Structural integrity

Hot Property

Hot Property

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I have a friend with a 50ft powerboat who recently sailed through the Portland Race. It was a bit bumpy and the hull slammed a few times resulting in the sunroof GRP surround on the cockpit fracturing. Do any forum members have any experience of this happening on their boat please? The boat is just 20 months old.... Thanks

PS I'll attach some photographs shortly, the cracks are around the circumference of the frame that holds the sunroof in.IMG_0927.jpgIMG_0924.jpg

I'll try to get some higher resolution photos over the weekend as well but you hopefully get the gist.. the white tape is just a temporary "repair" as I think the roof was leaking afterwards..
 
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doesn't sound very good - a few good slams shouldn't bother anything - hopefully its just superficial crazing. Needs checking though
 
Your friend should go back to the dealer and request that they fix it - no way that should happen imho.
Any dealer worth their salt will work with the factory to rectify that kind of issue - hopefully your mate will not have to be too pushy.
 
Always a tricky one because one mans description of a 'few slams' could be brutal treatment in someone elses view. If it was my boat I think I'd be paying a surveyor a couple of hundred £ to get an independent view of the work required to replace it and the chance of success. Is the boat still under a manufacturer's warranty? Either way I'd be looking for the dealer to fix it.

Incidentally, it doesn't look like the the roof is on it's tracks. What's going on there?
 
Thanks for your replies chaps. I think this is serious amount of damage and indeed we don't know how much the boat slammed. I suppose the question is what is "reasonable for a boat that size" to be able to handle. I would imagine the maker should be involved via the broker. Failing that an insurance claim perhaps? I don't know why or if the roof is off its tracks - maybe as a result of the impact? I'll ask him!
 
Hot Property said:
I suppose the question is what is "reasonable for a boat that size" to be able to handle.
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Nope, the first question is at what sort of speed was your friend cruising.

PS: the second is, what type of 50 footer is she, exactly?
Just as example, it wouldn't be fair to expect a Beneteau GT49 to be used for wave jumping as much as a Magnum Bestia...
 
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I would grab a weather report for the area at the time and date they went through. Maybe historic wave height data if there’s a bouy nearby. Start to build a bit of evidence. The boat will no doubt have a rcd cat coding so if you can demonstrate the weather conditions where less than the cat coding.....got to help.

Might not be needed if the dealer / manufacturer are decent but seems prudent.
 
Check what the weather was doing on the passage, if its within the boats quoted limitations then the manufacturer should sort it, I also would get a surveyor to give it a good going over.

Note to self, read all posts before replying :encouragement:
 
rubberduck said:
Check what the weather was doing on the passage, if its within the boats quoted limitations then the manufacturer should sort it, I also would get a surveyor to give it a good going over.

Note to self, read all posts before replying :encouragement:
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I’m always pleased when someone says the same thing.....disproves my wife’s theory that I’m a complete numpty :)
 
Sorry folks, evidence of sea conditions is well and good, but actually pointless without knowing (read: being able to demonstrate) other even more relevant factors as speed and route relative to waves.
There can well be CE-A rated 50 footers on the market capable of 40+ knots, but show me one which you would throw against a 13 feet waves head sea at that speed and I'll show you a doomed boat. :ambivalence:
 
MapisM said:
Sorry folks, evidence of sea conditions is well and good, but actually pointless without knowing (read: being able to demonstrate) other even more relevant factors as speed and route relative to waves.
There can well be CE-A rated 50 footers on the market capable of 40+ knots, but show me one which you would throw against a 13 feet waves head sea at that speed and I'll show you a doomed boat. :ambivalence:
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No doubting anything you say there Mapism but the roof should secure positively - open or closed. It’s unlikely that the OP’s mate was out in anything exceeding a Cat B rating but that’s just a distraction imho. If there is travel in the roof mechanism that results in damage then it’s either a design flaw, (unlikely), or a bad installation.

You’re quite correct, if the helmsman had been throwing a 50’ sports cruiser against 13’ waves in the Race, we’d be reading a different thread! :)
 
Nigelpickin said:
No doubting anything you say there Mapism but the roof should secure positively - open or closed. It’s unlikely that the OP’s mate was out in anything exceeding a Cat B rating but that’s just a distraction imho. If there is travel in the roof mechanism that results in damage then it’s either a design flaw, (unlikely), or a bad installation.

You’re quite correct, if the helmsman had been throwing a 50’ sports cruiser against 13’ waves in the Race, we’d be reading a different thread! :)
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Who said anything about the roof mechanism / travel causing the cracking?
 
rubberduck said:
Check what the weather was doing on the passage, if its within the boats quoted limitations then the manufacturer should sort it, I also would get a surveyor to give it a good going over.

Note to self, read all posts before replying :encouragement:
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Yes or no. I am saying this trough experience. I was one going Malta to Sicily (Syracuse) in relatively calm waters and during the trip I meet a tug boat coming in opposite direction who was pulling three to four meters high wakes which also had a relative slow time between them.
When I noticed the size of the wakes I slowed down at the time from 24 to about 18 knots, reducing the damage but still receiving a very nasty knock which rattled us not by little.
Okay the boat encountered no damage, but sometimes an unexpected wake like this can do more damage then cruising in rough waters IMO.
 
MapisM said:
Nope, the first question is at what sort of speed was your friend cruising.

PS: the second is, what type of 50 footer is she, exactly?
Just as example, it wouldn't be fair to expect a Beneteau GT49 to be used for wave jumping as much as a Magnum Bestia...
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She's a deep V hull with twin shafts... I've asked him what speed/direction of travel and his estimate of wave height...
 
Been carping , some on here ( most ? ) think crapping on about seakeeping/ hull form / deep V,s / deadrise / - et al for years .
Sometimes I think I,am talking to a post ! A thick post at that .

My boat does not slam , just divides the sea - parts the waves .
 
Thanks Paul, My mate needs to establish the damage so surveyor required in the first instance.

I guess there are only 2 outcomes:-

My mate was pressing on into huge waves and the damage was self inflicted OR

He wasn't and the superstructure failed in conditions that weren't challenging.

I can't see any scenario other than that?
 
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Portofino said:
Been carping , some on here ( most ? ) think crapping on about seakeeping/ hull form / deep V,s / deadrise / - et al for years .
Sometimes I think I,am talking to a post ! A thick post at that .

My boat does not slam , just divides the sea - parts the waves .
Click to expand...
t5TjGQT.jpg
 
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