Fusion 40 capsized

[catty]

Anything to add? Anyone?
See Yachties upside down overnight - New Zealand news on Stuff.co.nz

[Ram]

Wow-reading between the lines my guessis= sounds like too much sail up for what wind & sea condistions they were in- also the yacht weighs only 3.5 tons at 12 meters- a bit light

[cat man do]

Good to see it floating so high out of the water, much more visible than a life raft

Dave

[Southern Star]

I don't know - 35 knot gusts and a 'big' wave (presumably beam on) with an unreefed main (apparently) sheeted in taut...sounds like a recipe for disaster in many cats. Certainly on ones with such a high sail area/displacement ratio. On the other hand, as has been pointed out, at least she was floating high in the water.

Brad

[David M]

Isn't there a device available that pops the main sheet if the boat exceeds a certain angle of inclination? Anyone have one on their cat? Could this device have prevented the capsize? I have seen them advertised a few times in magazines. I was just wondering if any one knew more about them. Of course reefing the boat earlier would have been the best thing to do.

[perchance]

Perhaps someone other than dear old dad should have been at the helm. At 80 the old brain doesn't work as quickly as it used to. I say this from personal experience.

[TaoJones]

Originally Posted by perchance

Perhaps someone other than dear old dad should have been at the helm. At 80 the old brain doesn't work as quickly as it used to. I say this from personal experience.

Yes, I was struck by that little factoid myself. Still, had the man's sons - still in their prime, presumably - thought to make certain that pops wasn't overwhelmed and then acted accordingly, the capsize could have been avoided. They bear a huge responsibility for what occurred, IMO.

At the very least, the son who owned the vessel and knew her best should have satisfied himself that she was not over-canvassed and that his father couldn't put her in any danger. Unfortunately, that was about an $80,000 oversight.

TaoJones

[Ram]

I beleave its gonna cost a lot more than 80K the whole interior is soaked in salt water and the whole rig is at the bottom and likly damaged badly
Hard lesson learned - but it could have been a lot worse- all are alive !

[TaoJones]

Originally Posted by Ram

I beleave its gonna cost a lot more than 80K the whole interior is soaked in salt water and the whole rig is at the bottom and likly damaged badly
Hard lesson learned - but it could have been a lot worse- all are alive !

You could be right about that, Ram - I was only using the number from the story:

"Mr Morgan said the combination of the boat's mainsail being hauled in tight, 'one big wave' and a sudden 35-knot gust of wind lifted the starboard hull, and another gust then tipped the 3.5-tonne vessel over.

" 'Dad was still in the steering chair when the boat went upside down. Neil was in the companionway,' said Mr Morgan, who swam with a rope to one of the farms' marker buoys and secured the yacht.

"He estimated the cost of the damage to Ma-tori, including the need for a new mast, at about $80,000."

TaoJones

[Calculator]

Specs for the Fusion 40 design displacement is 4.9 tons for the Sport model and 5.8 tons for the Private or Platinum models. They have a Kelsall Stability Speed (hull lifting) of 27.78 and 30.22 knots respectively. The Stability Speed trendline for nearly 900 cruising catamarans is approximately 35 knots at LWL of 39 feet. A 35 knot gust would have gotten any of them at full sail...a Fusion 40s for sure. Cal

[Glenn C]

Thanks calculator, I was thinking of doing the maths myself......its easy from here, but with this data and what is in all the reports one could conclude something about seamanship, or lack there of........

[MidLandOne]

I cannot add any more than was in the news report about the accident itself except to say that Tasman Bay and especially the part of it where it occurred (the very sheltered western side) is the very calmest of all areas around here (central NZ).

I can add that a few weeks after the above accident a Wharram cat broke up in tidal rips in Cook Strait as well with the crew having to be rescued. I don't know of any link to that but from the photo in our local newspaper of the wreckage being towed in it looked like the bridgedeck suffered complete structural failure.

As I've said before cats are not very well regarded for the heavy conditions around here (only 2 in our home marina as far as I know) with most of what there are being in Tasman Bay due to it having benign weather (35 knot gusts as mentioned in the news report are very benign for here) but as before I am sure someone who has never been within 6,000 miles of the place will tell me that I don't know what I am talking about .

[Palarran]

Well, it's only $40k in US dollars, they probably can cover that.

[Factor]

Originally Posted by catty

Anything to add? Anyone?

Nope - wasn't there, so Id only be speculating.

[badlattitude]

[quote=MidLandOne;As I've said before cats are not very well regarded for the heavy conditions around here (only 2 in our home marina as far as I know) .[/quote]

A quick scan of Google Earth shows what appears to be 11 catamarans in Nelson Harbour, plus 2 tri's.