what happened to this boat yet?
Have we seen the builders detailed drawings?

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by nimblemotors

Umm, do we actually know what happened to this boat yet?
Have we seen the builders detailed drawings?

Does anyone know the sea and wind conditions when this happened?

[smj]

http://www.thebrunswicknews.com/news....html?mode=jqm


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[Cheechako]

in a nutshell:
"Part of that preparation included a thorough inspection of the vessel’s seaworthiness that resulted in a 13-page report giving the boat a clean bill of health. The report said the boat’s hull and superstructure were adequate for open water after inspectors took moisture readings, soundings and made an inspection dive.
Alf Meads said the report missed one very important detail. A wooden structural beam at the boat’s stern had rotted, weakening it.

A terrible noise

The seas were calm and the skies were clear at around 7:30 p.m. Dec. 30 .......A short distance into the trip, about 2 miles offshore of Talbot Island, .....“We just heard this terrible noise,” he said. “A whole piece had broken off of that beam.”

Another beam gave way and the entire middle of the boat that connects the two pontoons of the catamaran collapsed.

When the first beam snapped, Kelly Meads ran to the galley to get the family dog, Zaza, and to get a life vest. After the second beam broke, the door to the galley shut tight, trapping her and Zaza inside.

With some punching and kicking, Alf Meads was able to free his wife and Zaza and boarded the recently purchased life boat his sons were readying.

It took about four minutes from when the first beam broke to when the boat was lost — .........."

[andreas.mehlin]

who the heck is carrying 20k dollar cash in a boat?

[gilgsn]

For some people 20k is like 2k...

Gil.


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