Gear failures and breakages during Jester Challenges

[Independence]

I thought it would be useful for those people preparing their boats for future Jester Challenges to be aware of the gear failures and breakages experienced by previous participants.

If anyone would like to send me a brief summary of details I'll prepare a central list and post it on the website for all to view. It would no doubt be useful to know:
1. Type of boat
2. Which Challenge
3. What gear failed and if appropriate manufacturer
4. If and how a repair was made
5. How far into the passage it failed

Anyone who would like to contribute can contact me at pmead5000@gmail.com

 

[Gargleblaster]

Paul,
I was just wondering if it would be easier to list what didn't fail.
One of the real challengers I find about Ocean sailing is that it is almost impossible to predict what might fail. Trying to cope with the unanticipated failure with limited resources I think is what gets the endorphins flowing and make you want to keep doing it.

 

[Gargleblaster]

I thought I'd have a go at this at my most memorable failure.
Type of Boat: UFO27
Challenge: 2006 Jester Challenge
Gear and Manufacturer: Stbd Inner Shroud, breaking at swage. 12 of the 19 strands were broken. Even though I had installed new rigging I don't know the manufacturer of the wire and the rigger who made up the rigging has retired.
Repair made: attempted to replace shroud but sea too rough [6 metre swell]. duplicated shroud with dyneema line but couldn't get it tight enough to stop mast bend, left dyneema in place but remained on port tack until I returned to the UK.
Distance into passage: About two thirds across North Atlantic about 400 miles south of Newfoundland.

 

[oldbilbo]

I'd really like to see, also, what the responder ( John Apps/Glayva, in this case ) would 'do differently next time'.... or have to hand. i.e. Both the problem, and a putative solution. Pleez.

 

[Gargleblaster]

I can state what I did differently in 2007 when I continued the 2006 Challenge beyond Newfoundland.
I changed my inner shrouds from 1X19 6mm stainless to 7mm stainless. I also changed the tangs on the inner shrouds to accept 2 wires. The new spare wires I led to a Ubolt I inserted on the deck just in front of the genoa traveller. These additional shrouds were not intended as load bearing but to quickly change place with the inner shrouds doing the work if they failed again. However despite many miles since and I have renewed my rigging once since then, I have not had to use my spare inner shrouds.

 

[ScallywagII]

This failure of new stainless rigging and fittings is too common and worryingly so. I had an 8mm 316 eyebolt sheared off at the thread this year returning from the Jester. Fortunately it was holding a block from the kicker and there was another attachment on the tabernacle. I only fitted the eyebolt last winter. I think that with more and more metal being recycled, impurities are being incorporated in the mix. John's old shrouds will have had residues of salt, flying fish, WD40 and gaffa tape to name just a few contaminants and these will all be added to the mix when it was melted down to make my new eyebolts. Insurance companies insisting that perfectly good rigging being scrapped because it is 10 years old probably does not help.