Westerly Oceanlord bites the dust in Arwen

[Halo]

So sad. Apparently the foresail was not secured and the Gale got in an dragged her over !

 

[Halo]

Sorry picture won’t upload

 

[Halo]

 

[Laminar Flow]

Never understood why people leave their furled genoas up when they leave their boat for extended time, never mind, over winter and on the hard.

I was in Miami after Hurricane Andrew had been through - boats in the top of mangroves, headsails but ribbons, all for not taking down their furlers.

 

[Kelpie]

Spoiled for a ha'penny worth of tar...

 

[Leighb]

Which is why some marinas absolutely forbid leaving the sails bent on whilst ashore. There are also some which insist that masts are dropped as well.

 

[dunedin]

Which is why some marinas absolutely forbid leaving the sails bent on whilst ashore. There are also some which insist that masts are dropped as well.

Yes, our marina on the Clyde refuses to lift the boat until any furled jibs are removed (unless a lift and hold for immediate relaunch).
Also mandate mast down if on wooden props, but allowed if on secure metal cradle.

If I were an insurance company, I might refuse to pay out for a boat leaving furled sail still hoisted when on shore - whether by explicit terms or simply negligence. I certainly wouldn’t want one allowed in the same yard my boat was in.

 

[[2574]]

She’s probably not wrecked though?

 

[Poignard]

I can't see from the photo how the boat was supported. Is it a bilge-keeler or was it in a cradle or propped up?

But regardles of that it does seem odd to leave the sails bent. In the yard where I am quite a few boats are lifted out for the winter and not only do the sails stay as they were when the boat was lifted out but also the fenders and head and stern ropes.

I wonder if many of the larger yachts that have their sails left bent on are owned by elderly couples who are not strong enough to take the sails off, fold and stow them.

 

[Concerto]

At my marina, furling headsails must be removed before lifting out. All yachts are in metal cradles except for a couple of twin keels which just have some metal jack supports added. If I lift out for the winter, I would also remove the mainsail to reduce windage.

The reason I was told furling sails must be removed was some years ago in Spain , one yacht's furling headsail unrolled and tipped the boat over like this Oceanlord. Unfortunately it had the matchbox effect and knocked over about 70 yachts. Such a simple precaution would have saved damage on such a high scale.

What surprises me most is the yard where this Oceanlord was lifted did not insist on the headsail being removed. I expect there will be many questions asked by the insurers as looking at the cradles to the left of the photo, they do seem quite light weight compared to the one I was last in. Perhaps they were not strong enough to support the extra loading in strong winds. If so then the yard may have some liabilty. Just out of interest, where did this happen?

 

[LittleSister]

Never understood why people leave their furled genoas up when they leave their boat for extended time, never mind, over winter and on the hard.

Mea culpa. (a) I wasn't expecting the boat to be ashore for an extended time, but one thing led to another, etc. and (b) whenever I visited the boat (a good distance away from home) I was alone and it was too windy to want to wrestle with the unfurled genoa to get it down.

I always leave the genoa securely tied furled, though, and don't rely on the sheets and furler to keep it so.

 

[Concerto]

I can't see from the photo how the boat was supported. Is it a bilge-keeler or was it in a cradle or propped up?

But regardles of that it does seem odd to leave the sails bent. In the yard where I am quite a few boats are lifted out for the winter and not only do the sails stay as they were when the boat was lifted out but also the fenders and head and stern ropes.

I wonder if many of the larger yachts that have their sails left bent on are owned by elderly couples who are not strong enough to take the sails off, fold and stow them.

All Westerly Oceanlords were fin keel.

All yards will remove sails for a fee, so there is no excuse for them to be left on. Having recently read a number of marina terms and conditions (and I expect many boatyards have similar), they can when necessary do work like move a boat, secure a boat if warps break, lift out a boat that is sinking, etc - all at the owners expense. They can even break into a boat if they do not have keys.

 

[Sandy]

I can't see from the photo how the boat was supported. Is it a bilge-keeler or was it in a cradle or propped up?

A cradle, look to starboard. I hope that the cradle is closely inspected.

 

[Wing Mark]

A sprayhood or other cover in a big wind from astern can also shake things around a lot.

 

[dgadee]

A sprayhood or other cover in a big wind from astern can also shake things around a lot.

Not to mention UV damage. I would never leave a spray hood on when not required.

 

[Bodach na mara]

She’s probably not wrecked though?

She's a Westerly! Built like brick s**thouses. Should be fine, I hope.

 

[dunedin]

Mea culpa. (a) I wasn't expecting the boat to be ashore for an extended time, but one thing led to another, etc. and (b) whenever I visited the boat (a good distance away from home) I was alone and it was too windy to want to wrestle with the unfurled genoa to get it down.

I always leave the genoa securely tied furled, though, and don't rely on the sheets and furler to keep it so.

I guess that is precisely why our marina refuses to lift until the sail is removed. So often plans change - plus can be very dangerous to unfurl jib when ashore to allow the sail to be dropped.

 

[mattonthesea]

Must admit I didn't think about it until I saw a genoa unfurl during a squall in Bequai. Now I'll take it down if we're anchored in potentially strong winds.

 

[V1701]

What I don't understand is why people don't take measures to ensure their furling sails don't unfurl in strong winds - it's very easy to do yet every time we have a storm in our marina there are one or two that unfurl & flog themselves to death. Whilst the above is horrible to see & horrible for the owner there's really no need for it to happen...

 

[Wing Mark]

Mine's in the marina with a few turns Marlow's finest through the clew.