It can, but ours went after many years of racing (ab)use.
Bavaria bashers might note its a Bavaria, as if you need any encouraging. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
We were sailing upwind in 15 knots of true wind. Were just considering if it as time to reduce sail. There was a loud crack and the rig went over the side. Were able to recover the rig with the aid of the crew of Conwy lifeboat, who were fantastic. We had started to cut it away before hay arrived. There were no failures in the rigging. Rigging was last setup in May.
I drive a Bavaria, and I might add, I think its a damn fine boat, and our mast has never fallen down! Looks to me like Opal, or whoever commisioned the boat, screwed the pooch, but then Ive seen a whole load of failures just above the second spreader in Dufour 38's a few years back...So could be
the mast.
Bavaria bashers might note its a Bavaria, as if you need any encouraging. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
[/ QUOTE ]I deliberately avoided making that point, out of sympathy for a brand new forumite who must be feeling pretty peed off without any abuse on here. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
The rig was first setup by Opal in May last year. The settings were marked with tape and the boat shipped north. The rig was then setup to the markings. In May this year the rig was tensioned again.
Looks to me as if it folded just above the boom, although I dont know what that means, other than most/all of the support from the shrouds was lost on the starboard side.
Hard to see how there could be no rigging failure - surely the shrouds, or turnbuckles, or chainplates must have given way in some form or another.... unless the mast had a weak point and compression did for it?
I hardly think you can blame the manufacturer of a hull for a rig failure no matter what the brand. A Selden mast if that is what it is, is the same on any boat. Of course it may be rigged differently, but that's another story....
Bummer that. Insurance surveyor got any ideas who to blame? They will be only too happy to find someone else to fork out at least part of the cost if they can.
My mast & rigging, like the boat are 35 years old - so a failure now would be considered overdue! But then '70's grp cruisers & their rigs were generally somewhat overbuilt!
I would suggest for very poor rig tuning......Even in only 15kts of wind the load on the mast is tremendous unless all the shrouds and stays are set correct and doing what they are designed to do......the mast only has any real strength when all these tentions are correct.
Just out of interest did you actually call out the Lifeboat?? I would have thought once the rig cut away and all ropes are clear of the water you would have been able to motor home
Sorry - can't help with the diagnosis. But I did see the same thing happen to a brand new Bavaria in the Solent in March this year. Mind you it was blowing a 7/8 - the same week that poor chap got hit by the boom as reported by the BBC (on Rescue 999 I think). This all happened while I was doing my day skipper - not exactly the gentle introduction to sailing in the Solent I'd imagined!
err, I wasnt blaming Bavaria, I mean, check my profile!
I was suggesting, as the boat was so new, that posibly opal didnt set it up right, or that their was a weakness in the mast.
Looking at how the boat was set up, and the fact that the mast appears to have FOLDED,,, it looks to me like it was under too much compression, possibly the re-tensioning in May overdid it?
Or a dodgy mast?
But very sad, I never like too see this sort of thing happen, can be a V scary thing and V offputting, I can only think that if that happens to me with smwbo on board, I would very quickly be a ex-yachtie! /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
What has Opal said, any word from Seldon? Have you had a surveyor look at it?
We deployed the anchor and informed Holyhead coastguard of our situation. We were worried fora while as a spreader was hammering the hull below the waterline, but we managed to snap the spreader off. The coastguard decided to to send the lifeboat. Being ocupied with the mast, it was a surprise as they appeared on the boat fron their rib, even though we had heard they were on the way on the VHF.
The reply from Opal was basicaly not our problem, contact Selden, you can find there contact details on their website. Thanks, but probably what I expected given the service I have has in the past.
Selden is a job for the morning.
Waiting for insurance company to send someone to investigate.