What do you think of this one?

[Tranona]

I hear what you're saying, but I don't think that your keel only gets bumped on the bottom when deliberately drying out in tidal waters. Unintended groundings on hard sandy bottoms (eg in the Med) will put similar stresses on a hull. People are of course welcome to cruise in boats that can't cope with that, but it's not my idea of a cruising boat.
That said, it's obviously all compromises - I think we'd all want a boat to survive a bit of a bump, but how much of a bump exactly, given the cost in terms of weight and build cost? I had a steel boat once that would probably have been fine after being dropped a couple of feet onto concrete, but it was maddeningly slow under sail, no doubt in part due to its great weight.

It is all about context, hence my use of the word "categoric" earlier. I bought my Eventide - shallow draft bilge plates in 1980 in Poole where water is thin on the ground over most of the harbour. In the first 10 years or so I think we actually dried out or hit bottom 3 times, the first two voluntarily in Studland where you are not allowed now and the third involuntary by straying too far off the main channel. In 1992 I removed the plates and deepened the keel draft to 1m from the original 2'2". With a new rudder it was a vast improvement and reflected the fact that I spent more time sailing out of the harbour than inside, but was still able to navigate the channels.

Looking wider boat designs adapt to the environment in which they are used - so if you are a rich New Englander who wants to spend the winters in the Bahamas then your boat of choice is probably a long keel centreboard Alden, Hinckley, Bristol etc. If you are going to explore the Pacific Islands then a steel long keeler might be the weapon of choice. Scandinavian boats are strongly constructed in the keel are because there are a lot of rocks in places that are nice to sail - don't expect decent anchoring arrangements though as tying up to a tree or rock from the bows is the norm.

For the vast majority of the worlds' sailors the standard fin keel is perfectly adequate for cruising so that is what is built in volume and people use them in a way that recognises their properties.

 

[DoubleEnder]

Yards can be dangerous. A long time ago now I had a little Ballerina. The yard used a crane not a hoist and normally they would launch over the sea wall into the water or the mud depending on the state of tide. But there was also a slipway and they could drive the crane down that, jib out and launch there too.
The crane driver picked up my boat in the slings and started down the slipway. For some reason he didn’t or couldn’t brake and trundled all the way to the bottom where he ran in to the mud and came to a sharp halt.
My poor little boat swung away from the crane, then back towards the cab. The driver jumped out just before the boat crunched through his windscreen.

There’s a lot to be said for a railway

 

[jane444blue]

Update, watched next video update last night, nice couple getting on with jobs they can do whilst letting 2 x insurance companies talk and hoping no issues with yard guys. No surveyor on board as yet, cabin needs stripping to for that.
Hats off to them

 

[servus]

I would like to answer to the initial question : "what do you think of this one?"

- Buying a boat can be quite tricky and develop into a minefield.
- Selling everything to sail off into the wild blue yonder (or so I gather from the website of the couple) is a big decision.
- Doing all that with no sailing experience at all (source: their website again) is rather bold (as in "bold" pilots ...).

- Producing rather undistinguishable videos about one's private life seems to have become the latest rage.
- Now that the pawpaw has struck the fan, to sit in front of your audience and tell them, that you need their support more than ever...
....while trying to look decorative (her) and putting on a rather forced smile (him)... reminds me of something out of my childhood days - I just can't remember the word for it ...

... were some of my initial thoughts when I looked at the video in post Nr. 1.

Long keel, fin keel, skeg or not, old boat - new boat, hull material, production method, intended use of boat ...... can all be discussed and reasoned.

One of my preliminary conclusions is, that times are changing and I still have to learn a lot.

 

[winch2]

Its a plague. Everywhre you look there are these designs. Big hull, flat bottom and a skinny ole keel tacked onto it all with nothing better than a dab of copydex and a hair clip. Fine for a once the month pootle round the club cans, or a slow weekend at Newtown .. but prolonged blue water sailing where the smallest swell is 4/5 mtrs?? Dont think so. There's simply nothing holding it all together. It also perturbs me somewhat that so many people are doing this now without a shred of experience. The mind is truly boggled.

 

[RunAgroundHard]

It is a plague ... It also perturbs me somewhat that so many people are doing this now without a shred of experience. ...

Yet, without a shred of experience, a rich man can be launched into space to poke his head into the infinite void. I think you over estimate the need for experience. Technology has diminished the breadth of experience required to sail the oceans.

There is no plague of yachts with narrow keels being lost on ocean passages.

 

[Tranona]

Its a plague. Everywhre you look there are these designs. Big hull, flat bottom and a skinny ole keel tacked onto it all with nothing better than a dab of copydex and a hair clip. Fine for a once the month pootle round the club cans, or a slow weekend at Newtown .. but prolonged blue water sailing where the smallest swell is 4/5 mtrs?? Dont think so. There's simply nothing holding it all together. It also perturbs me somewhat that so many people are doing this now without a shred of experience. The mind is truly boggled.

Despite all that they get to where they want to and have a whale of a time. Good thing they don't listen to doom mongers like you! You clearly have zero knowledge of how these boats are designed and put together.

 

[steveeasy]

Yes quite like this one. They seam a nice couple. No comments to make how they wish to dress. I don’t recall them asking for anything. Let’s hope they get a result swiftly.

Steveeasy

 

[doug748]

Looks like the video has been withdrawn from public view.

Italian manufacturers, insurance company, yard? Who knows.

.

 

[doug748]

A bit of clarity now:

Looks like poor build quality was at the heart of the matter. Not a great design for extended cruising, I might have taken the half chance of bailing out but they like the boat so good luck to them.

.

 

[Fire99]

A bit of clarity now:

Looks like poor build quality was at the heart of the matter. Not a great design for extended cruising, I might have taken the half chance of bailing out but they like the boat so good luck to them.

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They seem a long way into this boat now. But on the positive side all the faults have been revealed so if they do fix her up she'll be in fine fettle when they're done.

 

[WindyWindyWindy]

Shoddy construction, I didn't expect that.
You'd have thought Grand Soleil would be interested in helping to sort out their failures, and to try to recover some of the brand image.

 

[Wansworth]

Shoddy construction, I didn't expect that.
You'd have thought Grand Soleil would be interested in helping to sort out their failures, and to try to recover some of the brand image.

GrandSoleil is probably a part of a company bought by a conglomerate and the yacht building forms a small part of their investment folder such is the corporate world we live in…..and yachting forms a very small part of the business world although it’s important to us

 

[veshengro]

GrandSoleil is probably a part of a company bought by a conglomerate and the yacht building forms a small part of their investment folder such is the corporate world we live in…..and yachting forms a very small part of the business world although it’s important to us

A similar situation developed within the Firearms Industry, that is, big conglomerates taking over a smaller but long established manufacturer. The Management of the Corporation knew nothing of firearms manufacture, only processes to make 'Things'. The decline in standards from accuracy to reliability and especially after sales service did serious damage to an old historically famous brand. Fortunately recovering now following further jiggery pokery in ownership.

 

[AndyDavies]

Grand Soleil used to have internal steel frames, like X Yachts, to support the rig and keel. I sailed one which had been repaired after hitting the Varvasi at 8 knts. It needed a new keel to be cast but still made it into Lymington under its own steam. Now GS have carbon reinforced matrices which were supposed to be an improvement. Seemingly they're not.

 

[doug748]

Grand Soleil used to have internal steel frames, like X Yachts, to support the rig and keel. I sailed one which had been repaired after hitting the Varvasi at 8 knts. It needed a new keel to be cast but still made it into Lymington under its own steam. Now GS have carbon reinforced matrices which were supposed to be an improvement. Seemingly they're not.

Very prescient comment. Looks like they have binned much of the damaged carbon fibre construction and installed a steel fabrication:

 

[Zing]

Very prescient comment. Looks like they have binned much of the damaged carbon fibre construction and installed a steel fabrication:

View attachment 187971

Not correct. This model has very limited use of carbon fiber, just directional reinforcement under the ribs and it did not fail and was not replaced. The repairs were mainly to reinstate the failed adhesive used to secure the ribs and stringers to the hull with filled epoxy. Probably it was originally a Plexus MMA material. The steel sub frame is original and was not a later addition.