dunedin
Well-Known Member
There is a boat test in this month’s Yachting World for a customised Contest 85CS - a fantastic looking boat, with a wealth of well thought out details for serious cruising.
Clearly this is the owners replacement for the big Oyster which had catastrophic hull / keel failure and capsized (and ultimately to the demise of the previous incarnation of Oyster, now happily restarted under new ownership).
Interestingly, bearing in mind the history, the Contest has a relatively slim keel with lead torpedo ballast at the bottom. But of course it wasn’t the “bolt on” keel that failed in the Oyster, but the GRP (?) hull structure above the keel. So presumably the builders and owners believe the new structure bolted on to a “massive web support structure” is stronger.
Nice boat and wish the new owner, skipper and crew happy voyaging (as previous voyage plans were already cancelled due to keel concerns before the final capsize).
Clearly this is the owners replacement for the big Oyster which had catastrophic hull / keel failure and capsized (and ultimately to the demise of the previous incarnation of Oyster, now happily restarted under new ownership).
Interestingly, bearing in mind the history, the Contest has a relatively slim keel with lead torpedo ballast at the bottom. But of course it wasn’t the “bolt on” keel that failed in the Oyster, but the GRP (?) hull structure above the keel. So presumably the builders and owners believe the new structure bolted on to a “massive web support structure” is stronger.
Nice boat and wish the new owner, skipper and crew happy voyaging (as previous voyage plans were already cancelled due to keel concerns before the final capsize).
