Boat lost keel, no one noticed!

[JimMcGee]

I came across this as a link from another article I was reading.

Apparently a charter group hit some submerged rocks and knocked the keel off a 37 Jeanneau -- and didn't notice! , a second charter group sailed the boat a week and didn't notice there was no keel , finally a third charter group thought the boat wasn't handling well and brought it back.

After a quick Google the story appears legit but I'm having a tough time believing it. What do you think?

• CHARTER BOAT LOSES KEEL: And No One Noticed
• Link to boat description on charter company web site & story on local cruising assoc web site.
• Link to discussion in Yachting Monthly

[Faster]

This has been on here before, if it's the same incident... look here:

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/genera...lost-keel.html

See Post 14

[JimMcGee]

Faster, even looking at the photos in Paulo's post I'm still having trouble believing it. Wow!

[Faster]

It's amazing on a number of fronts.. that the original charterer's didn't notice, that the charter outfit didn't check (dive on) the boat and notice, and that the next party took a while to notice.

and, of course, that the boat stayed on its feet.....

[JimMcGee]

Originally Posted by Faster

It's amazing on a number of fronts.. that the original charterer's didn't notice, that the charter outfit didn't check (dive on) the boat and notice, and that the next party took a while to notice.

and, of course, that the boat stayed on its feet.....

Agreed on all counts. But I'm just amazed the boat stayed on it's feet.

[COOL]

Originally Posted by JimMcGee

But I'm just amazed the boat stayed on it's feet.

I guess deep keels are highly over rated.
Realistically a boat like that has a lot of form stability.
Additionally it functionally has quite a bit of internal
ballast in the form of the engine and other machinary
plus all the tankage.
I have alway been amazed that those three story
Sport Fishers stay upright, but I imagine it is for
the same reasons.

[CapnBilll]

Here in Texas a sailboat lost its keel and capsized and sunk. Some boats may stay upright, but I'm a little sceptical.

[JaredC]

Originally Posted by COOL

I have alway been amazed that those three story
Sport Fishers stay upright, but I imagine it is for
the same reasons.

The "tuna towers" freak me out. I imagine you would get seasick on top of one of those things, even if you've never been seasick before in your life. Like climbing the mast, at sea, and staying up there for an extended period of time.

[speciald]

Maybe the keel was designed to break away in a collision?!! A few years ago three Hylas 54s broke the bottom half off their rudders on passages to the Caribbean; one was a new boat. The builder/salesperson (who willed go unamed) claimed that the rudders were designed to "sacrifice" should the boat go aground. He didn't explain how that would happen as the keel extended a few feet below the rudder. There was no steel webbing in the lower rudder, only foam. Maybe B/J has extended this idea to a break away keel that will come off should the boat go aground. Seriously, I would be conserned about the design of a boat where the keel so easily falls off. I remember a mega race boat (Drum?) that turtled in a race when its keel fell off.

[PCP]

Hello guys,

For sailing, modern boats relly mostly on initial stability that comes from form stability. That means that they can sail without a keel (ballast) specially if they have some sort of vertical foils to make it upwind. Ballast on the keel is mostly to improve stability and to give reserve or safety stability at greater angles of hell, when the form stability is not working anymore (and to give an acceptable LPS and to diminish inverted stability).

On thel Last Vendee Globe Marco Guillemot finished the race in 3th place making the last thousand miles without a keel:

"Safran is making 8.6kts upwind towards the line, Guillemot is in the spotlight just now as the TV cameras film. He will love these last few extraordinary minutes, having sailed nearly 1000 miles since north of the Azores with no keel, having been instrumental in the care of Yann Elies when he was injured standing by, and of course stopped twice to try and fix his mainsail mast track with limited success. Boat looks stable, responding to the little puffs, some ten minutes to the finish."

Newswire : Alongside Marco - Vendée Globe

And it was not the only one. Bilou had done the same on the previous race:


The fleet of media boats and spectator boats are on their way out now to meet Safran. We have Safran in sight almost immediately, making steady progress 3 miles from the finish line. She is upright but moving well and is going to be about two hours inside time to make third place, becoming the second Open 60 in successive races to finish third with no keel!