Big girls blouse follow-up

[vyv_cox]

Some reference to unsinkable boats made in the course of this far-reaching discussion thread of a couple of weeks ago. At the time these pictures of a holed Sadler 34 were not available, but the link has now been restored. <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.mikelucasyachting.co.uk/wwwboard/messages/30.htm>http://www.mikelucasyachting.co.uk/wwwboard/messages/30.htm</A>

 

[plopp]

Re: blimey

Well you know what happens when you play around with bigger boats.Like 1300 tons of it!
Regards andy.

 

[charles_reed]

And all that wasted storage

space take up by the foam.

 

[plopp]

Re: ps

has anybody tried it with an ETAP yet?

 

[Jacket]

Re: ps

They do it as an advertising stunt fairly regularly- open all the seackocks, having removed the hoses attached to them.

They seem to float quite high, and can even still be sailed. Not sure if ones ever been holed accidentally- if one had, you'd have thought that they'd have made a big thing of it in their advertising (unless it sank!)

I must say I was surprised at how low in the water the Sadler floated- can you really classify it as unsinkable? Its definately not sailable, and even using it as a liferaft would be iffy in any sort of seaway- waves would be sweeping the deck (what little of it is still out of the water) and there's nowhere to shelter. Not much reserve bouyancy either- if it had been fully loaded for a long trip, I can imagine that it would have sunk.

 

[FlyingSpud]

Re: ps

Sadler were always careful not to call their boats ‘unsinkable’ – probably for fear of what would happen if one went down with someone on it., Etap do not seem so bothered. This either means Etaps are better if holed, or, more likely they have more confidence in their lawyers

 

[plopp]

Re: must agree

How on earth can you clasify something as unsinkable?

 

[vyv_cox]

Re: And all that wasted storage

I would argue about "wasted". As I see it, I have exchanged stowage space for buoyancy and insulation. The buoyancy is evident in the photographs, I agree the boat is not sailable, although I understand that some of the smaller Sadlers are. In bad conditions I agree that it would be far from comfortable to remain aboard, but at least a floating 34 ft boat is somewhat more visible than a liferaft. The insulation is a largely unsung virtue of the foam fill. Its thermal and acoustic properties make it very well worth having. For example, we never have any condensation other than on the windows and hatches. Whilst I agree that stowage is reduced, we have never been short of space on cruises up to five weeks duration, some with four people aboard.

 

[dickh]

Re: ps

One of the mags did an Etap some time ago - I think it was S***** T**** - they sailed from France back to UK and halfway across opened the seacocks to see what happened. They managed to carry on sailing half full of water, it certainly wasn't anywhere as bad as the pic of the Sadler which was barely afloat. The boat was a 20/22' - don't remember the model, completely stripped out without any personal gear on board, but it was certainly sailable. It was accompanied by a motor boat - for Health & Safety reasons.


dickh
I'd rather be sailing... /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

 

[Celena]

Re: And all that wasted storage

I sailed a 34 many years ago, lovely boat for proper sailors! BUT, one complaint: slight leak in forecabin the source of which could not be traced because of the double skin...

 

[vyv_cox]

Re: ps

It become easier to supply sufficient buoyancy as boat size deceases. The Sadler 26 will sail with all seacocks open.

 

[sailbadthesinner]

Re: must agree

didn't the white star line try that?

Maybe, just once, someone will call me sir without adding, you're making a scene

 

[Roberto]

Re: ps

I am buying engine manufacturers shares, exploding profits as new fashion brings an incredibly high number of boats to sail with all seacocks open

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by Roberto on 10/12/2002 11:35 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[Gunfleet]

Re: ps

I can see a John Goode article coming on. 'Harness the Power Of Propwash, Even When Your Boat's Awash.' or how about 'The Mediterranean Moor With the Boat Full of Water'.

 

[Sybarite]

I believe France is the only country to give an official 'unsinkable' certification. To get this a boat must, when fully flooded and with a full crew, have sufficient buoyancy reserves to be able to continue to sail.

They are then not obliged to carry a liferaft.

 

[warrior40]

Re: sadler 34

The 34 was never truly unsinkable, it was just a happy coincidence of the method of construction of the later Sadlers [after the 25 and 32] that gave them positive buoyancy. The Sadler 26 is the only true unsinkable Sadler, and was sailed by YM or PBO in 1983 with all seacocks open. An interesting fact here for anyone in the market for a Sadler 29 is that the early ones didn't have as much closed cell foam as later built ones.
There are a few incidents of Sadler 34's being holed and staying 'afloat', albeit , semi submerged, one I remember was called 'Dorothy Hackforth', I think she was hit by a ship in the channel, but was salvageable due to the foam buoyancy and towed back to the UK for repairs.

 

[warrior40]

Re: sadler 34

I have just looked at Mike Lucas' photo, and is the same boat I have given an example of!