William_H
Well-known member
Talk a bout bad luck my fiend in 70s has a sweet little 21 footer with fixed keel which he races regularly with a vegence. Broke a mast just before Christmas due to spreader attachment failure while driving hard in 20 knots on Swan River. He imposed on insurace and mast suppliers and was racing again after 2 weeks. The mast included a mast top 3 colour lantern so with a night race coming up he connected the battery a small SLA type and stood back onto the jetty to see if the light was working. I believe it is the only service he runs on the battery. It was difficult to see the light in the bright sun but sadly when he looked down at the cabin smoke was pouring out. Not just a little. By the time he got back onto the boat he could not get into the cabin to get at the extinguisher. It seems the wiring got red hot from a short circuit probably in the mast and his near new Mylar jib was in contact with the wiring. So result destroyed no1 jib mainsail and some structural damge to the hull ariound the chain plates and bulhead.. You wouldn't want to be an insurance company. I understand they will pay up and he hopes to be racing again in 2 weeks.
The moral of the story is that even in the most simple electrical circuits you need a fuse which will open at a current less than that at which the thinest wiring will incandesce. (burn) A simple in line fuse at the battery around 3 amps will protect most wiring and would have saved my friend from big troubles. No it wasn't me.
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The moral of the story is that even in the most simple electrical circuits you need a fuse which will open at a current less than that at which the thinest wiring will incandesce. (burn) A simple in line fuse at the battery around 3 amps will protect most wiring and would have saved my friend from big troubles. No it wasn't me.
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